Macromedia MAX 2005 - Anaheim, CA What’s New In Flash 8
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Programming Blends
About blending modes
You can apply blend modes to movie clip objects by using the Flash workspace (Flash Professional
8) or ActionScript (Flash Basic 8 and Flash Professional 8). At runtime, multiple graphics are merged
as one shape. For this reason, you cannot apply different blend modes to different graphic symbols.
Blend modes involve combining the colors of one image (the base image) with the colors of another
image (the blend image) to produce a third image. Each pixel value in an image is processed with
the corresponding pixel value of the other image to produce a pixel value for that same position in
the result.
The MovieClip.blendMode property supports the following blend modes:
• add Commonly used to create an animated lightening dissolve effect between two images.
• alpha Commonly used to apply the transparency of the foreground on the background.
• darken Commonly used to superimpose type.
• difference Commonly used to create more vibrant colors.
• erase Commonly used to cut out (erase) part of the background using the foreground alpha.
• hardlight Commonly used to create shading effects.
• invert Used to invert the background.
• layer Used to force the creation of a temporary buffer for pre-composition for a particular
movie clip.
• lighten Commonly used to superimpose type.
• multiply Commonly used to create shadows and depth effects.
• normal Used to specify that the pixel values of the blend image override those of the base
image.
• overlay Commonly used to create shading effects.
• screen Commonly used to create highlights and lens flares.
• subtract Commonly used to create an animated darkening dissolve effect between two
images.
