Photoshop 6 for Windows Bible- P24 pptx

661 Chapter 14 ✦ Shapes and Styles 8. Draw the shape. If you set the tool to draw a shape layer in Step 3, then Photoshop automatically creates a new layer. As shown in Figure 14-4, the Layers palette shows a colored fill (labeled “Layer contents” in the figure) with a clipping path to the right of it, masking the fill. If you assigned a layer style, a list of one or more effects appears under the layer name. Figure 14-4: A shape layer is actually a clipping path that masks a color or other contents directly inside Photoshop. 9. Switch tools and draw more shapes. Photoshop adds each new shape that you draw to the existing shape layer. This means that they all get filled with the same contents. If you prefer to create a new shape layer with a different fill, click the clipping path thumbnail in the Layers palette to turn off the clip- ping path. Or click the check mark in the Options bar. Either way, you’ll notice the clipping path turn off when the double outline around the thumbnail is replaced by a single outline. Then draw a new shape. You can dismiss the clipping path from the keyboard by pressing Escape or Enter. To activate the clipping path, click its thumbnail or press Enter. That’s it. You now have a shape layer that you can use as you please. From this point on, it’s a matter of editing the shape, as explained in the following sections. Tip Layer contents Clipping path Shape layer Layer style indicator Layer effects 662 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text Combining and editing shapes A few years back, there was an image editor called Live Picture. Its creators her- alded it as the first image editor to provide “infinite incremental undos.” In fact, the program had a run-of-the-mill single-level Undo/Redo command. The infinite incre- mental undos were actually a result of an object metaphor that pervaded the pro- gram. After drawing an element, you had the option of changing it. It wasn’t an automated undo, but rather a manual adjustment. By this twisted marketing logic, Photoshop 6’s shape layers permit infinite incre- mental undos. Although I’m being deliberately ironic, there is much to be said for a mask that is perpetually editable. Don’t like a segment? Change it. Don’t like a point? Move it. Hate the entire shape? Delete it. Here’s how: ✦ Compound path options: As explained in Step 9 in the previous section, you can draw multiple shapes on a single layer. Because they all share a single fill, Photoshop thinks of the shapes as being bits and pieces of a single, complex path. In drawing parlance, such a path is called a compound path. This leads Photoshop to wonder, what do I do when the bits and pieces overlap? Because they share a fill, they could just merge together. Or perhaps you’d rather use one shape to cut a hole in the other. Or maybe you’d like the intersection to be transparent. You specify your preference by selecting one of the four compound path but- tons, shown in Figure 14-5. The buttons affect a single shape at a time. You can either apply the button to a shape before drawing it or after. Click the first button or press the plus key (+) to add the new shape to the others. Click the second button or press the minus key (–) to subtract the new shape from the others. The third button retains the intersection, the fourth makes the inter- section transparent. Feel free to experiment. Figure 14-5: These four compound path buttons appear when editing or adding to an existing shape layer. Intersect shape areas Exclude overlapping shape areas Subtract from shape area Add to shape area 6 Photoshop 6 663 Chapter 14 ✦ Shapes and Styles ✦ Selecting shapes: You also see the buttons when selecting shapes with the arrow tool. Press A to get the black arrow tool — if you get the white arrow instead, press Shift+A—and then click a shape to select it. Or Ctrl-click a shape when using a shape tool. ✦ Move and transform: Drag a selected shape to move it. Select the Show Bounding Box check box in the Options bar to access the transformation controls. Or press Ctrl+T to enter the free transform mode. Then drag a han- dle to scale, drag outside the bounding box to rotate, and Ctrl+drag a handle to skew or distort. If you need a transformation refresher, check out the sec- tion “Applying Transformations” in Chapter 12. ✦ Arranging and combining shapes: After selecting a shape with the arrow tool, you can apply any of the four compound path buttons. As you do, bear in mind that the topmost shape takes precedence. So if Shape A is set to Add, Shape B is set to Intersect, and Shape B is in front, then Photoshop fills only the intersection. Meanwhile, the stacking order is entirely dependent on the order in which you draw the shapes, with more recent shapes in front. (The Layer ➪ Arrange commands affect whole layers; they can’t be used to reorder shapes.) Once you get the effect you’re looking for, you can fix the relation- ship by selecting two or more paths and clicking the Combine button in the Options bar. Photoshop fuses the selected paths into one. Technically, you can combine multiple shapes that don’t overlap. But I advise against it. At first, the shapes behave as if they’re grouped together. But try to combine other paths with them, and you may uncover some pretty strange relationships. Something about these paths reminds me of Jeff Goldblum in the last hour of The Fly. Some things on this planet just shouldn’t be combined. ✦ Selecting points and segments: Press Shift+A to get the white arrow tool, which selects individual points and segments. Move individually selected points by dragging them; transform such points by pressing Ctrl+T. To select an entire shape, Alt-click on it. ✦ Adding and deleting points: The best tool for reshaping a shape is the pen tool. First select part of the shape with one of the arrow tools. Then click a segment to insert a point; drag on a segment to add a smooth point; click a point to remove it. You can likewise use the convert point tool, as well as any other technique that’s applicable to paths. ✦ Disabling a clipping path: Shift-click the clipping path thumbnail in the Layers palette to turn it off and make visible the entire contents of the layer. Shift-click the thumbnail again to turn the clipping path on. ✦ Duplicating a clipping path: So far as Photoshop is concerned, shapes are just another kind of path. So it’s not surprising that you can access the paths in an active shape layer from the Paths palette. Drag the Clipping Path item onto the tiny page icon at the bottom of the Paths palette to duplicate the shapes so you can use them elsewhere as standard paths (as discussed in Chapter 8). Caution 664 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text ✦ Deleting a clipping path: Click the clipping path thumbnail and then click the trash can icon at the bottom of the Layers palette to delete the shapes from the layer. To add a new shape to the layer, first choose Layer ➪ Add Layer Clipping Path ➪ Hide All. Then draw shapes in the layer to expose portions of the layer’s contents. ✦ Defining your own custom shape: If you create a shape that you think you might want to repeat in the future, select the shape with either arrow tool and choose Edit ➪ Define Custom Shape. Then name the shape and hit Enter. Photoshop adds the shape to the presets so you can draw it with the custom shape tool. The moral of the story is, shapes work a lot like paths. If you find yourself strangely drawn to the Dark Art of Shape Editing and you’re afraid I’ve forgotten to mention some amazing technique once known to the Oblique Brotherhood of Vector Druids — as I undoubtedly have —consult the “Reshaping paths” and “Transforming paths” scrolls, which I’ve sequestered inside the caliginous catacombs of Chapter 8. Editing the stuff inside the shape Here are a few ways to modify the color and general appearance of shape layers in Photoshop 6: ✦ Changing the color: To change the color of a shape layer, double-click the layer contents thumbnail in the Layers palette. Then select a new color from the Color Picker dialog box. Or better yet, change the foreground color and then press Alt+Backspace. ✦ Changing the blending options: You can change the blend mode and Opacity value for a shape layer using the standard controls in the Layers palette. Or double-click anywhere on the layer except the layer contents thumbnail to display the Blending Options section of the Layer Style dialog box. As dis- cussed in Chapter 13, these options work the same for shape layers as they do for normal layers. You can also apply or modify layer effects, as I explain later in this chapter. ✦ Changing the layer style: Another way to apply or switch out layer effects is to apply a predefined style from the Styles palette. Just click on a preset in the Styles palette and Photoshop automatically applies it to the active layer. After that, you can edit an effect by double-clicking its name in the Layers palette. ✦ Renaming the shape layer: Press Alt and double-click a shape layer to rename it. ✦ Fill with a gradient or repeating pattern: Don’t want to fill your shape with a solid color? Don’t have to. To fill the active shape layer with a gradient, choose Layer ➪ Change Layer Content➪ Gradient. Or choose Layer ➪ Change Layer Content➪ Pattern to apply a repeating pattern. 665 Chapter 14 ✦ Shapes and Styles Figure 14-6 shows the dialog box for each. Most of the options are familiar from the gradient tool (Chapter 6) and pattern stamp tool (Chapter 7) discus- sions. The only new options are in the Pattern Fill dialog box. Scale lets you resize the pattern inside the shape; Link With Layer makes sure the shape and pattern move together; and Snap To Origin snaps the pattern into alignment with the origin. You can reposition a gradient or pattern inside its shape just by dragging inside the image window while the dialog box is up on screen. After applying a gradient or pattern, you can edit it just by double-clicking the layer contents thumbnail in the Layers palette. Photoshop calls these kinds of editable contents dynamic fills. Figure 14-6: Gradients and patterns inside a shape layer are considered dynamic fills, which means you can edit them simply by double-clicking the layer contents thumbnail and editing the options above. ✦ Making a color adjustment shape: Where layer content is concerned, shape layers have unlimited potential. You can even fill a shape with a color adjust- ment. Just choose Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation, or any of the other color correction classics from the Layer ➪ Change Layer Content submenu. Read the “Adjustment Layers” section of Chapter 17 for complete information. Tip 666 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text ✦ Painting inside a shape layer: Wish you could paint or edit the contents of a shape layer? Well now, thanks to subtle genetic alterations to Photoshop’s core subroutines, you can. Assuming the shape is filled with a solid color, gradient, or pattern (this technique is not applicable to adjustment layers), choose Layer ➪ Rasterize➪ Fill Content. From this point on, the fill is no longer dynamic. This means you can’t double-click its thumbnail to edit it. However, you can edit it like any other layer full of pixels. Paint inside it, clone from another layer with the stamp tool, apply a filter, go nuts. ✦ Filling a clipping path with an image: Applying a clipping path to an image is a more delicate operation. Fortunately, there are several ways to do it, so you can select your favorite. Method number one: Draw a shape not as a new shape layer, but rather as a working path (see Step 3 of “The shape drawing process”). Then select the layer that you want to mask (it must be a floating layer, not the background) and choose Layer➪ Add Layer Clipping Path➪ Current Path. Want to avoid that command? After establishing a work path, Ctrl-click the Add Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette to make the path clip the active image layer. ✦ From clipping group to clipping path: Okay, so that’s one way. But what if you’ve already gone and made a shape layer, and you want to fill that shape with an image? Again, there are a few approaches, but the easiest is to paste the image onto a layer in front of the shape layer. Then press Ctrl+G to group it with the shape layer. ✦ Fusing image and shape layer: That’s enough to create the same visual effect as a shape masking an image, but it involves two layers instead of one. If you want for any reason to fuse the two layers together, you have to once again take a special approach. First, select the shape layer and choose Layer➪ Rasterize ➪ Fill Content to convert the dynamic fill to pixels. Then select the image layer and press Ctrl+E to merge it with the shape layer below. If all this isn’t enough, there is one more way to push the boundaries of shape lay- ers and wring the last vestiges of cogent reasoning out of your by-now fragile mind. How? By adding a layer mask to a shape layer. That’s right, Photoshop lets you combine pixel masking and vector masking on one layer, as shown in Figure 14-7. Why do it? Well, of course, there’s always the chance it appeals to a latent strain of masochism on your part. But also, a layer mask permits you to soften some edges of a clipping path and leave others razor sharp. For example, in the figure, I added a black circle to the layer mask and blurred it to make the clover fade in a circular pattern toward its interior. Or you might want to feather an edge. Or add a motion blur. Or, again, just make yourself nuts. In any case, start with a shape layer. Then click the Add Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and start painting away. Tip Tip 667 Chapter 14 ✦ Shapes and Styles Figure 14-7: Add a layer mask to a shape layer to add pixel-based softening to the razor-sharp vector mask. The Bold New Layer Styles Photoshop 5 introduced a series of layer effects that automate the application of shad- ows, glows, and beveled edges. Now, Version 6 takes the metaphor several steps fur- ther. In addition to dramatically improving the quality of the existing effects —now you won’t find yourself cursing at them half the time — the new Photoshop adds effects that overlay colors, stroke outlines, and create textures and contours. Plus, you can define exactly how effects are blended with background layers. And you can save them as preset layer styles for later use. Photoshop 6 elevates layer effects from nifty tools to some of the most powerful functions inside the program. To apply a layer effect, start with an image on an independent layer. In Figure 14-8, I selected the dolphin’s head and pressed Ctrl+J to copy it to an independent layer. But you can use any kind of layer, including text (Chapter 15) or a shape layer. Then click the Add Layer Style icon at the bottom of the Layers palette — the one that looks like a florin (cursive f ) —and choose any of the commands following Blending Options. Or double-click the layer name to display the Layer Style dialog box, and then select an effect from the left-hand list. Use the check box to turn the effect on and off; highlight the effect name to edit its settings. You can select from one of the following 10 effects: ✦ Drop Shadow: The Drop Shadow command applies a common, everyday drop shadow. You specify the color, opacity, blend mode, position, size, and con- tour of the shadow; Photoshop does the rest. 6 Photoshop 6 Add mask Layer mask thumbnail 668 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text Figure 14-8: Starting with an independent layer, click the Add Layer Style icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose an effect (top). Then adjust the settings inside the sprawling Layer Style dialog box (bottom). ✦ Inner Shadow: This command applies a drop shadow inside the layer, as demonstrated by the second example in Figure 14-9. The command simulates the kind of shadow you’d get if the layer were punched out of the background— that is, the background looks like it’s in front, casting a shadow onto the layer. Inner Shadow is especially effective with type, as I explain in the next chapter. 669 Chapter 14 ✦ Shapes and Styles Figure 14-9: The first four examples above illustrate the effects of the first four commands under the Layer ➪ Layer Style submenu. You can also combine multiple effects on a single layer, as demonstrated by the two images at bottom. Drop shadow Outer glow Drop shadow + inner shadow Inner shadow Inner glow Outer glow + inner glow 670 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text ✦ Outer Glow: The Outer Glow command creates a traditional halo, like the one I applied to our aquatic friend back in the “Halos” section of Chapter 12. However, you have lots of additional controls in case you want to get fancy. ✦ Inner Glow: This command applies the effect inside the layer rather than out- side, as demonstrated in the second row of Figure 14-9. To create a neon strip around the perimeter of a layer, apply both the Outer Glow and Inner glow commands. For an example of a neon edge, see the bottom-right example in Figure 14-9. ✦ Bevel and Emboss: The Bevel and Emboss option produces one of five dis- tinct edge effects, as defined using the Style pop-up menu. The first four appear in Figure 14-10; the fifth one is exclusively applicable to stroked layers and requires the Stroke effect to be turned on. You can add a three- dimensional beveled edge around the outside of the layer, as in the first example in the figure. The Inner Bevel effect produces a beveled edge inside the layer. The Emboss effect combines inner and outer bevels. And the Pillow Emboss reverses the inner bevel so the image appears to sink in and then rise back up along the edge of the layer. ✦ Contour and Texture: The Contour and Texture options aren’t actual effects, but rather modify the Bevel and Emboss effect. The Contour settings create waves in the surface of the layer that result in rippling lighting effects. Texture stamps a pattern into the surface of the layer, which creates a texture effect. ✦ Satin: This option creates regular waves of color, as in the first example of Figure 14-11. You define the behavior of the waves using the Contour options. One of the stranger effects, Satin can be difficult to predict. But so long as you keep the Preview check box turned on, you can experiment with a fair amount of success. ✦ Color, Gradient, and Pattern Overlay: These three options fill the layer with a coating of solid color, gradient, or repeating pattern, respectively. They work almost identically to the three dynamic fills available to shape layers, as dis- cussed in the section “Editing the stuff inside the shape” earlier in this chap- ter. All three can be quite useful when defining your own style presets. ✦ Stroke: Use this option to trace a colored outline around a layer. The Stroke effect is often preferable to Edit ➪ Stroke because you can edit it long after creating it. By comparison, Edit➪ Stroke is a permanent effect. The Layer Style dialog box is a vast labyrinth of options. So it’s handy to know a few additional ways to get around. To switch between effects without turning them on or off, press Ctrl plus a number key. Ctrl+1 highlights Drop Shadow, Ctrl+2 highlights Inner Shadow, Ctrl+3 highlights Outer Glow, and so on, all the way to Ctrl+0 for Stroke. You cannot get to Blending Options, Contour, or Texture from the keyboard. Tip Tip [...]... changes to type rank among the largest upgrades in Photoshop 6 And because Adobe implemented these features using controls similar to those found in page layout, illustration, and even advanced word processing programs, you should be able to make them a regular part of your text routine in no time Photoshop Note I don’t cover the Photoshop 6 options for formatting Chinese, Korean, and Japanese text, which... them or applying formatting commands In Photoshop, the type tool not only enables you to create and edit text, but also to create a text-based selection outline 68 9 69 0 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text Photoshop Figure 15-4: This image is the result of going nuts for 15 minutes or so using the commands in the Filter menu I used Emboss, Radial Blur, Colored Pencil, Craquelure, and Wave 6 Adobe completely... note that when you save images in formats that offer the Include Vector Data option, you must select that option to retain the vector properties of your text If you turn off the check box or save in a format that doesn’t support vectors, Photoshop rasterizes your text Again, saving a backup copy of the image in the native Photoshop format is a good idea Text as art Before I get into the nitty-gritty... You could also mix and match formatting attributes inside a single text block, something you couldn’t do in Version 4 and earlier In only one upgrade cycle, Photoshop made a quantum leap from grim Stone Age letter wrangling to something that might actually pass for contemporary typesetting Photoshop Photoshop 5.5 expanded your type possibilities further, adding options for underlining text, applying... the type tool in Photoshop 6, as I mentioned earlier The following steps show you the basics of using the new tool and its accompanying options Note that these steps assume that you’re creating text for the first time in your image (more about adding to existing text later) STEPS: Creating Text in Photoshop 6 1 Select the type tool by clicking its icon in the toolbox or pressing T Photoshop activates... what you see, inspect it and edit at will Photoshop Caution After choosing Create Layers, you’re on your own From that point on, you lose the ability to edit the effects from the Layer Style dialog box (unless, of course, you decide to go back in time via the History palette) Saving effects as styles 6 Photoshop 6 lets you save layer effects and blending options for later use by creating layer styles,... on the General panel of the Preference dialog box (Ctrl+K) Like the rest of the Photoshop 6 type controls, these options should be familiar to you if you work regularly with type in these languages But if you’re not sure what each control does, check the Photoshop online help system for details The five flavors of text 6 As I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, the type tool now produces vector type But... could, the style and layer are not linked, so updating the style would have no effect on the layer Photoshop lets you create new styles, rename existing styles, and delete old ones — that’s about it ✦ ✦ ✦ 68 3 15 C H A P T E R Fully Editable Text ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ In This Chapter The State of Type in Photoshop 6 Photoshop 5 gave us something you don’t see often — editable bitmapped type Long after you created... examples above The last row of images shows what happens when you combine beveled edges with glows 67 1 67 2 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text Satin Color overlay Gradient overlay Pattern overlay Stroke Stroke emboss Figure 14-11: The five effects new to Photoshop 6 are Satin, the three overlays, and Stroke Version 6 also adds an embossing option that works only with the Stroke effect Chapter 14 ✦ Shapes... applying faux bold and italic effects, and adjusting how the program applied antialiasing and kerning to text But all these advances pale in comparison to the bounty of text improvements in Photoshop 6 6 The Photoshop 6 type tool creates vector text instead of bitmapped text That means that you can scale text as large as you want without any repercussions, just as you can any vector object (If you’re unclear . opacity, blend mode, position, size, and con- tour of the shadow; Photoshop does the rest. 6 Photoshop 6 Add mask Layer mask thumbnail 66 8 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text Figure 14-8: Starting. apply a repeating pattern. 66 5 Chapter 14 ✦ Shapes and Styles Figure 14 -6 shows the dialog box for each. Most of the options are familiar from the gradient tool (Chapter 6) and pattern stamp tool. Change Layer Content submenu. Read the “Adjustment Layers” section of Chapter 17 for complete information. Tip 66 6 Part IV ✦ Layers, Objects, and Text ✦ Painting inside a shape layer: Wish you