Mastering Blending Modes in Adobe Photoshop

1.1 Introduction

Blending modes in Photoshop are a workhorse feature. They do a lot of the heavy lifting that makes a lot of the other features a lot easier to do. Yet, they do it with very little attention or ceremony. But the work they do can be nearly irreplaceable when you use them properly. Hi, I'm Kirk Nelson, and welcome to Mastering Blending Modes in Adobe Photoshop. In this course I will show you exactly what blending modes are, why they do what they do, and how you can use them. At their root Photoshop's blending modes are really just mathematical formulas that determine how pixels in one layer blend with the pixels of the underlying layers. Blending modes are organized into logical groups, or sets. The chapters and projects of this course, align with those groups. We'll start with the normal set. Then the darken, or multiply set, where we explore how to use those blending modes, and add a realistic digital tattoo. After that, we take a look at multiply's opposite twin, the lighten or screen set when we create this ghostly figure from the steam of a coffee cup. The overlay set sits functionally between the screen and multiply set and has great utility in this nondestructive dodge and burn technique. And the last two sets are the inversion and component sets, respectively. Those are not as well used as their earlier counterparts, but we will still take a look at some very practical uses for them. When you finish this course, you will have a solid understanding of what Photoshop's blending modes do. And once you know how to use them, they can change the way you approach compositing, or digital artwork. With that, let's get started on chapter two, which is the normal blending modes.