1. Adobe Photoshop CS4 – Illustrated Unit C: Working with Layers

2. Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated
Objectives
Work with the Layers panel
Merge layers and manipulate opacity
Duplicate layers, delete layers, and paste new layers
Scale artwork
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

3. Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated
Objectives
Flip and rotate artwork
Add and Outer Glow layer style
Add a Drop Shadow layer style
Work with a layer mask
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

4. Working with the Layers Panel
The Layers panel houses all the layers in a document and offers many options for manipulating those layers
Basic operations using the Layers panel and layered artwork include to hide or show various art components and move them independently of one another
Selecting a layer in the Layers panel is called targeting a layer
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

5. Working with the Layers Panel
Viewing the visible layers
Canvas with repositioned artwork
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

6. Merging Layers and Manipulating Opacity
Artwork on a top layer in the Layers panel appears in front of artwork on layers beneath it
Layers in the Layers panel can be reordered and layers can also be merged
When multiple artwork is merged, separate artwork can no longer be manipulated individually or easily unmerged
The more the layers the larger the file size so merging layers reduces the size
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

7. Merging Layers and Manipulating Opacity
In Photoshop the term opacity refers to how opaque the artwork is
100% opacity means that the artwork is completely opaque; no part of the image is transparent
Artwork with 0% opacity is completely transparent and is invisible
Artwork with 50% opacity is visible, but also any artwork on a layer beneath it would also be visible through it
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

8. Merging Layers and Manipulating Opacity
Moving the Coin layer above the Colosseum layer
Moving the Pen layer beneath the Euros layer
Canvas with transparent artwork
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

9. Duplicating, Deleting, and Pasting New Layers
Layers are created in Photoshop in a variety of ways, including:
click the Create a new layer button on the Layers panel
use the New Layer command on the Layers panel menu
duplicate an existing layer
paste artwork copied from another file
copied artwork is always pasted into a new layer that is above the targeted layer on the Layers panel
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

10. Duplicating, Deleting, and Pasting New Layers
Repositioning the Top Coin artwork
Repositioning the Bottom Coin artwork
Positioning the Colosseum artwork
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

11. Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated
Scaling Artwork
One of the great features of Photoshop is the ability to transform artwork
Move
Scale (resizing artwork)
Rotate
Flip
Distort
Transforming is key when creating a montage when creating specific positioning relationships between elements
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

12. Scaling Artwork Using the Options bar to scale the artwork
Moving the crosshair icon
Scaling the artwork form the relocated crosshair icon
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

13. Flipping and Rotating Artwork
Flipping and rotating are two transformations that are useful when creating a montage of various images
Flipping artwork creates a mirror image of the artwork
images can be flipped either horizontally or vertically
Rotating moves an object clockwise around its center point much like how a pinwheel spins
an image can be rotated by hand or by entering a specific rotation value on the Options bar
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

14. Flipping and Rotating Artwork
Rotating the Colosseum artwork
Moving the artwork on three layers
Rotating the Bottom Coin artwork
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

15. Adding an Outer Glow Layer Style
Layer styles have built-in effects that you can apply to layers which include:
Glows
Shadows
Bevels
Embosses, Chiseled edges
and others
When a layer style is applied all the artwork on that layer inherits the layer style
layer styles are listed on the Layers panel beneath the layer applied to and can be hidden or shown
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

16. Adding an Outer Glow Layer Style
Settings for the Outer Glow
layer style
Viewing the layer style on the canvas and in the Layers panel
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

17. Adding a Drop Shadow Layer Style
A drop shadow applied to artwork makes it appear to cast a shadow
There are many methods for creating a drop shadow; if a drop shadow is created as a layer style it can be copied from one layer to another which saves time and speeds up the work process
(this is a great feature about layer styles)
Drop Shadow layer style options
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

18. Adding a Drop Shadow Layer Style
Settings for a Drop Shadow layer style
Viewing the Drop Shadow layer style behind the Colosseum artwork and in the Layers panel
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

19. Working with a Layer Mask
A layer mask allows a user to define which areas of artwork on a single layer are visible, not visible or partly visible
White areas of the layer mask represent art on the layer that is 100% visible
Black areas of the layer mask represented art on the layer that is 100% masked and invisible
Gray areas of the layer mask represent art on the layer that is semi-transparent
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

20. Working with a Layer Mask
There are many methods that can be used to apply black, white or gray to a layer mask
Two methods include:
use the Brush tool to paint in the layer mask which adjusts the opacity of the artwork by hand
the brush tool always paints with the foreground color
set the size and hardness options for the Brush tool on the Options bar
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

21. Working with a Layer Mask
Layer mask added to the Roses layer
Artwork with both leaves masked out
Viewing the layer mask
Deactivating the layer mask
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

22. Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated
Summary
Basic actions using the Layers panel and layered artwork include to hide or show various art components and move them independently of one another
Layers in the Layers panel can be reordered and layers can also be merged
In Photoshop the term opacity refers to how opaque the artwork is, 100%, 50%, 0%
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated

23. Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated
Summary
One of the great features of Photoshop is the ability to transform artwork by moving, scaling, rotating, flipping or distorting the artwork
A drop shadow applied to artwork makes it appear to cast a shadow
A layer mask allows a user to define which areas of artwork on a single layer are visible, not visible or partly visible
Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Illustrated