merge layers considering blending modes

[jfrancis]

If I understand what you are saying, then I don't understand why merging the layers looks different than then two multiplied layers.

Are you having some transparency in the lower layer you want to preserve? Maybe try a clipping mask (find the line between the layers. Hold down alt. When your mouse changes, then click) -- then merge.

Or, try this (http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2009/07/colorize_black_1.html) - it won't answer your question but it may be useful.

[zoster]

If I understand what you are saying, then I don't understand why merging the layers looks different than then two multiplied layers.

Are you having some transparency in the lower layer you want to preserve? Maybe try a clipping mask (find the line between the layers. Hold down alt. When your mouse changes, then click) -- then merge.

Or, try this (http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2009/07/colorize_black_1.html) - it won't answer your question but it may be useful.

i would like to merge the layers in order to have just one layer, since i want to import this layer in some other documents and it would be easier this way

Cool! didn't know about the alt-click thingie. i do use layer masks a lot, but didn't know about clipping masks (or better said, i thought they were the same thing), so thanks!


http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/1460/kidsd.jpg
here is more clearly what i want to do. in i have the 3 layers i want to merge and the wanted end product (yes, there are actually 3 layers, not 2). these are some people figures i want to insert in architecture hand drawings. first layer contains a white background for the figures. the second layer contains the coloring. the 3rd layer contains the graphite drawing (this layer is in multiply mode). if i merge the 3 layers, the white from the 3rd layer appears, therefore i get a rectangular white background instead of having something like in right-most pic.
(i thought i'd make a layer mask for the graphite layer in which i use the same image but inverted. this didn't work so well, because information gets lost - the graphite marks become a bit washed out )

any idea how i could get the wanted result?

thanks!

[Quadart]

1) Select the multiplied line layer.
2) Hold down Command and click on the layer icon in the white shape layer to select that shape.
3) While the line layer is still selected, do the Command+J shortcut to create a new layer of the lines layer, which will now be clipped to the white shape. Get rid on the old lines layer and merge the 3 layers simultaneously.

[Hecartha]

first layer contains a white background for the figures. the second layer contains the coloring. the 3rd layer contains the graphite drawing (this layer is in multiply mode). if i merge the 3 layers, the white from the 3rd layer appears, therefore i get a rectangular white background instead of having something like in right-most pic.
(i thought i'd make a layer mask for the graphite layer in which i use the same image but inverted. this didn't work so well, because information gets lost - the graphite marks become a bit washed out )

any idea how i could get the wanted result?

thanks!Did you check this thread?
How do I separate line sketch from a scanned background? Pics with indept questioning (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=14&t=729288)

[zoster]

to Quadart:
thanks for the reply but that doesn;t actually work right because we are dealing with sketch drawings, and the contours aren't exact in the two layers you mentioned. even if they were, i would have obtained a similar situation, with a layer containing the graphite marks and the white background of the figurines, and the problem now would have been how to merge this layer with the color layer that should be behind the graphite contours

to Hecartha:
nope, didn't know about that thread, and it DID resolve my quest, so THANKS A LOT FOR THE INPUT!

for the record:
on the thread suggested by Hecartha, there were 2 main possible solutions to my problem. one was using this action (http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&loc=en_us&extid=1044908), and another was using the ghost plugin found here (http://www.flamingpear.com/goodies.html). i tried both and i must say that the plugin did the job right, while using the action resulted in some data loss.
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5958/resultj.jpg (http://img269.imageshack.us/i/resultj.jpg/)
(sorry about the large photo, a bit lazy to upload again)

one more thing, the Ghost plugin only works in RGB mode. it's greyed out if you have a CMYK file

thanks to all for the input!
http://img269.imageshack.us/i/resultj.jpg/

[Quadart]

That Ghost plugin does the trick. I never heard of it, probably because I do all of my drawing in PS--learn something new everyday. Thanks for sharing your solution. :thumbsup:

Hecartha--Thanks for the link. I missed that one when it was originally posted.

Note–The plugin does not work in cmyk but the rgb converted to cmyk is fine as long as the pre-filtered background of the sketch is 100% white. If the background is not 100% white your sketch will still be attached to a faint, not 100% transparent, background which darkens noticeably when converted to cmyk.

Making the sketch a PS brush looks promising also, from the link above. It looks like the same process as the Ghost plugin, though with a size limit.

[jfrancis]

I don't have PS with me on vacation, and I'm glad you found a solution, but in seeing the elements I'd try something using the sketch over white, the darken blend mode, and then the multiply of the colors, but with the Blend-If layer sliders to control where the multiply takes place so you don't get the yellow bg doubly multiplied.

Not sure if that would be the process, but without PS handy, and just looking at it, that's what I'm thinking.

[Zirngibism]

Woo! Some great workarounds here!

Glad to find this thread-- that problem has always bothered me!

It's too bad that "ghost" plugin removes the color from the layer.

I often paint with multiple colors in Multiply mode, and in order to merge, I'd have to make sure the colors stay. I guess that's what the whiteout action is for...

This shows the subtle difference between using "whiteout" on a normal layer, and a multiply layer. Not quite there, but better than nothing...

[asataylor]

An option to consider is


Create a new line-art channel. Set it to "Selected Areas" and make the color black for now.
Paste the line-art layer into the channel.
Merge the two color layers.
Load line-art channel as a selection and fill-in set to multiply.

Saving them as a channel could help file size by not adding tons of layers if yer putting a bunch of these kids around the image. You just load that selection and move it wherever you need to put down some kiddies. But its also just useful for combining line-art with color layers in general. Even if you don't re-use it.

[Cameo]

Yea merging layers with blend modes can sometimes be a bit of an arse. Its usually worth trying things like merging down in order, grouping and merging the group, merging visible and so on because sometimes ps can just be particular in the way it wants you to do it.

In some cases where other methods dont work you could just do a stamp visible which is what I would suggest here. Since you already have a mask of the kids, just create a new layer and do shift-ctrl-alt-e to stamp visible and then add the mask and apply it to the layer to cut the kids out from the background. Stamp visible is perfect here because you want to merge everything to a single layer and make sure it looks how it did originally.

[zoster]

this method would result in some data loss of the graphite contour, but thanks for the stamp visible command. i didn't know about it and it's useful!

Yea merging layers with blend modes can sometimes be a bit of an arse. Its usually worth trying things like merging down in order, grouping and merging the group, merging visible and so on because sometimes ps can just be particular in the way it wants you to do it.

In some cases where other methods dont work you could just do a stamp visible which is what I would suggest here. Since you already have a mask of the kids, just create a new layer and do shift-ctrl-alt-e to stamp visible and then add the mask and apply it to the layer to cut the kids out from the background. Stamp visible is perfect here because you want to merge everything to a single layer and make sure it looks how it did originally.

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