Adobe photoshop elements User Manual

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ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
User Guide
Setting options for painting and 
editing tools
You set options for a painting or editing tool in the 
options bar for that tool.
Selecting a blending mode
The blending mode specified in the options bar 
controls how pixels in the image are affected by a 
painting or editing tool. It’s helpful to think in 
terms of the following colors when visualizing a 
blending mode’s effect: 
The base color is the original color in the image. 
The blend color is the color being applied with 
the painting or editing tool.
The result color is the color resulting from 
the blend.
To select a blending mode for a tool:
Choose from the Mode menu in the options bar.
Normal
Edits or paints each pixel to make it the 
result color. This is the default mode. (Normal 
mode is called Threshold when you’re working 
with a bitmapped or indexed-color image.)
Dissolve
Edits or paints each pixel to make it the 
result color. However, the result color is a random 
replacement of the pixels with the base color or the 
blend color, depending on the opacity at any pixel 
location. This mode works best with the paint-
brush or airbrush tool and a large brush.
Behind
Edits or paints only on the transparent 
part of a layer. This mode works only in layers with 
Lock Transparency deselected and is analogous to 
painting on the back of transparent areas in a sheet 
of acetate.
Multiply
Looks at the color information in each 
channel and multiplies the base color by the blend 
color. The result color is always a darker color. 
Multiplying any color with black produces black. 
Multiplying any color with white leaves the color 
unchanged. When you’re painting with a color 
other than black or white, successive strokes with a 
painting tool produce progressively darker colors. 
The effect is similar to drawing on the image with 
multiple felt-tipped pens. 
Screen
Looks at each channel’s color information 
and multiplies the inverse of the blend and base 
colors. The result color is always a lighter color. 
Screening with black leaves the color unchanged. 
Screening with white produces white. The effect is 
similar to projecting multiple photographic slides 
on top of each other. 
Overlay
Multiplies or screens the colors, 
depending on the base color. Patterns or colors 
overlay the existing pixels while preserving the 
highlights and shadows of the base color. The base 
color is not replaced but is mixed with the blend 
color to reflect the lightness or darkness of the 
original color.