To be successful with Adobe Photoshop, you need to be in control. You need to control color, to control elements of the design, and you even need to control the order of design elements. If control is what you crave, then Layers, more than any other feature, helps you achieve that control. Layers give you the ability to separate individual elements of your design, and then control how those elements appear. You can think of Layers as a group of transparent sheets stacked on top of each other. Through the creative use of these electronic sheets, you can blend the elements of two or more layers, and create layers to adjust and control contrast, brightness, and color balance. You can even group layers together to help organize and manage your design.
Layers are a digital designer’s canvas, and they are just as real as a stretched canvas is to a natural media designer. The strokes you apply to a real canvas, using a brush, are equivalent to strokes in a Photoshop layer when you use any of the painting tools. The natural artist may use oils or watercolor in the design while the Photoshop artist uses electronic ink. The Layers panel allows you to view the image almost as if you were actually painting or designing with natural media. However, our canvas—the Layers panel—goes far beyond anything possible in the “real” world.
In Photoshop, using multiple layers is the way to control the information within a document. There are times when you will create several layers; each layer will contain a separate aspect of the total design. Having multiple layers allows you to adjust and move each element independently. Eventually, multiple layers may no longer be necessary. However, you might not want to link them together, or even place them within the same folder. Instead, you might want to combine them into a single unit. Once again, Photoshop comes to the rescue by giving you several options for combining layers without flattening the entire document.
With the Layers panel, you can control elements of a Photoshop design by assigning separate layers to each individual object. In addition, Layer effects control the application of everything from drop shadows to gradient overlays, and adjustment layers let you control color overlays and image corrections. To access the Layers panel, select the Layers panel or, if the Layers panel is not visible, click the Window menu, and then click Layers.
Blending Modes.Select this option to change how two or more layers interact or “blend” together.
Opacity.Select a value from 0% to 100% to change the opacity of the active layer.
Fill.Select a value from 0% to 100% to change the opacity of the active layer without changing the opacity of any applied layer styles.
Lock options.Click the Lock Transparent Pixels, Lock Image Pixels, Lock Position, or Lock All button.
Link Layers.Hold down the Shift key and click to select two or more layers, and then click this button to link the layers.
Add Layer Style.Click this button, and then select from the available layer styles.
Add Layer Mask.Click this button to apply a layer mask to the active layer. Click this a second time to add a vector mask to the active layer.
Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer.Click this button, and then select from the available fill or adjustment layers.
Create New Group.Click this button to create a new group. A group is a folder where you can drag, store, and organize layers.
Create New Layer.Click this button to create a new layer in the active document.
Delete Layer.Click this button to delete the active layer.
Layers Options.Click this button to access a menu of layer-specific commands.
Not only does Photoshop give you the ability to generate layers, it allows you to generate layers with different designations. The designation of a layer determines the type of information the layer contains. For example, a type layer holds editable text, and a mask layer holds image masks. The ability to control the designation of a layer helps to organize the different elements that typically make up a Photoshop image.
Background.The Background is a unique type of layer element (technically, it’s not called the Background layer, just the Background). Backgrounds are always positioned at the bottom of the layer stack and they cannot be moved. In addition, the Background does not support transparency.
Layer.Clicking the Create New Layer button creates Photoshop layers. New layers are always inserted directly above the active layer. All of Photoshop’s drawing and shape tools, as well as opacity and fill and blending mode options, are available to use on layers created with this method, except for type. These “traditional” layers can be moved up and down in the layer stack by dragging them where you want them.
Type.To create a Type layer, select one of Photoshop’s Type tools, click in the active document and begin typing. Photoshop automatically creates the Type layer directly above the active layer in the Layers panel.
Mask.Masks are applied to a layer by clicking the Add Layer Mask button on the Layers panel. Masks serve a function; they create transparent areas in the visible image. Use masks to remove elements of an image without physically erasing them.
Shape.Shape layers control vector data by the use of a vector mask. You can create a shape layer in one of several ways: select the Pen tool from the toolbox, click the Shape Layer button (located on the Options bar) and begin drawing, or select any of Photoshop’s shape tools using the Shape layer option.
Adjustment.Adjustment layers let you control everything from contrast to color. To create an Adjustment layer, click the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button, and then select from the available options. The adjustment layer is placed directly above the active layer and controls the information in all the underlying layers. You can also choose from one of the 15 icons in the Adjustments panel (New!).
Layers give you control over the design elements of your document, so Adobe Photoshop makes sure you have plenty of layers available to you (up to 8,000). While that may be more layers than you would ever use in a single document, that flexibility guarantees that you have the creative options to carry your designs to any level you desire. To create a new layer, you must first have an open document. A new image in Photoshop has a single layer. If you have more than one document open, make sure the active image is the one to which you want to add a layer. You can quickly add a layer using a menu or button, or add a layer and select options using a dialog box. You can select options to name the layer, designate it as a clipping group, or even change its color Blending mode, and Opacity.
The new layer is inserted directly above the active layer.
You can move a layer in the stacking order.Press the Ctrl (Win) or (Mac) key, and then use the Left/Right Bracket keys ([ ]). The Left Bracket key moves the layer down and the Right Bracket moves the layer up.
You can hide all layers except the clipping mask layer and the layer to which it is clipped.Press the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click the layer’s visibility icon.
Select the Layers panel.
Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click the Create New Layer button to open the New Layer dialog box.
Select the layer options you want:
Name.Enter the name of the layer into the Name box.
Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask.Select this check box to use the image information in the previous layer to mask the elements of the new layer.
Color.This option lets you color-code your layers. Click the Color list arrow, and then select from the available colors.
Mode.Click the Mode list arrow, and then select from the available blending modes.
Opacity.This option controls the visibility of the new layer. Select a value from 0% to 100%.
Click OK.
You can control to which layers the adjustment is applied.To confine the effects of an adjustment layer to the layer immediately below, hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click on the visible line separating the adjustment layer from the next lower layer.
Photoshop lets you select multiple layers either in the Layers panel, or directly in the document window, using the Move tool. Say, for example, you want to quickly move two or more layers but you don’t want to spend the time linking, and then unlinking them. You just want to quickly select the layers, and then perform the move. Or, perhaps you want to delete several layers but don’t want to delete them one at a time. The ability to select multiple layers allows you to exert even more control over Photoshop, and that control provides more fuel for your creative energy. A single selected layer is called the active layer
Open a multi-layered document.
Select multiple layers in the Layers panel using the following options:
Contiguous Layers.Click on the first layer, and then Shift+click the last layer to select first, last, and all layers in-between.
Non-Contiguous Layers.Click on a layer, hold down the Ctrl (Win) or (Mac) key, and then click on another layer.
Select layers in the document window using the following options:
Single and Multiple Layers.Select the Move tool, choose the Auto-Select Layer or Auto-Select Group in the Options bar, and then click on an object in the document window. The layer holding that object is selected. To add to or subtract layers from the selection, Shift+click (or drag).
Select the Move tool, hold down the Ctrl (Win) or (Mac) key, and then click on an object. Hold down the Shift+Ctrl (Win) or (Mac), and click on another object to add that object’s layer to the selection.
To deselect all layers, click the Select menu, and then click Deselect Layers.
Layer groups help to bring organization to large, multi-layered documents. Photoshop layer groups give you control over all the layers within the group at one time. For example, multiple layers within a group can all be hidden or locked with one click of a button. In addition, if you click on the Group name, you can transform or move all the layer objects within the group as one unit. To further help organize your Layers panel, Photoshop lets you create nested groups. Nested groups are groups that are located within other groups. When you nest groups, you control all of the groups by clicking on the main group’s name, or you can control the individual groups by selecting the nested group name.
Open a document.
Select the Layers panel.
If the document contains a layer group, click the triangle to expand the group, and then select one of the layers within the group to create a nested group.
Click the Create New Group button on the Layers panel, or press Ctrl+G (Win) or (Mac).
Photoshop creates a layer group.
To quickly create a Layer Group, hold down the Shift key and click the layers you want in the group, click the Layers Options button, and then click New Group from Layers.
To add layers to the group, drag layers from the Layers panel onto the folder icon of the group.
To remove layers from the group, drag them from the group back into the Layers panel.
Photoshop’s traditional layers basically function like sheets of transparent acetate or clear plastic. Once created, they support all of Photoshop’s painting tools, as well as shape and gradient tools. While traditional layers may start out transparent, they don’t remain that way for long. In fact, a layer can, over time, become a complicated mix of non-transparent (the image), and transparent areas. It’s also possible you might want to make a selection out of that complicated image. Photoshop knows this and gives you an easy way to convert a layer into a selection.
Select the Layers panel.
Hold down the Ctrl (Win) or (Mac) key, and then click on the image thumbnail of the layer you want converted into a selection. Be sure you click on the image thumbnail, not the layer name as you would have in previous versions.
The visible portions of the image on the layer are converted into a selection.
Since Photoshop creates the selection based on the image information, there must be transparent and non-transparent areas within the image or the command selects the entire layer as if you had clicked the Select menu, and then clicked All.
On the previous page, you learned how to create a selection based on the image information within a layer. In addition to creating a selection from a layer, Photoshop gives you the ability to instantly create a layer from a selection. Creating layers from selections opens up all kinds of opportunities for generating special effects. For example, you could select an object from one layer, and then make a layer with that selection, or you could make a selection of just that portion of an image and then apply a layer style to the new layer copy. The possibilities are endless, and part of the fun of using Photoshop lies in exploring those possibilities.
Select the Layers panel.
Click on the layer containing the information you want to convert into a layer.
Select an area of the image using any of Photoshop’s selection tools.
Press Ctrl+J (Win) or press (Mac) to make a copy.
Photoshop converts the selected area into a new layer, and places that layer directly above the active layer.
You can make a copy of all elements within a layer.Select the layer in the Layers panel, and then click Ctrl+J (Win), (Mac). Since there are no selections, Photoshop creates a copy of the entire layer.
You can make copies of layer objects without a selection.To make a copy of a layer that contains an object, select the layer in the Layers panel, select the Move tool, hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click and drag (in the document window).
The Background layer serves a unique function in Photoshop. Since some layout programs do not support Photoshop’s multiple layer and transparency capabilities, a final image must sometimes be converted into a background layer by a process called flattening. When an image is flattened, all of the document’s layers are compressed into a single layer in the Layers panel, named Background. That means no more layers, no more transparency, and no more control. Background layers are a necessary evil because Photoshop does not stand alone, and it’s sometimes necessary to move images from Photoshop into other applications. However, there are times you may start with an image that only contains a Background layer (for example, when working with original images from a digital camera, scanned images, or images from a photo CD or DVD) and you want to apply transparency, blending modes, or other adjustments to it that cannot be applied to a Background layer. In that case, you will need to convert the Background into a traditional Photoshop layer.
Select the Layers panel.
Double-click on the Background to open the New Layer dialog box.
Rename the layer in the Name box (leave the other options at their default values).
Click OK.
The Background is converted into a traditional layer.
Select the Layers panel.
Click the Layers Options button, and then click Flatten Image.
The multi-layered document is compressed into a single-layer Background.
You can create a composite image of a multi-layered document without flattening the image.Create and select a new layer, and then hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key. Now, go to the Layers panel, click the Layers Options button, and then click Merge Visible. Photoshop creates a composite of all the visible layers in the new layer. You now have the control and flexibility of a multi-layered document, along with a separate composite layer. Control gives you the confidence to be more creative.
See “Using Merge Layer Options” on page 110 for more information on how to merge two or more layers without flattening all the layers.
When you work on multi-layered documents, it’s important to understand the options Photoshop gives you to control image information. For example, working on a document that contains 20 layers is a difficult proposition. Fortunately, Photoshop gives you complete control over the document; everything from layer names to locking pixel information is available in Photoshop’s bag of image-control tricks. For example, when linking two layers together, you can move or resize the layers at the same time, thus saving valuable time. Let’s explore some of the ways you can control image information with the Layers panel.
Select the Layers panel, and then use one of the following options:
Layer Name.To name a layer, double-click on the current layer name, type a new name, and then press Enter (Win) or Return (Mac).
Show/Hide.To temporarily hide or show a layer (make its contents invisible or visible in the document window), click the Eyeball button, located in the Show/Hide box.
Linking.To link two or more layers, hold the Shift key and click the layers you want to link, and then click the Link Layers button (located at the bottom left of the Layers panel). The link icon indicates the layers are linked. Linking lets you move or resize the layers as a unit.
Locking.The four available locking options are: Lock Transparent Pixels, Lock Image Pixels, Lock Position, and Lock All.
Stacking Order.To change the position of a layer in the stack, drag the layer up or down. A dark line appears as a visual cue to indicate the new layer location.
Photoshop documents typically contain multiple layers. One web survey concluded that Photoshop designers tend to create documents with an average of 14 layers. Controlling layers is an important aspect of design, because the more control you maintain, the more organized you are, and the better your design will be. But what about controlling layers across multiple documents? For example, you’re working on a design, and you need access to some additional image information. The only problem is that the additional information is located in another Photoshop document. Photoshop gives you the ability to move layers between open documents.
Open the documents in which you want to move layers.
To have more than one document in view, click the Window menu, point to Arrange, and then click Cascade or Tile.
Click on the document containing the layer you want to move.
Drag the layer from the Layers panel into the window of the receiving document.
Photoshop creates a new layer with a copy of the image information from the other document.
You can control the position of the moved layer.Hold down the Shift key while dragging the layer into the other document. Photoshop aligns the new layer to the center of the receiving document.
You can move selected portions of a layer.Select the area you want to move, click the Move tool, and then drag the selected area directly from the document window into the window of the receiving document.
The Merge Down option lets you merge one selected layer into the layer directly below it in the layer stacking order. Merged layers take on the characteristics of the layer into which they are being merged. For example, if you merge one layer into another that uses the Darken blending mode, the two merged layers will both use Darken. Or, if you merge a layer into the Background layer, the merged layer becomes a part of the Background. The Merge Visible option enables you to merge all of the layers that have the Show option enabled with just one click.
Select the Layers panel.
Select the layers you want to merge.
Click the Layers Options button, and then click Merge Down (for single selection) or Merge Layers (for multiple selection).
The selected layers merge into the next layer down. When you use the Merge Down command, the top layer will take on the name and characteristics of the bottom layer.
Select the Layers panel.
Click the Show option for all layers you want to merge.
Click the Layers Options button, and then click Merge Visible.
All layers with the Show option enabled are merged together.
Press Alt (Win) or Option (Mac), click the Layer menu, and then click Merge Visible to merge all visible layers into a new layer.
If you’re currently looking at the Layers panel, and wondering where the linking button is, don’t worry. It’s not missing; it’s just been moved. Linking multiple layers is a snap. Simply select one or more layers and then click the Link Layers button at the bottom of the Layers panel. You can link two or more layers or groups. Unlike selected multiple layers, linked layers retain their relationship (stay together) until you unlink them, which allows you to move or resize the layers as a unit.
Open a multi-layered document.
Select the Layers panel.
Select two or more layers.
Click the Link Layers button, located at the bottom of the Layers panel.
The selected layers are now linked. A link icon appears next to the linked layers.
Open a multi-layered document that contains links.
Select the Layers panel.
Select a layer that contains the link icon.
Click the Link Layers button, located at the bottom of the Layers panel.
To temporarily disable a linked layer, Shift+click the link icon. A red X appears. Shift+click the link icon again to enable it.
Layer Blending Modes are one of the most creative areas within the Layers panel. With blending modes, you can instruct Photoshop to mix the image information between two or more layers. For example, using the Multiply blending mode instructs Photoshop to multiply the color of one layer with that of another layer, resulting in a darker color. Blending modes give you control over Photoshop images above and beyond what you would expect to find in the “analog” world.
Open a multi-layered document.
Select the Layers panel.
Select a layer.
Since blending modes affect all layers below the one to which the blending mode is applied, select the layer directly above the layer you want to blend.
Click the Blending Mode list arrow, and then select a blending mode.
Photoshop uses the selected blending mode to visually blend the image through all the layers below the blending mode layer.
You can control the number of layers to which a blending mode is applied.Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click on the visible line separating the adjustment layer from the next lower layer.
There are times when you will need a copy of a Photoshop layer. Duplicating a layer is a simple process that creates a pixel-to-pixel copy of the selected layer. Once the copied layer is created, it becomes a separate image within the document. You can then begin to make changes to the new layer. Duplicating a layer gives you the ability to control each layer separately and to apply nondestructive effects to your image by making them on a copy of the image instead of the original.
Select the Layers panel.
Select the layer you want to duplicate.
Click the Layers Options button, and then click Duplicate Layer.
Enter a name for the new layer.
To place the layer in another open document, click the Document list arrow, and then select a document.
Click OK.
You can duplicate a layer with the Create New Layer button.Drag the layer over the Create New Layer button and Photoshop creates an exact copy of the layer and appends the word copy at the end of the original layer name.
While Photoshop lets you add layers to a document (up to 8,000), it also lets you delete layers. Remember that once you’ve deleted a layer and saved the document, there is no way to recover the deleted layer. However, while the document is open, there is always the chance of recovering the deleted layer through the History panel.
Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer you want to delete.
Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click the Delete Layer button.
You can delete a layer from the layers panel by dragging.Click the layer you want to delete, and then drag it to the Delete Layer button.
Select the Layers panel, and then hold down the Shift key and click on the layers you want to delete.
Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click the Delete Layer button.
Photoshop deletes all the linked layers.
You can delete hidden layers from the Layers panel.Click the Layers Options button, and then click Delete Hidden Layers.
The Layer Properties dialog box gives you control over two very important characteristics of a layer: the layer’s name and its identifying color. For example, if you’re working on a document with 20 layers and you’re not naming the layers, after a while you’ll lose track of each layer’s contents. When you name your layers, you have a visual identifier of the information contained within that specific layer (assuming you name the layer correctly). In addition, you can use the Colorize option to apply a color to a specific group of layers—coloring all the type layers red, for example. Layer properties may not seem that important, but they go a long way towards helping you organize a complex, multi-layered document.
Select the Layers panel.
Click the Layers Options button, and then click Layer Properties.
Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key and double-click a layer name to open Layer Properties.
Change the name of the layer.
Click the Color list arrow, and then click a layer color.
Click OK.
Layer Comps are an image or snapshot of the current state of the Layers panel. When you create a Layer Comp, you’re recording layer visibility, a layer’s position within the document, and any layer styles applied to the image. Making changes to the layers in your document and then updating the Layer Comps panel creates a new Layer Comp. Any time you want to view a particular Layer Comp, just select it from the Layer Comps panel. Layer Comps create different versions of your document and saves them all in one file, giving you different creative options for the same document. In addition, they give you the option of printing the same document with different variations, by choosing different Layer Comps during printing.
Open a document.
Click the Window menu, and then click Layer Comps to open the Layer Comps panel.
Click the Create New Layer Comp button to create a snapshot of the current state of the image.
Select check boxes to adjust a layer’s visibility, position, or appearance (layer style).
Click OK.
Click the Create New Layer Comp button to create another snapshot of the current state of the image.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 to create as many layer comps as you need.
Click the left and right arrows to cycle through the current layer comps.
Click the Update Layer Comp button to update the selected layer comp to the current state of the image.
Click the Layer Comp icon to change the active image to the selected layer comp state.
To remove a layer comp, click the Delete Layer Comp button.
Photoshop gives you the option of exporting and saving layers as individual files using a variety of formats including PSD, BMP, JPEG, PDF, Targa, and TIFF. When exporting layers to files, one format is applied to all exported layers. The Export Layers to Files script command gives you the ability to create individual files from the individual layers and select options specific to the file format you want.
Open a document.
Click the File menu, point to Scripts, and then click Export Layers to Files.
To specify a destination for the files, click Browse, and then select a folder location.
Enter the name you want at the beginning of the files.
To export only visible layers, click the Visible Layers Only check box.
Click the File Type list arrow, and then select an output option: PSD, BMP, JPEG, PDF, Targa, TIFF, PNG-8, or PNG-24.
To embed a color profile, select the Include ICC Profile check box.
Specify the options you want that relate to the selected file format.
Click Run.
Upon completion, click OK.
The files are named with the prefix you specified and numbered in sequential order.
Photoshop doesn’t have a lot of options for controlling the Layers panel itself; in fact, there is only one—changing the size of the layer thumbnail and how it fits within the thumbnail box. You can choose to view the layer thumbnail in a small, medium, or large size, or you can select to have no thumbnail shown at all. When you change the size of the thumbnail, you’re instructing Photoshop to spend either more, or less, processing time on the display of the image. The larger the thumbnail, the easier it is to see, but the longer it takes for Photoshop to draw the image in the Layers panel. If you’re experiencing performance issues with Photoshop, and you’re using the large thumbnail size option, you might consider choosing a smaller thumbnail size.
Select the Layers panel.
Click the Layers Options button, and then click Panel Options.
Click a thumbnail size or the None option.
Click the Layer Bounds or Entire Document option.
Select the Use Default Masks on Fill Layers check box to automatically insert a mask when creating a new Adjustment layer.
Select Expand New Effects if you would like to view Smart Filters or Layer Styles in the Layers panel. You can also click the triangle next to the Smart Filter or Layer Style icon in the Layers panel.
Click OK.
Photoshop gives you the ability to use Smart Guides to help align shapes, slices, and selections as you draw. They appear automatically as you draw a shape or create a selection or slice, and then disappear after the shape is drawn. They enable you to visually align one object to another with a minimum of effort. Smart Guides are automatically turned on by default.
Open or create a multi-layered document.
Select a layer that contains an object.
Select the Move tool, and drag the object.
As you move the object, Smart Guides appear to help you align the objects.
Release the mouse and the guides disappear.