How to save blend mode color in layer

[Patrick27029827to3e]

How can I save or 'bake' the result of a blend into the layer, so that it remains the effect after the background layer has been hidden?

Layer 1 is greyscale and I have set it to Screen so that it adopts the green hue of Layer 2 below it. Now I want to hide later 2 so that Layer 1's transparency can be utilized. Of course, the green goes away.

Merging the layers loses the transparency.

Do I have to combine and mask with original Layer 1's alpha? Or is there a more direct approach?

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@Patrick27029827to3e If you have a blend mode on a top layer, and then hide the layer under it - it will not show because there is no pixel data to apply the blend mode to. You need to add a layer below visible for the blend mode to apply.

[Patrick27029827to3e]

Well aware of this. The question is how to maintain the color after the
layer is hidden.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

You could create an entirely new layer composited from the results of the Layer 1 blend mode mixed with the Layer 2 pixel data. Shift+Ctrl+E would create a new layer with that result.

However if you are looking for transparency, please show screenshots of your work and layers panel better explaining what your expected outcome to be.

[Patrick27029827to3e]

So, here's what we are looking at - 2 layers, one on top with varying levels of opacity and using a blend mode to inherit color from  the layer below.

The goal is to remove the base layer and maintain the color and opacity information.

The top panel is the end result that I'd like to achieve, except it has the inconvenient element of needing a sold background and thus cannot use transparency.

The second panel is what the layer looks like without a background to color it.

The third panel is what happens when I combine the top and background layer, and mask with the top layer's opacity. It is an attempt to capture the spirit of the first, but as you can see, the brighter, more saturatted yellow/gold color is lost. (I split the background against the original ochre color and white for comparison)

 

[D Fosse]

Copy merged, then target the layer with transparency and ctrl-click to select pixel content only. Use that to mask the merged layer.

[Patrick27029827to3e]

Yes, that is the 3rd panel.

First I copy the transparent layer (so that I will still have something to generate a mask from after merging)

Then I merge the background and transparent blended layer to flatten it. This is my baking step. 

Next step is to CTRL+Click the preserved transparent layer to generate a selection

Last step is to mask the merged layer to add transparency back into the baked layer

As you can see, this does not preserve the effect of the original blended layers.

Or maybe I am missing a step?

Is there an AI tool for this?

Is this not a common thing to do? In my situation, I am generating elements for print product, the transparent elements will need to be placed on a background and their color values need to remain intact.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@Patrick27029827to3e honestly it is kind of an odd request but using the method @D Fosse mentioned would bring back the transparency. Merge the results into a new layer then select the transparency from Layer 1 use it and mask your new layer. There is no AI tool for this.

[D Fosse]

As you can see, this does not preserve the effect of the original blended layers.

By @Patrick27029827to3e

Then you're doing something wrong. Copy merged copies exactly what you see in the original layers.

[Patrick27029827to3e]

Have you tried it?  It certainly does not produce the same effect on my end.

Is there something special with 'copy merged' as opposed to making a copy of the transparent layer before merging and then masking?

The issue with this approach is that the selection does not acquire the full bit depth of the transparency, so applying a mask from that selection masks color details that should be preserved.

Adjusting the 'Density' attribute brings the color information back but doesn't descriminate the overall opacity channel. And I'm not seeing a way to apply a curves or levels adjustment to the opacity channel, which seems to be a limitation of Photoshop's.

[Patrick27029827to3e]

It looks like there is no actual feature for baking blending modes into transparent layers, but one can manually adjust the alpha curve to arrive at a close approximation.

So, the transparency selection is discarding like 80% of the gamut. I can get it close to the merged after a curves adjustment to the mask. I guess the real question is how to ask Photoshop to grab the full transparency range? It's like it's doing an 8-bit depth grab when it should be 16 or 32. 

This might be OK a lot of the times but is quite the workaround for something as simple as what could be a merge (RGBA) operation. And it is imprecise, what factor of transparency is being discarded?

Thanks for your help team - looks like there is no way to apply adjustment layers to transparency? Each time I adjust, the curve is back to linear with no edits?

[Semaphoric]

To keep the transparency, try putting the color layer above the grayscale layer, and making a Clipping Group, with a Blending Mode of Multiply.

[Patrick27029827to3e]

Thanks Semaphoric, I will give this a try and let you know what happens!

[Myra Ferguson]

Try selecting the layer with the transparency (Layer 1) and adding the Color Overlay Layer Style (double-click on the layer or select the layer and go to Layer > Layer Style > Color Overlay...). In the Color Overlay settings, set the color to the one that is in Layer 0 as the selected color and set the Blend Mode to Overlay. Click OK and hide the visibility of Layer 0. 

[Patrick27029827to3e]

Thanks Myra, I'll give it a try and let you know what happens!