SVG Blend Modes
Blend modes control how overlapping SVG elements combine colors — multiply, screen, and overlay create striking layered effects.
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Using CSS mix-blend-mode on SVG Elements
The CSS mix-blend-mode property works directly on SVG elements just as it does on HTML elements, letting a shape's color blend with whatever is behind it using modes like multiply, screen, overlay, and difference — a simple way to create layered color effects without pre-baking the blend into a raster image.
- multiply darkens overlapping colors, useful for shadow-like layering
- screen lightens overlapping colors, useful for glow-like layering
- overlay and difference create more dramatic, higher-contrast blends
Using feBlend for Filter-Based Blending
The SVG feBlend filter primitive achieves similar blending effects but within a filter chain, letting you combine two filter inputs with a blend mode before passing the result to further filter primitives — useful when the blend needs to interact with other filter effects like blur or color adjustment in the same pipeline.
- feBlend combines two filter inputs using a specified blend mode
- Useful when blending needs to interact with other chained filter effects
- mode attribute accepts the same set of standard blend mode values
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use mix-blend-mode or feBlend for a simple two-shape blend?
For a simple case, CSS mix-blend-mode is usually simpler since it requires no filter markup at all — feBlend is more appropriate when the blend needs to be one step within a larger SVG filter chain.
Do blend modes affect performance significantly?
Blend modes require the browser to composite layers differently than normal, which can have a modest performance cost on complex pages with many blended elements, though it's rarely noticeable for typical icon or illustration use.
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