The majority of blend modes have keyboard shortcuts. While the blend mode names don’t make all that much sense, Adobe did group the blend modes into logical groups. Any changes made using blend modes are parametric, i.e., the changes are non-destructive, and you can always revisit your blend mode settings and readjust them as needed without damaging the pixels in your original image. As of Photoshop CS5, there are 27 blend modes-2 new blend modes, Subtract and Divide, were recently added. The blend modes found in Photoshop allow the same process to take place, but by using different mathematical calculations for each blend mode. The Opacity slider in the Layers Panel allows you to blend the active layer with the layers below by making the active layer translucent, which in turn allow the layers below to show through. By the time you finish reading this article, you should have a better idea of how to use blend modes and where to begin your “experimentation,” which in turn should reduce the time it takes to achieve the results you’re looking for.

I’m not going to “show” you how the blend modes work-I’m going to “explain” how they work.

In this article I’m going to give you a high-level view of what the various blend modes do, and then I’ll dig deeper into the nuts and bolts of the blend modes by explaining some of the math involved, and their interrelationships with each other. Because it’s nearly impossible to predict the results, you always seem to end up experimenting with different modes and Fill Opacities until you get the results you’re looking for. Working with blend modes is almost always an experimental process.

Blending brush photoshop