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Table Of Contents
Pin Light
Pin Light is similar to the Hard Light blend mode, except that overlapping midrange color
values are mixed together differently based on their color value. Whites and blacks in the
foreground image block the background image. Whites and blacks in the background
image interact with overlapping midrange color values in the foreground image.
The methods used by the Pin Light blend mode to mix two images are somewhat complex.
Overlapping midrange color values are treated differently depending on which of the
four regions of the luminance chart they fall into.
Lighter and darker areas of the foreground image falling close to the whites and blacks
are preserved.
Areas of the foreground image falling near the center of the midrange are tinted by
the background color.
Darker areas of the foreground image between the blacks and center of the midrange
are lightened.
Lighter areas of the foreground image between the whites and the center of the
midrange are darkened.
The end result might appear alternately tinted or solarized, depending on the lightness
or darkness of the overlapping values. This blend mode lends itself to more abstract
effects.
The order of two layers affected by the Pin Light blend mode is important.
Boxes object on top Monkey object on top
Hard Mix
Hard Mix is similar to the Hard Light blend mode, except that the saturation of overlapping
midrange color values is intensified, resulting in extremely high-contrast images. Whites
and blacks are preserved.
306 Chapter 7 Basic Compositing