Merge
Modes
The demo image consists of two layers that look like this
Added together with the difference mode we get
I've labeled the picture so you can understand what is merging with what. There are 4 areas which are seen as
Black - black = blackWhere did the yellow come from? The help about merge modes in UF tells us that difference mode returns the absolute difference between the layers. In our demo, what that means is that where the blue and white merge in the center, the mode "looks" at the RGB values for white (255, 255, 255) and for blue (0, 0, 255) and takes the difference or...
Black - white = white
Black - blue = blue
Blue - white = yellow
|
|
255,
|
255,
|
255
|
(white)
|
|
-
|
0,
|
0,
|
255
|
(blue)
|
|
=
|
|
255,
|
0
|
(yellow)
|
Just like a math problem in school! The multiply merge mode, multiplies (duh), so where black (0,0,0) is multiplied by ANY value you end up with black. In addition mode, where black is added, you get the original color!! Cool, no? We also have an idea now why addition mode makes things lighter....it adds the numbers together and higher numbers make lighter colors. Conversely, that's why subtraction makes merged colors darker. You can read the explanations of all the merge modes in UF by checking under Advanced Topics, Multiple Layers. In the demo, try dragging the bottom layer to the top and seeing how that effects the combinations as well. Your parameter set includes a second demo where I've changed the gradient on the white layer to include a gray scale so that you can better see how modes like hue, color, etc work.
As you can see from the demos, using layers and merge modes increases
the number of colors in the image. Therefore, if you start out with
a very busy image, it will get progressively busier as you add layers until
it turns to mush. If you eliminate clutter or start with a very simple
layer .......made with perhaps a shaper gradient or with a lower color
density.....you will get a cleaner final result. Using the spiral I made
in the last section, compare what happens when I add a layer using the
cream shaper gradient, a different coloring method and hue merge mode to
the original version and the "blackened" version.
 |
 |
|
|
|
Because UF's layering and merge modes make dealing with color so different than when using a single layer, as we did in Fractint, many of the gradients which were sucessful in Fractint don't work well in UF. In UF, simplicity is key. If you have colors you love and want to use an old, busy gradient, tame it by lowering color density or changing the transfer function.
Return to previous page | Go to Next Section - A Basic Color Set
Other Topics
Color Basics|Gradients
|Black|Merge Modes|Color
Sets|Masking|Coloring
Methods|Links and Miscellaneous