Flash CS3 Blend Modes

Flash provides Filters and Blend Modes that can be applied to movieclip and button Symbols

Blend Modes

Visual effects that affect two elements in the timeline. Flash blend modes are similar to blend modes in Photoshop, in that they take colors from two elements to produce a resulting color or effect

• Base object and color belong to the object to which the blend is being done
• Blend object and color identifies the object you are blending or to which you are applying the blend mode
• Result color or object is the result of the blend mode on the base objectc or color.
• Opacity defines the degree of transparency or opacity applied to the blend mode

Example: before blend

Here is an image of the cla building that has been turned into a movieclip in its own layer. Drag the cla.jpg image onto the movie screen. Select it and click modify>convert to symbol. Then choose Movieclip in the symbol definition window and give it a name.

There is a rectangular red-violet movie image in the layer above it. In a new layer, draw a shape with a fill color. Select it and convert it to a movieclip using the same method as the cla.jpg. No blend applied yet.

Example: after blend

Blending example after darken blend effect applied in Property Inspector to image in higher layer. Select movieclip symbol in upper layer. Select blend mode in property inspector.

Semitransparency set by applying 60% alpha (opacity) in Color input box of Property Inspector for colored element on top

Blend Mode Effects -- try them

• Darken Blend Mode does not apply effect to areas in which the image below is lighter than the image above
• Multiply Blend Mode multiplies the base color by the blend color, which gives dark, rich colors
• Lighten Blend Mode ignores dark areas and makes objects lighter (the opposite of darken blend mode
• Screen Blend Mode multiples the base color by the inverse of the blend color, bleaching out lighter colors
• Overlay Blend Mode ignores gray, resulting in increased contrast
• Hard Light Blend Mode also ignores gray and increases saturation
• Invert Blend Mode inverts the colors.