BLENDING MODES EXPLAINED
- Thivolan
- Apr 27
- 16 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Yes, it's time to address the fact that you have no idea what blend modes (outside of multiply and normal) actually do. Well, i'm glad you're here! I'll cover the basics, a few complicated pieces and give you plenty of examples for both Photoshop AND Substance Painter so you'll be armed with some sweet ways of combining or blending, as they say, layers!
OH Yeah, if you like the thumbnail above you can find the full showcase here: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/1NOdR8
Sunset image from PixelsTalk.net
Winter image from Pixelz.cc
content:
So what the heck do blend modes even do?
Simply put: Blend modes affect how a layer behaves above or below other layers using some crazy equations to blend that layers colour, exposure, opacity etc to show or hide or combine certain characteristics of each affected layer... For the most part layers are set to "normal" in both Photoshop and Substance but height layers in Substance are auto set to linear dodge (this mode is also called ADD) due to that being a pretty darn good default for it...
By the way, if you dont feel like reading through every single mode but just need a quick summary of the main modes and which to use you can CLICK HERE to go to the bottom of the article which summarises everything... I would recommend that you read the next 3 sections as quick starter, though...
a few things to keep in mind:
Here are a few technical terms (they're not that technical, actually) ill be using throughout the articles so keep an eye out for them and refer back to this section if you need a refresher:
STACK DEPENDENT: This is something that is super useful, it refers to whether a layer/ blend mode is dependent on its location to other layers. To put it simply: Does it matter where i place this layer? If YES its stack dependent, if NO then the layer is not stack dependent.... BTW Regardless of whether a mode is stack dependent the mode is usually applied on the top layer so that will have to have the blend mode enabled which will then do the blending... Ill explain this further down with stacked layers as an example...
PRIMARY BLEND MODES (PBM): Each blend mode isn't actually completely unique meaning that most share very similar characteristics to one another. So they are all basically a sub category to a Primary Blend Mode. So the PBM is just the main category of a blend mode.
SUB BLEND MODES (SBM): These are simply just sub categories of the primary blend modes. So if a blend mode is part of the Darken Blend mode (A Primary mode) then it means its going to share a few things from that Primary mode. In this case Darken Modes usually Blend darker areas and leave the lighter ranges...
VALUE: Value simply refers to a range of light vs dark that exists in a specific image/ colour. The value of something refers to how light or how dark something is aka how black or how white something is... To give an example Pure Blue (Darker) is certainly a lower value than Pure Yellow (lighter). Both are lighter than black and both are darker than white...
PBM 1: Normal Modes
These are the normal modes of blending youll find in both photoshop and Substance. BTW if a blend mode is only found in a particular program ill just indicate that with "P" for Photoshop and an "S" for Substance. If the mode has no indication then you can assume it is available on both programs...
Normal Mode
Probably the easiest one to understand this mode is the default vanilla flavour of all your layers in the stack. Yes its also Stack Dependent (but i think you already knew this) so you have to place the layers accordingly. This mode also relies on opacity so if you set the opacity of the image (or it has opacity applied) it will show through or not depending on the image settings and placement...
PBM 2: Darken Modes
These Modes make use of the values on the layers and blend accordingly; Darker values get Blended while lighter values are Ignored.
Darken Mode aka Minimum
This mode is not Stack Dependent and compares the top layer to the bottom to get its blending. The darker the values the more will be blended depending on the value while lighter areas will be less or not affected. Think of this mode as blending black areas and leaving/ ignoring the white areas.
I know this might seem counter to what is happening as it looks like the whites are being affected below but really the white is just being ignored while the blacks are taking over the picture...
In the case of Substance this means that the dark areas will be overridden/ blended while the light areas will just be pushed aside. Just make sure there is a good amount of contrast as this mode will sometimes ignore areas that are muddled....
Photoshop:
Darken has details mix with darks while leaving the whites intact/ pushed back.
Substance: Using height details in this case...
Multiply
Ahh yes, a familiar face to most no doubt... Just like the above mode this mode is not Stack Dependent and compares the top layer to the bottom to get its blending. Think of this mode as another version of darken but with better blending. The difference here is that Multiply wont muddle up your values when blending. So which should you use? If the values are more complex id use Multiply while using Darken with simpler values. you can also use Darken to help simplify masks when you dont want to worry about using levels.... If you're still unsure then just use Multiply straight up!
You can see Darken actually cutting off the lines as opposed to properly blending it... This can be useful if you need it but also frustrating if you dont understand the limits of Darken....
Photoshop:
Colour Burn
This is an interesting one as it will ramp up the contrast and saturation of the colours and values in the layers to create some really harsh results. Basically, turning this blend mode on is like drinking an energy drink that needs to be diluted by 1:10... This blend mode is Stack Dependent.
Just as an FYI, for the above picture, if the blue was really light the dark spots would be oversaturated with colour and not value. Colour burn will blend darker areas (as you can see from the darks really being pushed) and ignore the whites as with all darken sub modes...
Photoshop:
Linear Burn
This Mode is basically the less harsh version of Colour Burn; Only slightly less as it will try to darken the base values for smoother blending... Think of it like multiply vs darken.
Cant see the difference? Just use Linear Burn and pretend you know what youre doing like the rest of us!
Photoshop:
Darker Colour (P)
Yeah this is an interesting Photoshop exclusive. Basically this mode will look at both layers and have the darker areas shine through while masking the lighter areas out. This is Not Stack Dependent.
This works well because i chose two images with clear differences; this mode can fall apart when you are using more complex images so keep it simple...
PBM 3: Lighten Modes
These Modes make use of the values on the layers and blend accordingly; Like the opposite of Darken the light values get blended while darker values are ignored.
Im also changing the images im using to better showcase the lightening effects. In this case the images will have an overall darker feel to better showcase the lighter blending...
Lighten aka Maximum
Crazy shock: this is just the opposite of darken... Blend the lights ignore the darks and is also Not Stack Dependent... But just like with darken this doesnt do well with muddled values so youll have to use the alternate (screen). In photoshop this can also be used to lighten images; another shock...
Screen
Just like with Multiply this is just a smoother blending option to Lighten and should be used when you want smoother transitions and blending...
Colour Dodge
Basically the opposite of Colour Burn (BTW, Burn is usually associated with darkening things while Dodge is lightening..) this will decrease the contrast and lighten the overall blend. Stack Dependent.
Linear Dodge aka ADD
Just like Linear Burn This is just a more pleasant version of Colour Dodge and is NOT Stack Dependent. This is also a great way to ADD more to your masks in substance; you have a dirt layer but you want to add dots on top, for example, you can then use ADD to do this with great blending...
Photoshop:
Lighten Colour (P)
Another photoshop exclusive and the opposite of Darken Colour, this has Lighter areas shine through while masking the Darker areas out. This is Not Stack Dependent.
PBM 4: Contrast Blend Modes
Just as lighten modes blend in the lights and darken blend modes blend in the darks, Contrast modes will Calculate whether a layer is darker or lighter and blend accordingly; If the top component is grey (compared to the bottom layer) the Bottom layer is usually unchanged... Often these modes are a combination of the above modes... These modes are all pretty much Stack Dependent.
Linear Dodge + Subtraction (ADDSUB) (SP)
Sorry Photoshop users, this is a Substance Exclusive and man is it pretty cool! The closest thing to this in photoshop is probably hard light... ADDSUB on the other hand uses both Linear Dodge (ADD) and Subtraction (Which i havent covered yet) to Give harsh Blends in both the Darks and Lights with the gradients being ignored. Because this mode is Stack Dependent it means that youll need a gradient on top and clear pattern below for the effect to really show.
Note that all Contrast Blend Modes will use this mentality of minus and addition for blending in both black and white areas.
Why would i need this? For transitions in masks!
Heres another transition example: You can obviously play with the first layers gradient harshness!
Overlay
Blending in both the darks and lights with smooth transitions this is a favourite amongst Substance - Painter - users for general use cases. Its almost like combining Multiply and screen. Because it relies of the values of the top layer it IS Stack Dependent, so be careful! As you might have guessed this is just a softer less harsh varient of ADDSUB!
Photoshop:
Soft Light
An EVEN softer version of addsub this is just a smoother softer variant of overlay and is also worth considering especially for Substance users always using overlay! Definitely worth considering if you want more details showing through without using opacity sliders. Its also a great option for smooth blending in photoshop.
HARD Light
As the name suggests hard light is pretty harsh and is a combination of multiply and screen producing some really harsh blending using the brightness of the blending image.
Photoshop:
Vivid Light
Another variant of the harsh blending modes, vivid light makes using colour burn and colour dodge modes to blend above and below grey or neutral with super harsh results...
Photoshop:
In case you're wondering, "Why the heck would i even use these harsh versions when the softer ones exist?". Well Firstly, Its great to have options. Secondlyly, you can always use the opacity to lessen the effect and thirdlylyly you might want crisp transitions especially for simpler images....
Linear Light
Another softer blend version and a mix of linear burn/dodge; this mode will increase or decrease the brightness of pixels...
Photoshop:
Pin Light
Ah, Pin Light, This time its not a mode thats softer but it is a mix of Darken and lighten in the extremes! So this mode will mix in the extremes and ignore the greyer areas leading to harsher results than darken/ lighten...
Photoshop:
Hard Mix (P)
A Photoshop Exclusive that is also Stack Dependent. To explain this simply all you have to know is that the blend modes reduces the values to black and white with black and white and the colours get reduced to either Red, Blue, Yellow, Cyan, Magenta or Green. Thats it!
The complicated explaination would be that the layers are added in value and if that value is below 255 it gets a 0 and above or equal to255 gets a 255 rating.
For those unaware colours are rated at an RGB scale. Red is (255, 0, 0) which means it has 255 red and 0 green and 0 blue.
PBM 5: Inversion Blend Modes
These modes blend according to the differences between layers and arent always Stack Dependent. Also the image usually ends up with some kind of inversion applied to it as the name suggests...
Difference
Not Stack Dependent, this mode will invert the white areas and ignore the black areas along with mixing that isnt too harsh in the gradients. With colours, the colours that are the highest (in brightness) will get blended resulting in blended colours that have green/ blue/ red etc. which didnt have those colours before For example: If the same colour is over istself it will result in black (0, 0, 0). If you had blue over green it would result in cyan (blue is 0, 0, 255 and green is 0, 255, 0 while cyan is 0, 255, 255)
Exclusion
Also Not Stack Dependent, this mode is just another version of Difference but waaaay more subtle in the gradients due to the greys being left.
Subtract
Unlike the other two this one is definitely Stack Dependent. And its a Substance favourite as you can take away details from a mask to really create more dynamism and variety.
As for what it does, this modes blends according to brightness and subtracts anything from the bottom layer thats Darker than the top layer while black is ignored. White will basically erase anything below it which is why substance users love using it...
Divide
Just like Subtract this mode IS Stack Dependent and relies on brightness to delete pixels but unlike subtract this will do the opposite; delete black and ignore white...
PBM 6: Component Blend Modes
This modes looks at the Hue (Colour), Saturation (How rich the colour is) and Brightness (How bright the colour is) and Blends accordingly to these components. As you can guess these modes change these characteristics things when blended.
Also, these layers rely on colour, so using alphas as examples just wont make any sense as these modes dont jive too well with black and white images for both layers...
Hue
Hue makes use of the, you guessed it, hue to blend and keeps the brightness and saturation (roughly) in check. This is the layer you'll use over something to give that pop of another colour as a "filtered" effect through the bottom layer.
Saturation
Like the above mode this keeps the hue and brightness in (roughly) and blends the saturation
Colour
Colour makes use of hue and saturation while keeping brightness in check... Unlike Hue, Colour can be used to change both the hue and Saturation at once.
Luminosity
This layer keeps the hue and saturation in check while blending the Luminosity or Brightness. A mode that can be used to sharpen images but id rather use a filter...
Yes, Yes, but which modes do i actually use?
DAyum, that was a l-ooo-t to go through. I bet you are probably thinking, "This is all great but which ones should i actually use? Surely it cant be all of them?"
Well firstly, dont call me Shirly. Secondlyly, yes you're right, surely, you cant be expected to use all of them, or even remember them. So lets go through a few from each group to keep an eye out for with some examples of how to go about using them!
Before we actually get into the details just remember that each Sub Mode is just a SUB version of the Primary Blend Modes. So all YOU have to know is what the PBM does and use a Sub version of that to get hat you want out of it; Want a mode to darken but also have harsh transitions? Use the Darken modes with a "Dark" in the name. Want to blend the lights but also make it very soft? Use a Lighten mode with the "Linear" word attached to it...
Remember that Darken Modes blend in the darks, Lighten is in the Lights, Contrast Modes blend in both, Component Modes make use of the hue, saturation and value components to blend, and Inversion Modes will usually deal with some kind of inversion to the image.... Knowing this will help a ton in figuring out what you want done beforehand... Thats IT, Every mode will just be a sub version of one of these modes!
Normal modes
All right, there are actually a few "normal" modes in substance so lets go through that first before moving on.
If you feel like you really need a layer to not do anything fancy but need some properties you can just use normal with an opacity level to just apply something but with control in the opacity; this is not something you should always do so id really consider the other modes before using this!
Darken modes
For these i would stick mainly to Multiply, and Darken, when you want harsher transitions. Remember that These modes blend in the darks and leave lights so its great for trying to lessen the effect of masks below the layer or darken colours/ blends. Linear burn Will give harsh transitions with colours so its probably something you wont use too often when you can manually change colours and values...
Actual use case for Multiply:
So lets say that you have an area you want to affect with a mask (black and white) BUT you also want the White area to have its own details without affecting the black area WITH smooth transitions, Multiply is your guy.
You can also use multiply on the very top of a stack to have the bottom layers minus details from the top layer; Lets say you have a dirt layer (main top layer) but you also want less dirt with some variation. To do this you can have the bottom layer on normal, the layer above that can have a Subtraction applied to it (so it minuses details from the bottom layer) then finally the top layer can have a Multiply blend mode to have all the details below minused from it (the top layer). This will create a good balance of dirt and variation to give the top layer a look of "not generated".
Lighten modes
All right, so here theres really only two modes that youll end up using here (that depends on what you are doing obviously); Screen for overall blending in the lights and Linear Dodge aka ADD to add more to your layers.
Actual use case for ADD:
As ive stated before if you have layer but you want another layers properties added to it with some good blending, Linear Dodge is your man! This will keep the details of the lower layer and the lights of the top layer (as long as its not too destructive). Like a dirt layer with dots on top.
Contrast modes
For these modes id say there are really 2 - 4 options. Overlay or Soft Light, which will give you a nice soft blend in both the lights and darks (And is used all the time; probably too often) and addsub or Hard Light/ Vivid Light (AddSub isn't available in Photoshop).
Remember, these Modes will blend in both the darks and lights and depending on what you want you can use Addsub or hardlight to blend in just the gradients (it will ignore the Lightest and Darkest areas). Overlay and Soft light will blend both areas in nice gradual way and are modes often used to overlay layers without too much disturbance from each one...
Actual Use case for Overlay/ Addsub:
Okay doke, If you have two layers with properties that you need showing through you can make use of Overlay or Soft Light. Substance users love using this when blending roughness or colours instead of using opacity sliders. Another thing they forget about, though, is that softlight is also another great option... So think of these guys as better Opacity alternates, Depending on your situation, of course.
As for AddSub or Hard light you can use these to blend something in a gradient instead of just the blacks/ whites. This is great for transitions between areas...
Inversion modes
These modes deal with some kind of inversion to the layers but here I would stick to just Subtraction and Difference. Subtraction, as you can guess, will subtract something (the Whites) from the lower layer while difference will do the opposite; subtracting the blacks.
Component modes
These modes affect either the Hue, Colour, Saturation or Luminosity and are named accordingly. Usually people will just use the Hue Mode to blend in a nice overall colour to change the mood of a layer...
Okay.... this article has taken waaaaay too long to finish, so im leaving at that! Thank you for reading and be sure to checkout the other tuts, articles and videos!
Hey, it's me again!
Thivolan Moodley, 3d Artist from Johannesburg, SA. Currently working as a freelance character artist. Also creating free and paid tutorials for the clueless- i mean enthusiastic (yeah that sounds better) 3d artists out there!
Tutorials, socials and portfolio: https://linktr.ee/Thivolan3d
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