Blend modes in Flash

Blend modes let you create composite images. Compositing is the process of varying the transparency or color interaction of two or more overlapping objects. Blending lets you create unique effects by blending the colors in overlapping movie clips.

A blending mode contains the following elements:

Blend color

The color applied to the blend mode.

Opacity

The degree of transparency applied to the blend mode.

Base color

The color of pixels underneath the blend color.

Result color

The result of the blend’s effect on the base color.

Blend modes depend on both the color of the object you’re applying the blend to and the underlying color. Adobe® recommends that you experiment with the different blend modes to achieve the desired effect.

Normal

Applies color normally, with no interaction with the base colors.

Layer

Lets you stack movie clips on top of each other without affecting their color.

Darken

Replaces only the areas that are lighter than the blend color. Areas darker than the blend color don’t change.

Multiply

Multiplies the base color by the blend color, resulting in darker colors.

Lighten

Replaces only pixels that are darker than the blend color. Areas lighter than the blend color don’t change.

Screen

Multiplies the inverse of the blend color by the base color, resulting in a bleaching effect.

Overlay

Multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the base colors.

Hard Light

Multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the blend mode color. The effect is similar to shining a spot light on the object.

Difference

Subtracts either the blend color from the base color or the base color from the blend color, depending on which has the greater brightness value. The effect is similar to a color negative.

Add

Commonly used to create an animated lightening dissolve effect between two images.

Subtract

Commonly used to create an animated darkening dissolve effect between two images.

Invert

Inverts the base color.

Alpha

Applies an alpha mask.

Erase

Removes all base color pixels, including those in the background image.

Note: Erase and Alpha blend modes require that a Layer blend mode be applied to the parent movie clip. You cannot change the background clip to Erase and apply it because the object would appear invisible.