My Grungy Stained (papers) were released last week. In this pack I included both JPG and PNG files.  Several of you have asked why I have done this, so today I would like to answer your question.

Let’s start with Grungy Stained 01-1. This is a light cream color in JPG format.

When using textures such as these, we frequently will combine them with other papers or solid backgrounds using Blend Modes.

In the image below I have placed this JPG over a solid green layer. I have changed the Blend Mode of the JPG to “overlay.”

In the image below, I have placed the PNG of the same texture over the same solid green layer, and changed the Blend Mode of the PNG to “overlay.”

In the second image, you can see how the PNG texture did not change the over-all color of the solid green layer below, as the JPG texture did.

So why is this?  The Overlay Blend Mode multiplies dark areas and lightens light areas. Dark areas become darker and light areas become lighter.   The JPG texture was a light cream, so it became lighter.  The PNG texture was black (with transparent areas), so the black textured areas (along the crease and the stained areas), became darker. The areas of transparency, of course, did not affect the green layer, which is why the main color remained the same.

Two totally different looks.  One isn’t necessarily better than the other; they’re just different.  But if you want to retain the original color of your document, in this case, the dark green, using the PNG texture, rather than the JPG texture would allow you to do so. Of course, you could use the JPG and adjust the color in other ways (Levels, Curves, Hue/Adjustment) – but why bother when using the PNG is so easy?

I hope this short explanation is helpful to you!

You can find my Grungy Stained products at:

Grungy Stained is currently on sale at:

SnickerdoodleDesigns     The Digichick     theStudio   CUDigitals

Don’t forget to check yesterday’s blog post (Monday Inspiration by Beatrice) to pick up this little tag freebie!

If you would like to download a PDF of this tutorial, you may do so here:  JPG vs Transparency Tutorial, Part 1.

Thanks for stopping by!