Figured out I'd been using blend modes completely wrong for 6 years

Was working on a client mockup last week and watched a 2 minute tutorial that showed me 'multiply' isn't just for shadows. My layers looked muddy and flat for half a decade because I never bothered to try 'screen' on highlights. Anyone else have a basic feature click way later than it should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

max3882d ago

Took me about 4 years to figure out that 'soft light' isn't just a fancy name for 'lower opacity.' I was using it on everything, trying to get that dreamy Instagram look, and my photos always looked like they were taken through a foggy window. Then I accidentally clicked 'overlay' one day and my whole world changed. Felt like I'd been hammering a nail with a screwdriver for half a decade. Now I watch a 30 second tip video at least once a week, just to make sure I'm not missing something obvious. It's humbling, but I'd rather learn late than never.

tara3452d ago

Tbh @max388 I went through almost the exact same thing but with the blend mode buttons in general. For like a year I thought "screen" was just some fancy filter for making things look like old TV broadcasts. Actually used it on a portrait once thinking it would look vintage and my friend's face came out looking like a glowing radioactive ghost. Now I just mess with random settings and hope for the best, which honestly works about 30 percent of the time but feels better than following a tutorial.