What primarily affects how color pixels blend in layers?

The blending mode assigned to layers plays a crucial role in how color pixels mix and appear when they are layered on top of one another. Each blending mode has a specific algorithm that determines how the colors of the pixels in the upper layer interact with those in the lower layers. For example, some blending modes may lighten or darken the combined colors, while others might multiply, screen, or overlay the colors depending on their respective luminance and hue values.

Using different blending modes allows designers to achieve varied artistic effects and can significantly alter the visual output of an image. This flexibility in color blending is important for creating depth, texture, and nuanced color interactions in digital artwork.

While factors such as layer thickness, color opacity, and the type of image file can influence the appearance of an image, they do not fundamentally change how the color pixels blend. Layer thickness, for instance, may refer to physical media in traditional design, but in digital applications, it's more about how layers are stacked. Color opacity affects the transparency of a layer, which can change the visual impact but not the blending mechanism itself. Lastly, the image file type may impact compatibility and quality but cannot change blending characteristics once the image is processed in the software. Thus, the blending mode is