Clipping mask overlay not working on white.

[bb1322]

I may be being stupid, and I'm hoping i'm just missing something, but I am basically trying to transfer a texture(cotton/wool etc) onto a patterned piece of clothing that's main body of colour is white, except for the pattern, which is a mixture of brighter colours. I am copying in a texture and using clipping mask with the overlay blending option to add the textured feel without taking too much away from the pattern etc. However, the texture is barely visible, to a point where I onyl notice it as I know it's there. I have tried using different colours of the texture, both darker and light, and other colours, to see if that works but it makes no difference. I tried the same technique on an object with a red background and it was more noticeable, but not by much, whereas all the videos i've seen the texture really seems to pop by doing what appears to be the same thing I am doing. Any help will be much appreciated!

[mglush]

Hi! 

First, you are not stupid! You are in "learning mode" and that means you don't know everything yet! We are here to help...

First, it would be really helpful to see a screenshot of your different images you are trying to put together. If you can upload them, we can see what you are trying to do, and probably be more helpful.

Second, I don't think Overlay is the best Blending mode for what you are trying to accomplish because of just the issues you are talking about. Overlay makes everything less than 50% brighter and everything higher than 50% darker. If you are not getting enough texture you can 1) duplicate the layer a few times to darken the texture. Keep duplicating the layer to get the desired darkness. OR, 2) use a different Blending Mode, like Soft Light. Soft light works similar to Overlay, it just doesn't push the values as light or dark. Play with the different blending modes to see what they do to your image.

But these are just suggestions to play with--it would really help if you could upload the screenshots so we can give you more effective answers. 

Michelle

[Chuck Uebele]

I agree with Michelle. Overlay is the wrong blend mode. White will overpower the blend, washing out any texture. 

[Norman Sanders]

Ou may want to set the Blending mode to Multiply and adjust its intensity by using the Opacity slider