Photoshop is well known for it’s layers. Layers can be thought of as different pieces of glass on top of each other. By default, the layer is clear like glass is which is represented by a grey and white grid, but you can color on it or do whatever you want on each layer or piece of glass. Professionals use layers to their advantage by having layers overlap each other and create and easy way to control different parts of a picture separately.
The “Backdrop” layer is the second to bottom one in the picture and it is blue because it is selected. When a layer is selected, whatever is in that layer is selected and you are able to draw on that layer only. The layer under that is the bottom most layer or the “Background” layer. It is completely white which makes it so you can see through the middle portion of the Backdrop layer which is clear to the white of the Background layer. The lock on the background layer means you can not color on it or interact with it at all. You can turn the lock on and off as you wish by clicking the lock at the top of the layer panel.
The middle layer, or “Foreground” layer, is a smart object. Smart objects are layers that can contain pixels or vectors. They can also contain multiple layers inside itself and you can apply effects which you can always take off in the future. You can also toggle the view of layers by clicking the eye on the left side of each layer.
The second to top layer is called the “Texture” layer. You can rename by double clicking the name and typing a new name. This layer has an effect on it. If you click on the arrow on the right next to fx, you can see all the effects on this layer. You can toggle the view of these effects on your layers and you can also remove them as you wish. To ad or remove an effect, double click the layer thumbnail or somewhere black on your layer. This will open a window where you can control what effects you have on and all the options for those effects.
The top layer or “Text” layer is a text layer which means you can edit the text whenever you want. You can also upscale the text layers and it will remain high definition. If you right click the layer and click rasterize, it makes the text layer uneditable and makes it a normal layer made of pixels. If you size the image up at that point, it will become pixelated.
I hope you liked my tutorial on the basics of different types of layers and I hoped you learned something! Remember to stay organized and try using layers to your advantage. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will try to answer it in my next blogs!
Reblogged this on afm videos and commented:
Great info on using photoshop layers by my friend Ben Wilson! Check it out! Photoshop comes in handy for many jobs, especially the online video world!