Blend Modes

Blend modes in Pikimov let you control how an item interacts visually with the items beneath it. They are essential for creating transparency effects, lighting, shading, and more complex visual compositions.

Blend modes change the way an item’s pixels blend with the pixels of items below. They are commonly used for effects like glowing light, shadows, color mixing, and texture overlays.

Using Blend Modes

To apply a blend mode:

• Select an item in the timeline
• In the Properties panel, open the Blend Mode dropdown
• Choose from the list of available blend modes

Each blend mode has a specific behavior:

• Normal – Default mode, no blending
• Add – Brightens by adding pixel values
• Multiply – Darkens the image by multiplying pixel values
• Screen – Lightens by inverting, multiplying, and inverting again
• Difference – Subtracts darker pixels from lighter ones
• Overlay – Combines Multiply and Screen for contrast-based blending

Tips

• Blend modes are especially useful when working with textures, lighting effects, and compositing elements from multiple sources
• You can combine blend modes with opacity and filters to achieve more refined results
• Experiment with different modes to understand their visual impact in different scenarios