Section 8 · Image Construction & Compositing

Blending Modes

Definition

Rules governing how a layer’s pixels mathematically combine with those beneath it — multiply, screen, overlay, and so on.

Why it matters

Blending modes are the fastest route to integrating disparate sources, because they let elements interact tonally rather than simply sitting on top of one another.

Example

Setting a texture layer to Multiply so its darks affect the layers below while its whites drop out entirely.

Note

Learning the underlying logic of the groups — darkening, lightening, contrast — beats memorizing the full list. Otherwise it’s easy to cycle through them at random until something looks acceptable.