Advanced 9 Layer Techniques
Once youve learned basic layer techniques, you can begin to create more complex effects in your artwork using layer masks, clipping groups, and style layers.
246 LESSON 9
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In this lesson, youll learn how to do the following:
Create clipping groups, which let you use an image on one layer as a mask for artwork on other layers. Create layer sets to organize and manage layers. Add adjustment layers to an image, and use them to apply color and tonal adjustments without permanently changing pixel data. Create knockout layers to use one layer selectively to reveal others. Import layers from other Photoshop les. Work with type layers. Duplicate and clip layers. Add layer styles to a layer, and apply the effects to multiple layers. Rasterize layers. Convert clipping paths to masks. Liquify a layer, giving it a melted appearance. Flatten and save layered les, greatly reducing their le size.
This lesson will take about 60 minutes to complete. The lesson is designed to be done in Adobe Photoshop, but information on using similar functionality in Adobe ImageReady is included where appropriate. If needed, remove the previous lesson folder from your hard drive, and copy the Lesson09 folder onto it. As you work on this lesson, youll overwrite the start les. If you need to restore the start les, copy them from the Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book CD. Note: Windows users need to unlock the lesson les before using them. For information, seeCopying the Classroom in a Book les on page 3.
Getting started
Before beginning this lesson, restore the default application settings for Adobe Photoshop. See Restoring default preferences on page 4. Youll start the lesson by viewing the nal lesson le to see what youll accomplish. 1 Start Adobe Photoshop.
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If a notice appears asking whether you want to customize your color settings, click No. 2 Choose File > Open, and open the le 09End.psd from the Lessons/Lesson09 folder. 3 When you have nished viewing the le, either leave the 09End.psd le open on your desktop for reference, or close it without saving changes. For an illustration of the nished artwork for this lesson, see the gallery at the beginning of the color section. Now youll open the start le, which contains an image that has two layers and a background, and youll work with various layering and masking techniques to complete the image. 4 Choose File > Open, and open the 09Start.psd le, located in the Lessons/Lesson09 folder on your hard drive. 5 If the Layers palette is not already showing, choose Window > Layers to display it. The Layers palette shows that there are three layers in the lethe Metal Grill layer, the Rust layer, and the background. At this point, you can see only the Metal Grill layer, because the Rust layer and the background are positioned under the image of the metal grill.
Creating a layer clipping path
A layer clipping path creates a sharp-edged mask on a layer. In this part of the lesson, youll draw a circle and use it as a layer clipping path to knock out the holes in the metal grill image. This will let you see through the holes to the layers below. Youll begin by drawing the clipping path on the Metal Grill layer. 1 Click the Metal Grill layer in the Layers palette to select it.
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2 Select the ellipse tool ( ). Then click the Create New Work Path button ( ) in the options bar. 3 Move the pointer to the center of one of the holes in the metal grill. 4 Hold down the Shift and Alt keys (Windows) or the Shift and Option keys (Mac OS) and drag to draw a circle the size of the hole. When the circle is the right size, release the mouse button, and then release the Shift and Alt/Shift and Option keys. Note: If the circle is not exactly centered when youre done, Command-click the circle and drag it into position.
Next youll make copies for the rest of the metal grill. 5 Select the path component selection tool ( ) and click to select the circle you just created. 6 Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) to place a copy of the circle over another hole in the metal grill. Then repeat this step to place copies over the remaining holes. Notice that some of the circles go past the edge of the image. This isnt a problem, because they are simply clipping paths.
Note: You can adjust the position of a selected circle using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
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Youre ready to change these circles into a layer clipping path. 7 Shift-click the remaining circles until they are all selected. 8 Click the Subtract from Shape Area (-) button ( ) in the options bar. 9 Choose Layer > Add Layer Clipping Path > Current Path. The Rust layer appears through the holes you cut in the Metal Grill layer, and the layer clipping path you just created appears in the Metal Grill layer in the Layers palette.
10 Click the Dismiss Target Path button ( circles you made. 11 Choose File > Save to save your work.
) in the options bar to temporarily hide the
Creating layer sets
You can organize and manage individual layers by grouping them into layer sets. You can then expand the layer set to view the layers contained in it or collapse the set to simplify your view. Layer sets let you apply attributes and masks to the layers within the set. In addition, they function like layers, letting you select, duplicate, move, and change the stacking order of layers in the set. In this section, youll create two layer sets, one for type and another for the metal grill. 1 In the Layers palette, click the Create a New Set button ( ) twice to create two layer sets. 2 With Set 2 still selected at the top of the Layers palette, choose Layer Set Properties from the palette menu. 3 Enter Type for Name and choose Blue from the Color menu. Then click OK. The layer set is renamed Type in the Layers palette.
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4 Select Set 1 from the Layers palette and again choose Layer Set Properties from the palette menu. This time, enter Image for Name and choose Orange from the Color menu. Then click OK. Now youre going to move the Metal Grill and Rust layers into the Image layer set. 5 Drag the layer Metal Grill in the Layers palette onto the folder icon ( ) for Image, then release the layer to add it to the Image layer set. You can tell Metal Grill is a member of that set, because the thumbnails of the metal grill and clipping mask are now indented under Image in the Layers palette. 6 Drag the Rust layer to add it to the Image layer set, too. Notice that the Rust layer is below the Metal Grill layer in the layer set.
7 Choose File > Save.
Using adjustment layers (Photoshop) An adjustment layer lets you experiment with color or tonal adjustments to an image without permanently modifying the pixels in the image. The color or tonal changes reside within the adjustment layer, which acts as a veil through which the underlying image layers appear. Once you create an adjustment layer, you can easily edit the settings, or dynamically replace it with a different adjustment or ll type. When you create an adjustment layer, its effect appears on all the layers below it. This lets you correct multiple layers by making a single adjustment, rather than making the adjustment to each layer separately. Adjustment layers can be applied and edited only in Photoshop; however, they can be viewed in ImageReady. When you apply an adjustment layer to a layer set, Photoshop adds the new adjustment layer in the layer set above the existing layers.
From Adobe Photoshop 6.0 online Help
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Creating an adjustment layer
Adjustment layers can be added to an image to apply color and tonal adjustments without permanently changing the pixel values in the image. For example, if you add a Color Balance adjustment layer to an image, you can experiment with different colors repeatedly, because the change occurs only on the adjustment layer. If you decide to return to the original pixel values, you can hide or delete the adjustment layer. Here youll add a Curves adjustment layer to create a greater contrast between the grill and the rust layer in the background. Youll do this by darkening the entire rust image. An adjustment layer affects all layers below it in the images stacking order. Because youll place the Curves adjustment layer below the Metal Grill layer, the adjustment will affect the rust layer and the background but not the metal grill. 1 Select the Rust layer in the Layers palette. 2 Click the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button ( ) at the bottom of the palette and choose Curves from the menu that appears. 3 Click on the middle of the diagonal line in the grid (the color curve) to add a control point on the curve that will adjust the midtones. 4 Drag the control point down and to the right or enter values in the Input and Output text boxes. (We moved the control point so that the value in the Input text box was 150% and the value in the Output text box was 105%.)
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5 Click OK. An adjustment layer named Curves 1 appears in the Layers palette. The new layer does not include a layer thumbnail; only layer mask thumbnails are displayed for adjustment layers. 6 Choose File > Save.
Creating a knockout gradient layer
Knockout layer options let you specify how one layer reveals other layers. In this section, youll create a knockout gradient layer so that the lower third of the image reveals the background layer. Youll begin by creating a new layer in the Image layer set. 1 Select the Image layer set in the Layers palette and click the Create a New Layer button ( ) at the bottom of the palette. This creates a new layer above the Metal Grill, Curves 1, and Rust layers in the Image layer set. 2 With the new layer in selected the Layers palette, choose Layer Properties from the palette menu. Then enter Knockout Gradient for Name and click OK. Now youll create a gradient on this layer. 3 Select the gradient tool ( ). 4 Click the Default Foreground and Background Colors icon ( ) in the toolbox to set the foreground color to black and the background color to white.
5 Click the Linear Gradient button ( ) in the options bar to create a linear gradient. 6 Click the arrow ( ) to the right of the gradient display in the options bar to open the gradient picker.
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7 Choose Small List from the gradient picker menu. Then choose Foreground to Transparent in the gradient picker.
8 Click in the image to close the gradient picker. 9 Shift-drag from the bottom of the image to slightly above the midpoint to create a gradient that goes from black at the bottom to transparent at the top.
10 Double-click Knockout Gradient in the Layers palette to display the Layer Style dialog box. 11 In the Advanced Blending area, enter 0 for Fill Opacity. Then choose Deep from the Knockout menu to apply this to all of the lower layers in the layer set. Then click OK.
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12 Choose File > Save.
Importing a type layer
Text is added to images with the type tool. Each use of the type tool adds a new type layer to the image. Each of these type layers can be moved, edited, or modied independently, giving you virtually unlimited typographic exibility. In this part of the lesson, youll import an existing type layer into your artwork. For information on creating a type layer using the type tool, see Lesson 3, Layer Basics. 1 Select the Type layer set in the Layers palette. 2 Choose File > Open, select DieselType.psd, and click Open. 3 Drag the Diesel layer from the Layers palette into the 09Start.psd image. Because the Type layer set was selected in the 09Start.psd image, the Diesel layer is added to that set. 4 Select the move tool ( ) and drag the word Diesel to the bottom center of the image.
5 Choose File > Save. 6 Close the DieselType.psd le without saving it.
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Applying layer styles
Once you have the text arranged on the image, you can add layer styles to enhance the look of the type. Layer styles are automated special effects that you can apply to a layer. For more information on layer styles, see Lesson 3, Layer Basics. Now youll add two different layer styles to the Diesel type layer. 1 Double-click the Diesel layer in the Layers palette to display the Layer Style dialog box. 2 Select Preview on the right side of the dialog box to preview the styles youll apply. 3 Select Drop Shadow. 4 Select Bevel and Emboss, and then click the name of that option to display individual options for it. 5 In the Structure area, enter 2 for Depth and 2 for Size. Then Click OK.
6 Choose File > Save.
Duplicating and clipping a layer
In this section, youll learn how to copy the Rust layer and clip it to the shape described by the type layer. First, youll copy the Rust layer and move it above the type layer.
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1 Select the Rust layer in the Layers palette and drag it onto the Create a New Layer button ( ) at the bottom of the palette. A new layer called Rust copy is created directly above the Rust layer in the palette. 2 In the Layers palette, drag Rust copy just above the Diesel layer inside the Type layer set. Because Rust copy is the top layer, the rust image is all you can see. 3 Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and move the mouse pointer over the line dividing the Rust copy and Diesel layers in the Layers palette. When the pointer changes to two overlapping circles ( ), click the mouse button. Rust copy is clipped to the shape of the Diesel text, and you can see the other layers again.
You can move a clipping path or mask independently of the artwork on the layer by unlinking them. To do so, click the link icon between the layer thumbnail and the mask or clipping path. 4 Choose File > Save.
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Using the Liquify command The Liquify command makes it easy to manipulate areas of an image, as if those areas had been melted. You work with a preview image of the current layer, using special tools to warp, twirl, expand, contract, shift, and reect areas of the image. An optional warp mesh shows distortions from the original. You can freeze areas of the preview image to protect them from further changes, and thaw frozen areas, making them editable. You can also use several reconstruction modes to fully or partially reverse the distortionsor to extend the distortions or redo them in new areas. When youre nished, you can apply the changes to the actual image. Note: The Liquify command is available only for 8-bit images in RGB Color, CMYK Color, Lab Color, and Grayscale image modes.
From Adobe Photoshop 6.0 online Help
Liquifying a layer
The Liquify command lets you add a melted look to the image. In this part of the lesson, youll make the metal grill look as if it has melted from one side to the other. First you need to rasterize the Metal Grill image and its clipping path into a single image. 1 Select the Metal Grill layer in the Layers palette. 2 Choose Layer > Rasterize > Layer. This converts the clipping path, which is a vector graphic and is resolution-independent, into a mask, which is a raster image and is resolution-dependent. To view a mask by itself, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the mask thumbnail in the Layers palette. You can then use the painting tools to add to or subtract from the mask. For more information, see Lesson 5, Masks and Channels. 3 Choose Layer > Remove Layer Mask > Apply to merge the layer with its mask, creating a single rasterized image on that layer. Now youll warp the layer with the Liquify command and warp tool. 4 Chose ...