Appendix A Examples of the Various Blend Modes Blend Modes are used throughout Aviary’s applications to combine two separate layers. Each mode follows a formula for determining how one layer is affected by another. Blend Modes can affect Alphas, brightness values, and hues. Knowing what each Blend Mode does will enable you to create better images and effects. This appendix gives examples of each of the currently available Blend Modes. The chapter is split into Blend Modes used in Phoenix and Raven and the advanced Blend Modes used in Peacock. Blend Modes for Phoenix and Raven Phoenix and Raven use the same Blend Modes, and for the most part, those Blend Modes have the same results. To show the results of each Blend Mode, these examples use a simple image of a circle being overlapped by a square. In all the examples, the circle in the lower layer is referred to as the Base layer, whereas the square in the upper layer is referred to as the Blending layer. In the Normal Blend Mode (see Figure A-1), the layers maintain their own native properties and are not blended together. The upper layer covers the lower layer. 591 APPENDIX A Figure A-1. The Normal Blend Mode The Add Blend Mode adds the color values of the Base layer with the Blending layer (see Figure A-2). Any area with a maximum value is displayed as white. This greatly intensifies the lighter areas. Figure A-2. The Add Blend Mode The Alpha Blend Mode masks the Base layer by the Alpha in the Blending layer (see Figure A-3). This Blend Mode hides the Blending layer only in Phoenix and Raven. 592 EXAMPLES OF THE VARIOUS BLEND MODES Figure A-3. The Alpha Blend Mode The Darken Blend Mode uses multiple Blend Modes on areas where the Blending layer is lighter than the Base layer (see Figure A-4). This gives an overall darkness to the lightest areas of the Base layer. Figure A-4. The Darken Blend Mode The Difference Blend Mode inverts the colors in the Blending layer and subtracts the results from the Base layer (see Figure A-5). If both layers are the same, the result will be black. This Blend Mode shows any differences in similar layers and is useful to align two of the same layers. 593 APPENDIX A Figure A-5. The Difference Blend Mode The Erase Blend Mode masks the Base layer by the invert of the Alpha in the Blending layer (see Figure A-6). This Blend Mode hides only the Blending layer in Phoenix and Raven. Figure A-6. The Erase Blend Mode The Hardlight Blend Mode combines both the Screen and Multiply Blend Modes (see Figure A-7). The overall effect intensifies colors in the Blending layer; darker areas get darker, and lighter areas get lighter. The 50% values are not affected. 594 EXAMPLES OF THE VARIOUS BLEND MODES Figure A-7. The Hardlight Blend Mode The Invert Blend Mode inverts colors in the Base layer that is covered by the Blending layer (see Figure A- 8). The transparent areas in the Base layer are displayed as black. Figure A-8. The Normal Blend Mode The Lighten Blend Mode uses Screen Blend Mode on areas where the Blending layer is darker than the Base layer (see Figure A-9). This gives an overall lightening to the darkest areas of the Base layer. 595 APPENDIX A Figure A-9. The Lighten Blend Mode The Layer Blend Mode currently produces the same effect as the Normal Blend Mode (see Figure A-10). This Blend Mode will change in the future to give it added usability. Figure A-10. The Layer Blend Mode The Multiply Blend Mode multiples the Base layer and the Blending layer colors (see Figure A-11). White areas in the Blending layer turn transparent, and only the darker colors appear. Because this Blend Mode removes the white areas from the Blending layer, it is useful for quickly cutting out white backgrounds from images. You can think of this Blend Mode as the opposite of Screen. 596 EXAMPLES OF THE VARIOUS BLEND MODES Figure A-11. The Multiply Blend Mode The Overlay Blend Mode combines both Screen and Multiply Blend Modes such as Hardlight (see Figure A-12). However, Overlay preserves the color in the Base layer and gives a more subtle blend than Hardlight. The overall effect intensifies colors in the Blending layer; darker areas get darker, and lighter areas get lighter. The mid range values are not affected. Figure A-12. The Overlay Blend Mode The Screen Blend Mode divides the Base layer and Blending layer colors (see Figure A-13). Black areas in the Blending layer become transparent, and lighter areas get lighter. You can think of this Blend Mode as the opposite of Multiply. 597 APPENDIX A Figure A-13. The Screen Blend Mode The Subtract Blend Mode subtracts the Blending layer from the Base layer (see Figure A-14). Any resulting negative values are displayed as black. Figure A-14. The Subtract Blend Mode Peacock Blend Modes The Normal, Add, Alpha, Darken, Difference, Hardlight, Lighten, Multiply, Overlay, Screen, and Subtract Blend Modes are also used in Peacock. However, it also has a few advanced modes in the Blender hub. These advanced Blend Modes are more complicated, and take more time to render. The Linear Blend Mode takes averages the brightness of the Blending layer and the brightness of the Base layer and uses that information as the brightness information for the Base layer (see Figure A-15). Any 100% transparent areas in the Blending layer produce black in the image. 598 EXAMPLES OF THE VARIOUS BLEND MODES Figure A-15. The Linear Blend Mode The Hue Blend Mode changes the hue of the Base layer to the hue of the Blending layer (see Figure A- 16). Any transparent areas change the Base layer's hue to red. Figure A-16. The Hue Blend Mode The Saturation Blend Mode uses the saturation of the Blending layer to set the saturation in the Base layer (see Figure A-17). Any pure transparent areas in the Blending layer will turn the pixels in the Base layer red. 599 APPENDIX A Figure A-17. The Saturation Blend Mode The Brightness Blend Mode takes the brightness of the Blending layer and uses that information as a Multiply blended overlay (see Figure A-18). This Blend Mode changes any areas that are transparent to black. Figure A-18. The Brightness Blend Mode The Layover Blend Mode is an exaggerated version of the Overlay Blend Mode (see Figure A-19). This Blend Mode produces more contrast between the two layers than the Overlay Blend Mode. 600 EXAMPLES OF THE VARIOUS BLEND MODES Figure A-19. The Layover Blend Mode The Lighter Cover Blend Mode takes the lighter value from either the Blending or Base layers and covers the other layer (see Figure A-20). Figure A-20. The Lighter Cover Blend Mode The Darker Cover Blending Mode takes the darker value from either the Blending or Base layers and covers the other layer (see Figure A-21). 601 APPENDIX A Figure A-21. The Darker Cover Blend Mode Wrap, XOR, AND, and OR Blend Modes convert the color values of each pixel in the Blending layer and Base layer to a string of numbers; they then perform a mathematical function on them. The resulting numbers are converted back into a color value to produce the Blend Mode output. These methods can produce abstract and unpredictable results, and the more variety and detail in the original layers, the more abstract the result. Following are examples of the Wrap (see Figure A-22), XOR (see Figure A-23), AND (see Figure A-24), and OR (see Figure A-25). Figure A-22. The Wrap Blend Mode 602 EXAMPLES OF THE VARIOUS BLEND MODES Figure A-23. The XOR Blend Mode Figure A-24. The AND Blend Mode 603 APPENDIX A Figure A-25. The OR Blend Mode Blend Modes are an indispensable tool in almost every layer-based graphic editor. They can be difficult to predict; the Blend Mode that works great in one image can give you an undesirable result in another. It is recommended that you try several different Blend Modes while building your image to see which works the best. Experiment, explore, and play with this powerful tool because the more you use it, the easier it is to understand. 604 Appendix B The Color Picker Tool The Color Picker is a versatile multifunction tool used to choose colors. Raven, Phoenix, and Peacock use the same color picker (see Figure B-1). Falcon uses its own simple color picker to keep the application quick, and Toucan is essentially a color picker itself. The Color Picker pops up when you need to choose a color. Figure B-1. The Color Picker dialog with all the fly-out panels open 605 APPENDIX B Whenever you need to choose a color in Phoenix, Raven, or Peacock, the applications open the color picker tool (see Figure B-2). The Color Picker pops up, enabling you to pick colors, import Toucan color palettes, and save swatches. Figure B-2. Initially, the Color Picker’s fly-out panels are hidden. In the center of the Color Picker is an area where you can choose the brightness and saturation of the color (see Figure B-3). The small circle is the sample point and is centered on the currently selected color. Clicking and dragging this circle lets you change the current color.