Blending Modes in Digital Painting
Multiply, Overlay, Color and other layer modes
Also known as: Multiply Overlay · Layer blend modes · Photoshop blending modes · Color Dodge · Soft Light · Krita blending modes
Definition
Blending modes change how a layer combines with the layers below, and are a basic tool of digital painting in Photoshop and Krita. Multiply darkens by multiplying colors, and is used for shadows and for shading flat color. Overlay and Soft Light increase contrast and tint while keeping the underlying values, Screen and Color Dodge brighten for glows and highlights, and Color applies hue and saturation while keeping the values. Used with care, they speed up lighting, color adjustments and effects.
In production
Block in flat colors, then add shadow on a Multiply layer and light on an Overlay or Soft Light layer, and a color layer set to Color for unifying tints. Do not rely on Color Dodge and Overlay for everything, since they can blow out the image and oversaturate. Keep layers named, and check values in grayscale after using them. The same ideas apply to textures in Substance Painter, where layers have blending modes too.
Learn Blending Modes in Digital Painting in
Tools that use Blending Modes in Digital Painting
See also
Value Structure
Planning lights and darks before color
Digital Painting Looks Flat
Fix a painting that lacks depth and punch
Muddy Colors in Digital Painting
Dull, grey-brown colors after painting
Hand-Painted Textures
Painted lighting baked into albedo
Compositing
Combining render layers into the final image
Alpha Channel
Fourth channel that stores transparency or a mask