The Hard Mix Blend Mode is AMAZING!
I could tell you all day long that the Hard Mix Blend Mode is the most fantastic Blend Mode in Photoshop, but you’d have to see it to believe it. That is because the Hard Mix Blend Mode, when applied “as-is” is trash, it’s horrible at best.
The Hard Mix Blend Mode is in the Contrast Blend Mode group and derives it’s power from the Linear Light Blend Mode, consider it a distant cousin. When you first apply the HArd Mix blend mode you will see a considerable amount of Black, White, and maybe some variation of speckled Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Magenta, or Cyan. What it does is break your image down into eight colors and only eight colors. Pointless right?
When first applied it is pointless. However, Hard Mix (like its distant cousin Linear Light) is controlled by FILL, primarily, and Opacity secondarily. Typically I use the Hard Mix Blend Mode with a Color Fill Adjustment Layer. It looks like this:
- Apply a Solid Color Fill to your image.
- Change the Blend Mode to Hard Mix
- Drop the Fill between 15 and 25%
- Now use Opacity to control the intensity
What is happening here is that the Fill is constraining the EQUATION of how the layer you have selected with Hard Mix will interact with the rest of the pixels. Opacity is controlling the INTENSITY of the blend mode after the equation.
Confusing? No worries, watch the video tutorial below and PLEASE download the actions I created for you here as well.
For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
One of your best, Blake. Such a creative blend mode, and YES, one I would never have used. Many thanks.
Awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch it and give me feedback!
Thank you very much. Very unique yet a simple tip for editing and color grading landscape images.
Another great video! Really enjoy your explanation of Blend modes!!
Excelente video .- Muchas gracias por tus enseñanzas.
Thank you! 🙂
Love this simple method to make a profound effect! FYI, in step three above, I believe you meant to drop FILL, not OPACITY; is that correct? Then use opacity to adjust intensity like step four notes. Great tips, Blake. The snow was something. I’ll be your boys are excited for winter already!
Yeah, I had fixed the page earlier after another comment, but for some reason it didn’t “stick”. Lots of technical difficulties today. I blame it on the unusual snow affair.
Hi Blake,
Seems there is a typo in the written version at the 3rd step above on this page.
Thanks for the tutorial and the actions. I will definitely use this mode.
Great tip!
Outstanding! I had no idea about Hard Mix and this had so much useful information. Thanks Blake!
Definitely one of your best. Used it immediately!
Very exciting. The way you explain things is so clear. Thank you. I have been away from photoshop for a while. I have been wondering how to get a glowing color effect and you have just provided the beginning of an answer. Will check out your other tips.
Woohoo! Glad you liked this one.
Thanks, Blake.
As always great tutorial thank you blake!
Another amazing lesson. My wife is becoming an f64 widow because I spend so much time at the computer watching your stuff and experimenting on my images. But she does enjoy the images I print.
haha! I hear that all too often. I may need to make a support group site 🙂
I’ll join if you do lol..
Nicely explained…!!
But pls explain this … I see the before / after image box on many sites yet still cant understand why when I slide the bar to the left (before) I see the after image ??
Not sure, when you move it to the right you should see the before, when you move it to the left you should see the after, it is like a curtain that uncovers either side.
Very cool, thanks!
Wow! Used this Hard Mix teaching on my next image. I used a color opposite (violet fill layer) to help tone down a background that was too orange. Also used another fill layer in a dark brown in Hard Mix to amp up the shadows on a portrait to emphasize the nose and chin. This is a powerful tool! Thanks a million for putting it in my toolbox!
Totally cool! I’m enjoying Blend modes now in Ps v20, since they are so easy to preview, but I have always felt a little “queasy” about Hard Mix. No more!
You always explain Photoshop so well. Thanks Blake. Love this blend mode now.
Dit is heel goed.
Dank voor uw educatie
Blake: thank you so much for this very useful tip! I have a few images that it could help.
Wow! Never used this blend mode but will certainly experiment with it. Thanks Blake.
Fantastic, Blake. Thanks so much.
Very easy to watch and very clear instructions
Again a fantastic tutorial! Thanks for sharing this Blake!!! Have a nice day and an inspired one…
Thank you Blake, this is a brilliant insight. I have always wondered why a fill like Hard Mix ever existed. What a great explanation for the use of the fill silder too.
Great Tutorial.
Thank you.
very nice tutorial, and clear, thanks
amazing result !
i am going to try with palette effects…
Don’t know if this will really apply but I’ll ask anyhow. I don’t use Photoshop, and was wondering if you can use this procedure in ON1 RAW 2019?
If ON1 2019 has a fill adjustment it will work. If it doesn’t, then this blend mode should not be in ON1 2019, it is useless without Fill.
Hi Blake!
I stumbled upon your tutorials a few days ago, and I’m amazed!
I use mostly Affinity for editing and I was wondering how I could achieve this effect because there is no fill slider in Affinity. Is there any workaround?
Thank you for the great tutorials!
Thanks! Not that I know of 🙁 If a program has that blend mode and no Fill, it is pretty much useless, unless the fill is somehow programmed into the Opacity slider. I am not sure though because I only use PS. You could attempt it and see if the results are similar.
Hi Blake!
I stumbled upon your tutorials on YouTube and am amazed by them!
I am mostly using Affinity and there is no fill slider, maybe you have some suggestions how to achieve this effect without the fill, if it’s possible?
Thanks for the great tutorials!
Sorry for the repeating, I thought the first time that I did something wrong.
Thanks for the answer!
Yes there is no fill slider, there are to opacity sliders one for the color and the other for the layer, but they both do the same.
On the Affinity forums I got the confirmation that this option doesn’t exist, and that I could maybe achieve something similar using levels on the solid color layer in hard mix mode, but it behaves different.
Probably it’s not possible.
Anyway, thank you again!
Thank you its great I will yous it