Photoshop Elements Blending Modes -- Variations on a Theme

One of the unique capabilities in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements is changing how one layer (an image) blends with the layer below it (another image or background or color). I created a simple bee-themed printable. Then I added kind of a grunge layer and tried out different blending modes with that layer to see the different results. Here are those results. (If you see any you like, you may download and use.)

Here's the printable without the grunge layer.

A very "clean" and simple image, but I like it. But then again, I pretty much 

like anything with bees and beehives!

And now with the grunge layer added. Each image below used a different blend mode for the grunge layer.

This used the "Soft Light" blending mode.

You can see a little texture along the edges. Since the grunge layer 

was in different browns and rust colors, the resulting image has a little more warmth to it. 

This one uses the "Darker Color" blend mode. The grunged edges 

show up nicely, while the honeycomb background is still fairly light. 

I like the contrast and how the edges work well with the color of the bee.. 

This used the "Multiply" blending mode. Similar to the previous one, 

but the honeycomb background darkened a bit more as you can see.

This uses the "Luminosity" blending mode. The background became very neutral, 

which makes the "A Bee C" the main focal point of the printable. 

I'm surprised at how much I like these results, except that the 

honeycomb background disappeared. But when I switched the order

of the grunge and honeycomb layers, this was the result (below).

Now the honeycomb background shows up and the overall background is once again neutral.

So that was a fun experiment. I usually play around with the blending modes while I'm designing printables (there are a couple dozen of them). Some work better than others for a particular layer.

Enjoy!