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Workflow Playbook
Choose a blend or compositing mode, align source layers, compare looks, and verify halo, color, and alpha behavior at delivery size.
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Blend mode selection works only after the source stack is physically believable. Align layers first, confirm the target canvas, and correct any channel remap before comparing looks. If edges are offset or transparency is already damaged, multiply, screen, or overlay will hide the real problem instead of solving it.
Begin with the simple tonal families. Multiply is useful when the shot needs denser overlap and grounded shadows. Screen is the faster check for lifting bright detail or combining light passes. Add blending can reveal whether the result wants an intentionally brighter composite or whether highlights are already too fragile. After that baseline, move to overlay, hard light, and soft light to judge local contrast. Soft light is usually the safer option when you need shape without crunchy transitions, while hard light can quickly become brittle on skin, smoke, or semi-transparent materials.
Color burn and color dodge are powerful when the composite still lacks separation, but they can produce clipped color, neon saturation, or dark rims around anti-aliased edges. That makes them finishing tools rather than default choices. Compare them against the gentler variants instead of assuming more punch means a better delivery.
Review the final image at the delivery size and on the expected background. Check hair, glass, glow, soft masks, and any transparent edge for halos or matte contamination. Accept the composite only when the chosen mode supports the visual goal and the exported alpha and color boundaries stay clean in the real output context.
Workflow playbook
Build a clean composite baseline, correct channel ordering if needed, and confirm that every layer sits on the intended geometry before judging style.
Test the straightforward families first to see whether the image mainly needs denser shadows, lifted highlights, or a simple additive glow.
Check whether overlay, hard light, or soft light improves separation without crushing texture, clipping skin, or exaggerating noise.
Use burn or dodge variants only when you need targeted tonal pressure, then inspect fringe, saturation, and semi-transparent edges at delivery size.
Multiply deepens shadows, screen lifts highlights, and overlay or light variants increase local contrast.
Blend previews are misleading when layer geometry, registration, or channel order is still off.
Inspect the exported alpha boundary at final size because fringe artifacts often appear only after resizing.