Introduction to Layer Blending tools Part Two

In this week’s blog post, we will continue learning about the blending tools in Urban Jungle Photo Editor. Some of the previous options in the layer blend menu have already been covered in a previous blog post, you can scroll down from this blog post to start at the beginning. The previous blog post also covers how to get to the blending menu via the layer from your project screen.
In a nutshell, blend options allow us to change the relationship between two layers on top of each other. We can use this customisability to create unique effects.
For this week’s demonstration, let’s go with something magical; a jellyfish rising from the sea.

​The overlay blend option mixes the functionality of both the Screen and Multiply blend options. The portions of the top layer where the base layer is light become lighter, the portions where the base layer is dark become darker. Places, where the top layer is mid-grey, will remain unaffected. 

The ColorBurn is a very aggressive name for a blend option but is aptly named for its functionality. It has an aggressive effect on the layer relationship. The colorburn option gives a very dark result, this is done by increasing the contrast between the base and the blend. The colors of the top layer consequently are highly saturated in the mid-tones. 

​ColorDoge blend option brightened this jellyfish up, this is because of the light tones of the cloud and sky behind it. ColorDoge blend mode divides the bottom layer by inverting the top layer. This will lighten the bottom layer depending on the value of the top layer. If the top layer is brighter than the bottom one, the top layer color will have a more significant effect on the bottom layer.

The difference blend option has made our jellyfish dark, let us look into why that is the case. The difference blend option works by subtracting the bottom layer from the top layer or vice versa, to always get a non-negative value. So when you subtract two pixels with the same value, the result is zero i.e. Black. That means the black areas on our jellyfish had the same color value as the background layer. Commonly professional editors use this blend option to align pictures that have similar content.

This wraps up our guide into the world of Blending options in the Urban Jungle Photo Editor. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook and be the first ones to hear about new features and updates.  

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