Chapter08

Ch 8: Working with Layers and Masks

Photoshop CS6 EssentialsBy Scott Onstott


Layers• Layers allow you to separate image content into

different “sheets” for organization and ease of image manipulation

• Layers come in many flavors including raster, vector, 3D, video, and Adobe Illustrator smart object layers

• The content of layers can be transformed and manipulated independently of other layers

• Layers are not spatial as shown on the right but conceptual. Layers are stacked flat two dimensionally

• Layer order is significant; layers on top obscure those below in the stack


The Background Layer• The Background layer is a special

locked layer• Nothing can be behind the

Background layer by definition• The Background layer can’t be

masked, or have reduced opacity, or be transformed, or have transparency

• Double click the Background layer to convert it into an unlocked layer; you will be prompted to name the new layer


Layer Options• You can assign layers a short list of colors

(Red chosen on the right) to help you distinguish layers in complex documents; layer color doesn’t appear on the canvas, only in the Layers panel

• Open the Layer panel menu and choose Panel Options to change the layer and mask thumbnail size.

• Other important options are located at the bottom of the Layer Panel Options dialog box


Locking Layers• You can lock a layer’s pixels,

transparency, ability to be transformed, or all of the above

• Locking pixels means you can’t alter the content of the layer; this is good for protecting final content

• Locking transparency allows you creative freedom to alter anything that’s already on the layer (i.e. painting the green stripes on the yellow spiral)

• Locking the ability to move a layer can be helpful in forming compositions


Editing Layers• Once you have developed

content on a layer it can be edited independently

• The red spiral was created by copying the yellow spiral onto a new layer, flipping it horizontally and adjusting the pixels’ hue

• You should remember to give your layers meaningful names as you work to avoid getting lost in complex documents


Blend Modes• Blend modes allow to you to see partially

through a layer and blend with the layers below

• Each blend mode has subtly different characteristics

• They are categorized into groups by the horizontal rules in the blend mode drop down

• Normal, Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Color and Luminosity are the most commonly used blend modes

• Press Shift= and Shift- to cycle through the blend modes


“Blend If” Controls• Use the Blend If controls to blend

based upon the tonal range• You can drop out an image’s

shadows or highlights in any channel to create a conditional blend

• Hold Opt and drag one half of the blend if sliders to separate them; a gradient smoothly blends between zero and full blend between halves of the slider

• You can blend this layer or the underlying layer using two different sliders


Using Layer Masks• You can create a pixel and/or a vector

layer mask to hide a portion of the layer and thus reveal a portion of the underlying layers

• Paint on a pixel mask in black to hide, gray to obscure partially, and white to reveal the underlying layers

• Pixel masks can be feathered using the Masks panel to soften the edges (equivalent to blurring the mask)

• Vector masks are drawn using paths mode; vector masks produce clean crisp edges


Clipping Groups• Clipping groups use other layers as masks• The indented layer is clipped by the

underlined layer that it points to• In this example the Hue/Saturation layer is

colorizing the linear “masculine” image red• The effect is clipped (limited by) the pixels

present on Layer 1, which are modulated by the pixel mask that reveals the Background layer

• The Background layer isn’t affected by the Hue/Saturation layer because its scope is limited by the clipping group

Technology

Chapter08