Work with layer blending modes

Blending modes for layers control how each layer blends with or interacts with layers beneath it. Blending modes for layers in After Effects (formerly referred to as layer modes and sometimes called transfer modes) are identical to blending modes in Adobe Photoshop.

Most blending modes modify only color values of the source layer, not the alpha channel. The Alpha Add blending mode affects the alpha channel of the source layer, and the silhouette and stencil blending modes affect the alpha channels of layers beneath them.

You can’t directly animate blending modes by using keyframes. To change a blending mode at a certain time, split the layer at that time and apply the new blending mode to the part of the layer that continues. You can also use the Compound Arithmetic effect, the results of which are similar to the results of blending modes but can change over time.

Each layer has a blending mode, even if that blending mode is the default Normal blending mode.

Note: To blend colors with a gamma value of 1, choose File > Project Settings and select Blend Colors Using 1.0 Gamma. Deselect this option to blend colors in the working color space for the project. (See Linearize working space and enable linear blending.)

Blending modes for multiple masks on a single layer are called mask modes.

Some effects include their own blending mode options. For details, see the descriptions of the individual effects.

  • To cycle through blending modes for selected layers, hold down the Shift key and press - (hyphen) or = (equal sign) on the main keyboard.
    Note: These shortcuts provide a convenient way to experiment with the appearance of various blending modes.
  • To apply a blending mode to selected layers, choose a blending mode from the menu in the Mode column in the Timeline panel or from the Layer > Blending Mode menu.
  • To show the Modes column in the Timeline panel, choose Columns > Modes from the panel menu, or click the Expand Or Collapse The Transfer Controls button at the lower-left corner of the Timeline panel.

Trish and Chris Meyer provide tips and tricks for using blending modes to achieve a filmic look in this PDF document on the Artbeats website.

Trish and Chris Meyer explain how to use blending modes, layer styles, and the Displacement Map effect to make text blend in to appear to be part of a surface in the PDF article “Writing on the Wall” on the Artbeats website.