Blending mode and their use

[CybOn]

What is the point of most if not all blending modes? Are they there just to show you how the image will look? Like, if i set the blend mode to darken/lighten and then merge the layers, i get the color i used as the lightener/darkener instead of the result i wanted. https://imgur.com/a/eMNekbF
Is there any use for them besides just showing you what it might look like, or am i just not using them correctly?

[Ego Eram Reputo]

I believe you're probably flattening incorrectly.  The order is really important.  Flatten the layer stack from the bottom up when using layers with blend modes, not top down.

 

If you have this layer structure...

 

4

3  

2 = blend mode darken

1

 

Flatten 2 into 1 first. If you flatten 4 > 3 > 2 > 1 you'll get quite a different result.

[BoltBait]

8 hours ago, CybOn said:

What is the point of most if not all blending modes? Are they there just to show you how the image will look? Like, if i set the blend mode to darken/lighten and then merge the layers, i get the color i used as the lightener/darkener instead of the result i wanted. https://imgur.com/a/eMNekbF
Is there any use for them besides just showing you what it might look like, or am i just not using them correctly?

 

The only way to get an accurate merge utilizing different blend modes is to Edit > Flatten your image.  The resulting image will be exactly as you see it on your screen.

 

The reason a Merge Layer Down may not end up with the same result is because of situations like this:

 

Top layer (blend mode normal)

Middle layer (blend mode darken)

Bottom Layer (blend mode lighten)

Base Layer (blend mode normal)

 

If you select the Middle layer and Merge the layer down into the Bottom layer, what would the resulting Bottom layer's blend mode be?  There is no good answer for that question which is why after the merge the image can look different from how it looked before the merge.

 

The only way to be sure the image result is EXACTLY the same as before the merge is to completely flatten the image.

 

Then why have a Merge Layer Down function?  Well, most of the time the merge works just fine.  If the destination layer has a blend mode of "normal", the result will be what you expect. So, the function is very useful for combining layers.  The limitation, of course, is when the destination layer has a different blend mode.  Just keep that in mind in the future.