Tag Archives | Photoshop Elements

Blending Layers with Photoshop Elements

Oh my, have I had fun.  After reading an article by Sharon Carvalho in Quilting Arts magazine, I started playing with blending layers in Photoshop Elements.  First, I selected three images for experimentation.  My bottom layer was the result of a painting experiment.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Next came a  layer of messy text. Although it seems to be written on a white background, the background is actually transparent.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

For the top layer, I used a snippet of another painted sampler.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Then, I just started trying out many different types of blends, as selected on the layers drop down window/menu.  (My PSE is version 7, which is quite old.  I believe more up to date versions call this Blending Mode.)

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

And just look what happened! “Hue” completely changed – and amped up – the colors.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

“Soft light” played up totally different features.  The colors are more expected but the large circle has almost disappeared.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

“Screen” produced a sort of soft neon effect.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Check out “multiply”.  It seems to have stirred the colors together, getting mostly mud.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

“Lighter” played up the lighter elements and completly omitted the darker ones.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

“Exclusion” resulted in dramatically duller colors.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

But, check out “difference,” which created very unexpected colors and turned the text different colors.  Pretty cool , right?

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

“Color burn” produced another color surprise. Suddenly, there was a stack of horizontal lines on the right.  Had you noticed those before?

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

The “luminosity” selection merged the colors and almost completely hid the text. It was one of the few effects that showed the squiggly black line.

Blending Layers in Photoshop Elements. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Gee, this was fun!  Now, what am I planning to do with these images?  Honestly, probably nothing.  But, they were just so much stinking fun that I’ll definitely have to play like this again. The author of the article I read prints her results to fabric and uses them in her quilts.  That’s rather pricey, of course.  What if I printed one pretty large (online) and made it into a whole cloth quilt?  And maybe added some interesting hand and machine stitching?  Now THAT sounds like fun.  I’m almost giggly at the thought.

What wackado crazy effects do you like in Photoshop Elements?

Ellen Lindner

 

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