

Photoshop Blend Modes Explained - adamnemecek
http://photoblogstop.com/photoshop/photoshop-blend-modes-explained#

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shazow
I implemented some of these blending modes in JavaScript once upon a time, if
anyone is curious:
[https://github.com/shazow/colorlib/blob/master/colorlib.js#L...](https://github.com/shazow/colorlib/blob/master/colorlib.js#L169)

Based on the source code of GIMP and a bit of reverse engineering from
Photoshop's behaviour (there were inconsistencies).

This is used in [http://colorblendy.com/](http://colorblendy.com/).

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adamnemecek
Thanks, a bunch. This was actually the very thing I was looking for when I
found this. I was trying to figure out the math myself but just about every
website has no code or the code is incomplete/wrong.

~~~
shazow
That was my experience as well. Happy to help! :)

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jacobolus
Kudos to the author for trying to tackle a difficult subject, that most
photoshop users don’t understand in a very technical or precise way, but would
benefit greatly from understanding better.

Unfortunately this doesn’t (1) show you how the blend modes actually work in
practice, or (2) tell you what to do with each blend mode or why you should
care about it.

The text is okay, but text really isn’t a good medium for quickly/concisely
conveying information about visual effects. (I’m reminded of mathematics
papers from the days before we had mathematical notation.)

I really like this resource, from 2006:
[http://dunnbypaul.net/blends/](http://dunnbypaul.net/blends/)

Koeri in these comments recommends Kai’s Power Tips. Also good is the book
_Photoshop Channel Chops_ , from the mid 1990s, now out of print. Much more
useful than almost all of the Photoshop books published more recently.

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Joeri
Photoshop had blending modes, or rather channel operations, before it had
layers. I learned how to use photoshop from kai's guide in the early 90's.
It's amazing how powerful photoshop was even back then. I still think it's
useful to read through those tips, just to understand what it is that
photoshop does behind the scenes when you make it generate a drop shadow.

[http://www.mprove.de/script/90/KPT/](http://www.mprove.de/script/90/KPT/)

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agumonkey
I feel like reading Coke's recipe.

