#blending modes

(These can also be used for color picking, anyway there’s a lot so here’s everything under the cut)

There are a lot of different blending modes that are standardized across digital art software, all of which serve different purposes (or the same purposes but in different ways), this video actually does a really good job of breaking down each one into separate categories of what each one is built for along with visualizations of what they do!

The nice thing about blending modes is that they're, again, standardized across practically all digital art software, so once you learn how to use them in one software, they're pretty much the exact same in others. They're a staple of digital painting but like any tool they can be overused or used incorrectly, so really the best way to learn what works and what doesn't is to try them yourself! Make some shapes and colors and put new layers on top with different blending modes applied so you can get a feel for all of them and figure out which ones you like the most. I find in general a lot of artists don't tend to use all of them as some are VERY purpose-specific, but there are definitely some commonly used ones that a lot of artists employ in their kit of tools, such as Multiply, Overlay, Color Dodge, and Add (Glow) !

a small process for my recent underwater illustration

Here, I drew Wanshi(or Banji Idk), member of the Strike Hawks in Punishing: Gray Raven.

Really like how this one turned out!

Yes, this was more practice than serious because if it was serious, the pose would definitely be better.

I used lots of brushes and experimented with a lot of functions. Main brushes I used were watercolor and blurring marker.

However, the sole reason I was even able to reach this result is one function that is severely under-looked…

Blending modes.

You may have noticed this little thing while drawing and glanced over it, but trust me, it’s a game changer!

It’s never explained or anything, so i’ll help you get used to it.

There’s a lot of blending modes, but there is only two you will mainly use, add and multiply.

Now, i can’t exactly explain this, so I’ll have to just show you visually.

Multiply is for shadows and add is for light/glow

Let’s start off with multiply

I’ll just be using my drawing of Nishi as an example.

Alright, you must create another layer on top of the layer you want to blend on. You can clip it for efficiency.

Just choose any color you’d like and fill in the area you want to shade

Turn on blending mode to multiply and you should see that the color has turned darker.

Don’t fret, because you can always adjust the opacity! This mode is best uses for shadows.

Adding time

Do the same but this time, turn on add for blending mode.

Boom! Easy glow effect! You can use this as your lighting tool for highlights and etc.

Play around with the blending modes more often! It’s really worth it! Hope y’all learned something.

As for the background, just used a crap ton of filters.

I’ll set you all free.