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 spotlight 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.

The following examples illustrate how different blend modes affect the appearance of an image. The resulting effect of a blend mode might be considerably different, depending on the color of the underlying image and the type of blend mode you apply.

Original image	Layer	Darken
Multiply	Lighten	Screen
Overlay	Hard Light	Add
Subtract	Difference	Invert

1. Select the movie clip instance (on the Stage) to apply a blend mode to.
2. To adjust the color and transparency of the movie clip instance, use the Color pop‑up menu in the Properties panel.
3. Select a blend mode for movie clips from the Blend pop‑up menu in the Properties panel. The blend mode is applied to the selected movie clip instance.
4. Verify that the blend mode you selected is appropriate to the effect you’re trying to achieve.

   Experiment with both the color and transparency settings of the movie clip and the different blend modes to achieve the desired effect.

The following resources provide additional detailed information about working with blends in Flash:

• Graphic Effects Learning Guide for Flash CS4 Professional (Adobe.com)