Layers: Colorizing with Blend Modes

If you're unfamiliar with layers, you should probably first take a look at Layers: Creating a Semi-transparent Tile.

We'll start with two images, a grayscale texture and a color text-and-background image:

  

1. Start by opening the gray textured file, and press Ctrl+C to copy the entire image to the clipboard. Then close the file.
2. Open the text-and-background image and press Shift+D to duplicate the file. Close the original. Increase the color depth of this image to 16 million with Colors > Increase Color Depth > 16 Million Colors (24 bit).
3. If the Layer Palette isn't already showing, click the Layers palette toggle on the PSP toolbar (or press "L" on the keyboard) to toggle the Layer Palette on.
4. Press Ctrl+L to paste-in the previously copied gray texture as a new layer. The Layer Palette now shows two layers: "Background" and "Layer1".

   

   Since Layer1 is above the background layer and is completely opaque, you can't see the background layer underneath.

5. Now, if you can't see the Layer Blend Mode controls completely, drag the edge of the Layer Palette so that you can see those controls. Then for Layer1 choose one of the Blend Modes that is good for melding a texture layer and a colored layer: Multiply, Overlay, Hard Light, Soft Light, or Screen. Overlay, used in the example below, maintains the original overall brightness of the layer:

   

6. You might think this result is a little bright and a little harsh. You could try to adjust the Brightness and Contrast, but instead try toning things down a bit by making a copy of Layer1 and applying another Blend Mode. To copy a layer, click on the layer's Layer button and drag it to the Create Layer button on the Layer Palette (or right-click on the layer's Layer button and then choose Duplicate).

   Then adjust the Blend Mode for the copied layer. I chose Multiply, which decreases the original overall brightness of the layer.

   

7. That last step darkened things up a little too much. Try adjusting the Opacity slider for the copied layer. Here's my final result, with the opacity of the Multiply layer set to 40 percent:

   

8. If you think you'll want to experiment with your layered file again, first save using the PSP format. (Remember that layers are not saved to disk in the GIF or JPEG formats.) Then for your Web image, use File > Save Copy As or one of the Export wizards under File > Export to save a GIF or JPEG copy.

Experiment with the different Blend Modes. Also experiment with the layer order of your texture and coloring layers. Sometimes you'll get quite noticeable differences depending on whether the texture is "higher" or "lower" than the coloring layer.