Blend mode "Clear" -> Why doesn't exist for layer ?

3 layers (or many more) (with as many settings as you can imagine) can act as a ‘Merge mask’ 😍😍😍

You are my HERO !!!

This trick seems almost UNKNOWN to me, doesn't it?

Two comments though:
1) A folder is necessary, in order to limit the effect. Otherwise, it will ‘pierce’ the entire photoshop file.
2) A ‘Clear’ Blend Mode would seem to me to be the simplest way of achieving this!

You can do that now with a knockout, in blending options, and fill opacity 0%

Dave

If the ‘Clear’ blending mode existed for layers. I imagine the result would be this !

The landscape is NOT completely erased. ONLY the place where the brushstroke was made is erased!

Below is an explanation of what I mean.

The blending mode (of layers) only works where there are pixels.

Here's an example:

The ‘Cyan brushstroke’ layer is in DIFFERENCE blend mode.

This layer is completely transparent, with only a line of paint (colour: 100% cyan).

This layer is in DIFFERENCE blend mode.

When all the layers are displayed. The result is that ONLY PART of the sky appears in red (NOT THE WHOLE IMAGE). ONLY the part of the sky where the blue line is (from the ‘Cyan brushstroke’ layer).

If the ‘Clear’ blending mode existed for layers. The result would be that ONLY the part painted blue (from the ‘Cyan brushstroke’ layer) would be DELETED (made invisible). NOT THE ENTIRE layer! Only the part that contains my blue line!

I hope this explanation is better 😉

Layer "Cyan brushstroke" only

Final result (all layers activ)

Yeah, this is great. It doesn't even clutter the panel as much as one could fear.

Here is how it works in Substance Painter :

In the screenshot below, there are two layers, each with a mask.

The mask on layer 1 is made from 3 painted masks blended together.

The mask on Fill Layer 1 is made of two painted masks and a levels adjustment which works on those masks

Dave

"Only parts that contain pixels (a brushstroke, for example) will affect the layer below"

I don't think I'm getting this across. You are talking about a layer property.

Nothing in that "clear" layer would affect anything below. Pixels, no pixels, mask, no mask - the whole layer would be invisible and for all practical purposes not there at all. A blend mode does not affect the underlying layers. It gives the current blend layer a "filter" property, based on the interaction between them, thus altering the finished result.

Anyway. Let's discuss what you really want, non-destructive mask editing, which I'm all for. That has been posted as a feature request several times, and I'd vote for it.

Just to add to what Dave says, a single layer can have multiple masks, each with its own opacity. You do this by grouping , and you can have many nested groups. But it's still limited to subtract and intersect, the smallest mask limits the others.

Thank you for your comprehensive reply.

Oh yes, that would make sense (‘erase’ blend mode on layers).

It would allow a layer to be ulilised as a Lyer Mask ! The huge advantage that this would have (to be able to do this), is that a

layer can be modified in a NON DESTRUCTIVE way.

This is not the case with the ‘Layer Mask’ -> the contents of the Merge Mask can ONLY be modified in a destructive way... And that's a real shame

The clear blend mode on a layer does not make sense.

However, your sum up which was the ability to have multiple layer masks on a single layer and blend them together does make sense. It is done this way in Substance Painter where multiple layer masks can be added to a single layer and each of those layer masks has its own opacity control and blend mode which describes how it interacts with the other layer masks on the same layer (clear blend mode does not appear as a mask has to be black white or grey, never transparent).

I would love to see this ability in Photoshop, and it sounds like it would achieve the outcome you are requesting.

Dave

With all due respect. I'm sorry, but NO !
If the layer content is TRANSPARENT, it affects NOTHING (whatever the blend mode)!

Only parts that contain pixels (a brushstroke, for example) will affect the layer below 😉

And... by extension. With a layer in ‘clear’ blend mode, I can hide a parts of the layer below transparent (not all: ONLY the part that contain pixles on the top layer) !