Lighter Color compares the brightness of the colors on the blending and base layers and keeps whichever color is lighter. Unlike Lighten, it selects the entire color from one layer rather than comparing individual RGB channels.
The Math
Lighter Color evaluates the overall brightness of each pixel and selects the lighter of the two. It does not combine the colors or create a new color between them.
Mathier Math
Think of Lighter Color as a whole-pixel version of Lighten.
Lighten: Compares R to R, G to G, and B to B, then selects the higher value for each channel.
Lighter Color: Evaluates the brightness of the entire pixel, then selects the whole pixel from whichever layer is lighter.
For example, imagine the top layer contains (80, 200, 150) and the base contains (120, 160, 180).
Lighten could create a new color by selecting the higher value from each channel:
(120, 200, 180)
Lighter Color instead chooses one of the original colors in its entirety based on which pixel is brighter.
That’s the key difference: Lighten can create a new color; Lighter Color picks a winner.
Core Rules of Lighter Color
The whole pixel wins: Lighter Color selects the entire pixel from either the top or bottom layer rather than combining individual channels.
Black loses: Pure black is the darkest possible color, so it will normally lose the comparison against any brighter color.
Light colors win: A lighter color on the blending layer replaces the base color when it is determined to be brighter.
No color mixing: Unlike Screen, Lighter Color never creates a new blended color. It simply chooses one of the two existing colors.
Lighter Color vs. Lighten vs. Screen
Lighten: Compares the RGB channels individually and can create a new color by combining channels from both layers.
Lighter Color: Compares the overall brightness of the pixels and selects one complete color.
Screen: Combines the two colors mathematically to produce a brighter result.
When to Use It
Highlights and light effects: Use Lighter Color to let the brighter parts of a texture, light effect, or other layer show through without changing their original colors.
Combining artwork: When stacking two versions of an image, Lighter Color can select the brighter pixels from either version while preserving their original colors.
Textures and overlays: Use it with textures or patterns when you want only the lighter details to appear while the darker areas are ignored.