`background-blend-mode` CSS property

The background-blend-mode CSS property sets how an element's background images should blend with each other and with the element's background color.

Blending modes should be defined in the same order as the background-image property. If the blending modes' and background images' list lengths are not equal, it will be repeated and/or truncated until lengths match.

Try it

background-blend-mode: normal;

background-blend-mode: multiply;

background-blend-mode: hard-light;

background-blend-mode: difference;

<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
  <div class="example-container">
    <div class="transition-all" id="example-element"></div>
  </div>
</section>

#example-element {
  background-color: green;
  background-image: url("/shared-assets/images/examples/balloon.jpg");
  width: 250px;
  height: 305px;
}

Syntax

css

/* One value */
background-blend-mode: normal;

/* Two values, one per background */
background-blend-mode: darken, luminosity;

/* Global values */
background-blend-mode: inherit;
background-blend-mode: initial;
background-blend-mode: revert;
background-blend-mode: revert-layer;
background-blend-mode: unset;

Values

<blend-mode>: The blending mode to be applied. There can be several values, separated by commas.

Formal definition

Initial value	`normal`
Applies to	All elements. In SVG, it applies to container elements, graphics elements, and graphics referencing elements.. It also applies to `::first-letter` and `::first-line`.
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	Not animatable

Formal syntax

background-blend-mode = 
  <'mix-blend-mode'>#  

<mix-blend-mode> = 
  <blend-mode>  |
  plus-lighter  

<blend-mode> = 
  normal       |
  darken       |
  multiply     |
  color-burn   |
  lighten      |
  screen       |
  color-dodge  |
  overlay      |
  soft-light   |
  hard-light   |
  difference   |
  exclusion    |
  hue          |
  saturation   |
  color        |
  luminosity

Examples

undefined

Basic example

css

.item {
  width: 300px;
  height: 300px;
  background: url("image1.png"), url("image2.png");
  background-blend-mode: screen;
}

Try out different blend modes

<div id="div"></div>
<select id="select">
  <option>normal</option>
  <option>multiply</option>
  <option selected>screen</option>
  <option>overlay</option>
  <option>darken</option>
  <option>lighten</option>
  <option>color-dodge</option>
  <option>color-burn</option>
  <option>hard-light</option>
  <option>soft-light</option>
  <option>difference</option>
  <option>exclusion</option>
  <option>hue</option>
  <option>saturation</option>
  <option>color</option>
  <option>luminosity</option>
</select>

#div {
  width: 300px;
  height: 300px;
  background: url("br.png"), url("tr.png");
  background-blend-mode: screen;
}

document.getElementById("select").onchange = (event) => {
  document.getElementById("div").style.backgroundBlendMode =
    document.getElementById("select").selectedOptions[0].innerHTML;
};
console.log(document.getElementById("div"));

Specifications

Compositing and Blending Module Level 2

background-blend-mode CSS property