Page 300 - Xara Designer Pro X17

300 Transparency

Transparency types

Designer Pro supports the main types of W3C transparency used by many other
applications and include the following types:
Normal (Mix)
The color of the object mixes with the color of underlying objects. The effect is similar to
spraying a thin coat of color (or paint) over underlying objects.

Multiply (Stained glass)
The effect is similar to viewing underlying objects through colored glass. It is useful for
the simulation of glass and selectively darkening objects. The colors of objects with
Multiply applied are:

• White - no effect on the colors of underlying objects.
• Gray & Black - darkens the colors of underlying objects.
• Other colors - darken underlying colors towards saturated color (light red over light red
results in mid-red: green over red results in black).

Technically the process is subtractive in RGB color space.

Screen (Bleach)
Screen has no clear analogy in the physical world. It is useful for highlights when the light
source is not white. The color of the object with Screen applied:

• Gray & White - lightens the colors in underlying objects.
• Black - no effect on the colors of underlying objects.
• Other colors - lighten underlying colors towards unsaturated color. (Light-red over
light-red gives a pale-red: green over red gives yellow.)

Technically the process is additive in RGB color space.

Overlay
Overlay is a combination of Screen and Multiply and generally used to boost the contrast
in an image. The areas of the top object where the underlying objects are light becomes
lighter and the areas of the top object where the underlying objects are dark becomes
darker.

• Gray (darker than 50% gray) will darken and add contrast to the underlying image.
• Gray (lighter than 50% gray) will lighten and add contrast to the underlying image.
• Other colors - lightens and adds contrast to unsaturated colors and darkens and adds
contrast to saturated colors.
Hard Light
The same as Overlay, but with the base and overlying objects swapped.

• White - no effect on the colors in underlying objects, the whites remain completely
white.
• Black - no effect on the colors in underlying objects, the blacks remain completely
black.