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ABC ~ All
'Bout Computers Understanding Layers in
Photoshop, Part 2: In the last issue of ABC, I taught you how to create and control layers, so if you don't know how to do that, you need to read that article first. For this lesson, you need to use the layers file you created in the first lesson. If you don't have it, you can download it here. Open that .psd file in Photoshop and click on the blue square layer in your Layers Palette, so it is selected. This layer is at the top of the list becuz it's the layer on top. Now, go to your Layer menu and choose "Layer Style", then "Blending Options":
Let's look at how some of these options affect your picture. First, put a check where it says "Bevel and Emboss" and make your settings look like the ones below:
Click OK and you will see the blue square now has a beveled edge and appears raised:
Next, choose the yellow rectangle in your Layers Palette, and go back to the Blending Options box and choose "Satin" and adjust your settings to look like this:
Now see that your yellow rectangle has a satin texture:
Click on your other layers and try some of the other Laying Blending Options. Remember that the blending options refer to how the layer blends with the layer BEHIND it. Also, try clicking on the particular style you want in the Layer menu> Layer Styles, instead of choosing Blending Options. If you choose the actual style instead, you get more choices for adjusting the style: choices for depth, contour, color, opacity, etc. Try combining more than one Layer Style. Try using patterns and colors. You can apply as many Layer Styles to each layer as you want. If you want to add a style to the layer that is in the back, just create a new layer and fill it with a color and move it behind that layer. The back layer can never have a style because the styles interact with the layer BEHIND it: Here's what I came up with so far:
Your choice of "patterns" may not include too many if you haven't created custom patterns (something I will teach you in a later lesson). The pattern I applied to the yellow rectangle is a custom pattern I created and you will not have that one. Notice that the Layer styles you choose are attached to the layer in your Layers Palette:
Now, one more thing before we end this little tutorial on layer blending. Notice in your Layers Palette, above where your layers are listed, there's an Opacity percentage. Choose the blue square and click on the arrow to the right of that percentage and you will see a slider. Slide it down to 50% to make it less opaque (less opaque = more transparent) and you will see this:
Getting the hang of it? Keep playing around with applying different styles to different levels until you think you understand how they all work. If you want to download my finished one to see exactly which styles I used on the different layers, you can download it here. Have fun! Linda Johnson is a college instructor of all of the Microsoft Office Programs, as well as Adobe PhotoShop and Windows. She also teaches online distance learning classes in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word at Eclectic Academy. She has worked helpdesk and teaches and lectures at many local businesses and tech schools in her area. Support this newsletter by checking out Linda's eBooks, MS Word MAGIC!, Book I: Fonts, Fun & Formats and Book II: Table Wizardry, How To Get Started As a Software Trainer, and her newest series of MSOffice eBook Tutorials and CD |
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