Today I want to show you this tool that I use almost in all my illustrations and they are called: blending modes. Blend modes allow you to change the way colors on one layer interact with colors on another layer, and can be a powerful tool for adding depth and dimension to your images. We'll explore some techniques for using blend modes to give your work a professional touch.

 

Where are the blend modes? You can find them in the layers panel. Clip Studio has over 25 modes for whatever effect you want to put on your drawings and illustrations.

What are the blend modes that I like to use?

Normal: it is the normal fusion mode where only the image is placed on top of the other without affecting or modifying it.

 

Multiply: Multiplies the colors of the upper layer by the colors of the lower layer, making the image darker.

 

Screen: This blend mode creates a brighter image by inverting the colors of both layers and multiplying them.

Overlay: This blend mode combines the effects of Multiply and Screen, resulting in higher contrast and saturation.

We'll paint!

This is the drawing that I will use in the video. To apply color to my illustrations I like to do it in 5 steps. Here I leave the post where I explain the whole process.

 

This is how the illustration was already painted... Beautiful, isn't it? I hope your answer was yes. I could easily leave the illustration like this, as it is, but we are going to give this illustration a better finish. I invite you to watch the YouTube video where I show you the entire process step by step.

Now let's play with the different blend modes

The most popular and well known mode is Multiply. Here I only apply the multiply mode to give more depth to the illustration

Here I use the multiply mode to apply a more dynamic shadow and the Glow mode for the highlight. Look how the illustration changes completely.

Do you want something more fun and that attracts more attention? You can try the combination of Linear light and overlay

How about we level up? With my illustrations I like to apply different blend modes to achieve the desired result. Many times I have to apply different modes to different elements of the illustration.

I have used the multiply mode to simulate the shadow of the leaves since the boy is under a big tree. For the lighting, use a yellow color in soft light mode and Add (glow) with different opacities.

 

Here is the final result of the Illustration. In short, blend modes are a powerful tool that every digital artist should use to finish off your illustrations and add depth and dimension to your images. Experiment with different blend modes and techniques to see what works best for each project. I hope my post has helped you a lot.

 

✨ Let's be Friends! ✨

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/de3si/

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drawsireeillu...

Behance: https://www.behance.net/drawsiree

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/drawsiree