PHOTOSHOP CS4 QuickSteps- P8 potx

132 PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 COPY AN EXISTING LAYER You also can create a new layer by copying an existing layer. In the Layers panel, click the source layer. The cursor changes to a fist. Perform one of these options: • Drag the layer to the Create A New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. • Click Layer | New | Layer Via Copy. • Press CTRL/CMD+J. Photoshop creates a new layer that is an exact copy of the original. The new layer appears immediately above the source layer in the Layers panel. CREATE A NEW LAYER FROM A SELECTION You can create a new layer by copying only the selected portions of an existing layer. This is a useful way to separate a selected element or elements from the background while leaving your original image intact. 1. Use any of the selection tools to select the portions of a layer that you want to copy. 2. Click Layer | New | Layer Via Copy. –Or– Press CTRL/CMD+J. Edit with Layers You can add as many layers to a document as needed (as the amount of system RAM and scratch disk space you’ve allocated to Photoshop allows). Some commands, such as painting, can only be made to one layer at a time. Other adjustments, such as moving, applying styles, or transforming, can be made to multiple layers at a time. To identify which layers will be included in an edit, select layers, link, or group them. Here is how you can manipulate the layers, make the background layer editable, and add additional layers as needed. NOTE If a selection is active, the Layer Via Copy command ( CTRL/CMD + J ) copies the selected portions to a new layer. If there is no selection, then the command copies the entire layer. UICKSTEPS LINKING AND UNLINKING LAYERS Layers that are linked move, rotate, and transform together. If you move the contents of a layer 50 pixels to the left, the contents of all layers linked to that layer will also move 50 pixels to the left. You can also link groups of layers. Linked layers can be unlinked, unlinked temporarily, and then relinked as needed to edit or view the effects. LINK LAYERS To link another layer to the currently selected layer, select the layers you want to link; this is done by holding SHIFT as you click neighboring layer titles on the Layers panel, or by holding CTRL/ CMD to select noncontiguous layers. Then click the Link Layers icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. A chain icon appears to the right of each layer’s name. UNLINK LAYERS Select a linked layer and then click the Link Layers icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. The chain icon disappears. Another type of link between selection and style Click here to link or unlink selected layers Shows these two layers are linked 6 132 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 133 10 9 87 6 54 32 1 UNLOCK THE BACKGROUND LAYER The background layer in a Photoshop document is initially locked. You cannot erase it (other than painting over it with a background color). You cannot move, rotate, or resize it as you would a document layer (there are commands to rotate and scale a background that can be found in the Image menu); nor can you create a mask for it. To make these kinds of changes on the background, you must first turn it into a normal layer: • Click Layer | New | Layer From Background. The background becomes a normal layer. –Or– • Double-click the background layer thumbnail on the Layers panel, and then respond to the New Layer dialog box. COPY MERGED LAYERS You might want to copy a merged version of a layered document—a version that looks the same but does not contain multiple layers—to the Clipboard. Remember that the size of image files may cause this to be an unwise way of copying your images. 1. Select the entire document by clicking Select | All or by pressing CTRL/CMD+A. 2. Click Edit | Copy Merged or press SHIFT+CTRL/CMD+C. All layers in the document are copied to the Clipboard as a single layer. When you copy the contents of the Clipboard to a new document, the contents appear as a new layer made up of all layers from the parent document (see Figure 6-2 and Figure 6-3). If the original layers had transparency, the transparent regions that did not overlap any opaque areas on other layers will still be transparent. NOTE The background layer is fixed to the bottom of the stack and cannot be moved unless you rename it or convert it to a new layer. You will want to do this to have more flexibility in what you can do to the image. Once you have converted a background layer to a normal layer, you can convert it back to a background layer by clicking Layer | New | Background From Layer. You cannot create a background layer simply by renaming it “Background.” TIP Double-click the background layer lock icon to create a layer from the background. NOTE Any time you paste something into a Photoshop document, it goes on a new layer located immediately above the currently selected layer. 6 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections 133 134 PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 Figure 6-3: Copying the merged layers into a new document results in a single layer. COPY FROM ANOTHER APPLICATION TO A NEW LAYER To copy an item from another application (for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer) to a Photoshop document: 1. Open an image in Photoshop. 2. Switch to another application, such as a web browser, and select and copy an image. 3. Return to Photoshop and click Edit | Paste. The new image is pasted into the Photoshop document on a new layer. CTRL/CMD+V is the keyboard shortcut. If you need to copy text as editable text into Photoshop, click the Type tool on the Tools panel before pasting. Click an insertion point in your document, and then press CTRL/ CMD+V. Reformatting your text is usually necessary, but this beats retyping a paragraph of text. If you choose to paste using a tool other than the Type tool, a new layer is created, but the pasted text is a bitmap, and not editable text. The system clipboard typically doesn’t handle transparency between applications. Usually, if you copy an image containing transparent regions and try to paste it into a Photoshop document, you’ll get a black area instead of the original image transparency. You can copy and paste to new layers within Photoshop because Photoshop uses an internal clipboard, not your system’s clipboard. COPY A LAYER BY DRAGGING You can drag layers directly from one Photoshop document to another. To copy a layer from one Photoshop document to another: 1. Open two images in Photoshop with the Layers panel open. 2. Click Window | Arrange | Tile to display both images at once. Figure 6-2: Before using the Copy Merged command, the document is composed of many layers. 6 134 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 135 10 9 87 6 54 32 1 3. Make sure the source document is selected. If it is not, you can just click its title bar. 4. Click the desired layer title on the Layers panel and drag it into the destination document. It will be added to the second document as a new layer. Press and hold SHIFT as you drag a layer from one document to a different document window to make it centered in the receiving document. REARRANGE LAYER ORDER The order of layers in the Layers panel usually determines the final result, as shown in Figures 6-4 and 6-5. To change the order of layers: 1. Click a layer title on the Layers panel. 2. Drag the layer up or down to a new position. The original background layer is locked and therefore cannot be moved. NOTE You cannot copy a layer to a background layer. You must first convert the background layer to a regular layer. Figure 6-4: The image of the “bear” is partially obscured by the other layers when it is not the top layer. TIP Before making changes, copy your work to a new layer. Make changes on the new layer, and if you don’t like them, delete the layer. 6 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections 135 136 PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 DELETE A LAYER To delete a layer: 1. Click a layer’s thumbnail in the Layers panel. 2. Drag the layer to the Delete Layer button at the bottom of the panel. –Or– 1. Right-click the layer’s name in the Layers panel, and click Delete Layer. 2. Photoshop asks you to confirm the deletion. Click Yes. Consolidate Layers into Layer Groups Layers can be grouped together into folders called layer groups. Layer groups help you keep multilayer documents organized. You can group parts of an image together so that they work as a single component of the image. UICKSTEPS MANIPULATING LAYER GROUPS MOVE THE CONTENTS OF A LAYER GROUP 1. Select the Move tool from the Tools panel. 2. Click a layer group in the Layers panel. 3. Drag the image to move the entire layer group. RESIZE A LAYER GROUP 1. In the Layers panel, click the layer group you want to resize. 2. Press CTRL/CMD+T to enter Free Transform mode, or click Edit | Free Transform. 3. Drag the handles to resize all layers in the layer group at once. Press and hold SHIFT while you drag to constrain the resizing to proportional resizing. 4. Press ENTER/RETURN, click Commit (the check button on the Options bar), or double-click the image to accept the changes. DELETE A LAYER GROUP 1. Click a layer group thumbnail in the Layers panel. 2. Drag the layer group to the Delete Layer button at the bottom of the panel. –Or– Continued . . . Figure 6-5: When the “bear” layer is moved, it appears as the top layer, no longer obscured by the others. 6 136 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 137 10 9 87 6 54 32 1 With ambitious and complex compositions, you may have several groups. Although you cannot paint on a layer group, in most other ways, they act the same as individual layers. You can reposition, resize, mask, and hide all layers in a layer group at the same time. Create a Layer Group When you create a new layer group, you first create a blank folder into which you can drag other layers in the document. Creating layer groups when working with a multilayer document makes it easier for you to work within the Layers panel, since you can collapse any layer groups you are not currently editing to eliminate clutter and confusion in the Layers panel. To create a new layer group: • Click the Create A New Group icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. –Or– • Click Layer | Group Layers. MOVE A LAYER INTO A LAYER GROUP To move a layer into a layer group: 1. In the Layers panel, click an existing layer. 2. Drag it to the desired layer group. TIP Rename a duplicated layer group to reflect the duplicated group’s intended purpose. CAUTION You may need to relocate your layer group to a different place in the stack in order to maintain the intended image effect. UICKSTEPS MANIPULATING LAYER GROUPS (Continued) 1. Right-click the layer group’s name in the Layers panel, and click Delete Group. 2. Photoshop asks you to confirm the deletion. You can choose between deleting both the group layer and its contents or only the group layer. Click Group And Contents or click Group Only. DUPLICATE A LAYER GROUP 1. Click a layer group thumbnail in the Layers panel. 2. Drag the layer group to the Create A New Layer button at the bottom of the panel. Photoshop creates a duplicate of the layer group and appends the layer group name with “Copy.” –Or– Right-click the layer group’s name in the Layers panel, and click Duplicate Group. 6 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections 137 138 PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 REMOVE A LAYER FROM A LAYER GROUP To remove a layer from a layer group: 1. In the Layers panel, within the layer group, click the layer that you want to remove. 2. Drag it to a position outside of the layer group. Merge Layers When you are finished editing several layers in a document, you can select them and then merge them into a single layer. When you merge selected layers, the other layers in the document are still editable. You can apply edits to the layer created by merging other layers. You can also select other layers in the document and merge them. Merge a Layer with the Layer Beneath It When you have edited two layers to your liking, you can select a layer and merge it with the underlying layer. This creates a new layer, which can be further edited. 1. In the Layers panel, select the topmost layer of the two layers you want to merge. 2. Click the Options button in the upper-right area of the Layers panel, and click Merge Layers from the flyout menu. –Or– Press CTRL/CMD+E. Merge Linked Layers To merge all linked layers into a single layer: 1. In the Layers panel, click one of the linked layers to select it. 2. Click Layer | Select Linked Layers. 3. Click Layer | Merge Layers. –Or– UICKSTEPS FLATTENING AN IMAGE When you flatten an image, you condense all layers in the document into a single layer. As a result, you can no longer edit the layers you created. Flattening an image is generally the last step prior to saving an image in a file format other than PSD for clients who don’t own Photoshop or don’t need editable layers in their work. If you intend to edit the image further in another session, do not flatten it. Save the document as a Photoshop (PSD) document. Doing so preserves all layers in the document for further editing. To flatten all layers into a single layer: • Click Layer | Flatten Image. –Or– 1. In the Layers panel, click the Options button. The Options menu appears. 2. Click Flatten Image. TIP If you want to work on a composition later, but need to send a copy of your work to someone, it’s often a good technique to save your work as a PSD file, then click File | Save As, choose the file format you need in the Save As dialog box, choose a location for the copy, then click Save. You’ll see that the As A Copy check box is automatically checked and a little caution icon appears at the bottom of the dialog box, telling you that the file format you chose necessitates that special Photoshop-specific features such as layers won’t be saved. Your work is auto- flattened to conform to the new file format’s structure. 6 138 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 139 10 9 87 6 54 32 1 1. Click the Options button in the upper-right area of the Layers panel. The panel Options menu appears. 2. Click Select Linked Layers. 3. Right-click the selected layers and click Merge Layers. Merge Visible Layers To merge visible layers into a single layer, you first must hide the layers you don’t want to merge: 1. In the Layers panel, click the eye icon for all layers you want to hide, or do not want to merge. 2. Click a visible layer to select it. 3. Click the Options button in the upper-right area of the Layers panel. The panel Options menu appears. 4. Click Merge Visible. –Or– Press CTRL/CMD+SHIFT+E. –Or– Right-click a layer title to access the merge commands from the context menu. Work with Layer Masks When working with layers, you may find that you want only part of a layer to show, or perhaps a layer to show only faintly in the background. In this case, you can use layer masks. A layer mask hides, or masks, part of a layer. Layer masks are by default black, white, and shades of black. Where the layer mask is black, the masked layer is not visible. If the mask is a shade of black (gray), the underlying mask is partially visible. If the mask is white, the layer is completely visible. You can add or subtract from a layer’s visibility by painting on the mask with shades of gray to partially reveal areas on underlying layers, or with black to completely reveal areas of the underlying layer. UICKSTEPS CHECKING FILE SIZE The file size for your image depends on the image size—specifically the number of pixels it contains. If you have many layers, depending on the number of pixels in each layer, your file size can become quite large. You may find that you need to reduce your file size to make editing easier, to make web page loading faster, or to reduce disk space. To check your file size: 1. On the Status bar, click the right-pointing arrow in the lower-left corner of the document window. A context menu will display. 2. Click Show for a submenu. 3. Click Document Sizes. The Doc Size will be displayed. It contains two numbers: the size on the left is the size of the flattened image; on the right is the size of the file with all its layers and channels. NOTE The Merge Layers command will not be available if the bottom layer is a text or shape layer. TIP Mask, don’t erase. When you erase a pixel, it’s gone forever; but you can always change a mask if you change your mind later—nothing is ever lost. 6 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections 139 140 PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 1 2 34 5 6 78 9 10 Masks come in two types in Photoshop, but their use is the same: • Bitmap masks Created with paint tools such as the Brush tool, and also by creating selections you then fill with foreground color. • Vector masks Created using the Pen tools. They produce crisp edges (so feathering is best done using bitmap masks) and can be edited and moved using the selection tools on the Tools panel. Create Layer Masks You can create a layer mask from an image, from a Quick Mask, or from a selection. Figure 6-7 shows an example of a layer mask that shows part of the image as a background and hides part of it. Figure 6-6: The Masks panel provides controls for working with your layer masks. TIP To move the masked layer slightly, with the Move tool selected, press ARROW to move the mask one pixel. To move it ten pixels, press SHIFT+ARROW. CAUTION A layer mask is by default linked in its position to the contents of a layer, so when you move a mask, you move the contents of the layer as well, which might not be what you have in mind. To move a mask but keep the layer contents in the same position, click the link icon between the layer thumbnail and the mask; the icon disappears (disabling the link) and you can then move the mask, revealing different areas of the layer. Make certain before you move the mask that the layer mask is highlighted on the Layers panel list and not the layer thumbnail. You can link the mask once more by clicking the vacant area between the mask and the layer thumbnail. QUICKFACTS USING THE MASKS PANEL The Masks panel helps you to refine your layer mask. You display the panel by clicking Window | Masks. With it you can create a pixel or vector mask by clicking the appropriate button, as shown in Figure 6-6. You can also set the density of the mask, soften the edges of the mask with feathering, refine the mask edges, and do other editing. Indicates active mask Click to create a pixel mask for a bitmap image Click to create a vector mask for a vector image Drag to control the opacity of the mask Drag to soften the edges of the mask Click for more options for the mask edges Create a layer mask or selection using sampled color ranges Toggle between hide all and reveal all mask type Toggle to hide or show the mask Click to apply the mask Click to load a previously saved mask 6 140 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 141 10 9 87 6 54 32 1 PAINT A LAYER MASK Overall, layer masks without previous selections are created in two steps: 1. You create a mask that will either hide all or reveal all. 2. You refine the mask by painting the parts you want to be seen, seen partially, or hidden. To either hide or show the whole layer, follow these steps: 1. Deselect any active selections so that none of the image is selected. 2. In the Layers panel, select the layer or group to be masked. Figure 6-7: Using layer masks, you can hide, obscure parts of, or reveal all of an image, such as this one where the background sky is hidden and the cliffs are dimmed using the Opacity setting. TIP If the mask is not perfect, press Q to revert to Quick Mask mode, and then paint white over the areas you do not want to mask or black over those you do want to mask. NOTE Be sure that the mask, not the layer, is selected when you are working with the mask. Click on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers panel to select the mask. When the layer mask is selected you will see a selection border around its thumbnail, or, in the Masks panel thumbnail, a “Pixel Mask” or “Vector Mask” notation confirms the selection. Click the layer thumbnail to edit the layer Click the mask thumbnail to edit the mask 6 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections 141 [...]... the pointer over a gradient, a Tool Tip appears showing you that gradient’s 144 144 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps to Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting Know Your PC 1 UICKSTEPS Layer groups can be masked in the same way as can individual layers: 2 MASKING A LAYER GROUP In the same way, you can use any of Photoshop s other gradient settings— Radial, Angle, Reflected, or Diamond—to create... layer mask you want CREATE A LAYER MASK FROM A SELECTED AREA 1 In the Layers panel, click the layer to be masked 2 Use one or more of Photoshop s selection tools, such as the Rectangular Marquee or 3 Click the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the Layers panel Photoshop creates a new layer mask from the selection Only pixels that were within the selection are now visible in this layer to mask... MASK HIDE A LAYER WITH A NEW LAYER MASK Click Layer | Layer Mask | Hide All 9 • You can now paint in the layer mask with white or shades of gray to reveal parts of the underlying layer 143 143 10 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing LayersKnowSelections PC QuickSteps Getting to and Your PC 1 2 NOTE CREATE A GRADIENT MASK You cannot mask the original background layer 3 NOTE It’s not necessary for the gradient... you where you’ve painted SHIFT+ALT/OPT+click the mask 9 8 7 6 6 thumbnail again to hide the Quick Mask indicator 10 Figure 6-8: Paint on a layer mask to reveal or conceal underlying layers 142 142 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps to Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting Know Your PC 1 UICKSTEPS The best thing about masks is that they aren’t permanent You can edit them at any time, hiding or revealing... place the pointer over the line between the layer you want as the clipping mask and the layer that will be used as the content When the pointer turns into two circles, click the pointer 145 145 10 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing LayersKnowSelections PC QuickSteps Getting to and Your PC 1 2 3 4 5 7 6 6 Figure 6-10: A clipping mask lets you provide content for a pattern using an image, such as the color-enhanced,... text layer –Or– 8 TIP To undo the clipping mask effects, click Layer | Release Clipping Mask Or you can press ALT/OPT and click the 10 9 line between the clipping mask and the layer above it 146 146 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps to Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting Know Your PC Select the layer above the layer that is the background or base for the image, and click Layer | Create Clipping... an image by changing the way a layer interacts with any layers beneath it See Chapter 7 for an in-depth discussion about blend modes.) 3 NOTE 2 Use Fill and Opacity for Transparency 9 147 147 10 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing LayersKnowSelections PC QuickSteps Getting to and Your PC 1 2 3 Figure 6-14: Reducing the text layer fill to 25 percent still preserves the layer effects 4 Figure 6-13: Example... Opacity or Fill control at the top of the Layers panel 3 Click the arrow to the right of the current value, and use the drop-down slider to reduce 10 9 8 7 6 6 the layer’s opacity or fill 148 148 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps to Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting Know Your PC 1 How to… Create a Ghosted Image • Work with Dissolve Mode 2 • Adding Grit and Warmth to a Photograph Work with Lighten... that is in a blend mode is made in the specific sections in this chapter 6 • 5 Know When to Use Screen and Multiply Modes Chapter 7 4 • 3 • Paint with Clear Using Paint and Layer Blend Modes 149 10 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps 1 2 Use Layer Blend Modes 5 4 3 The great things about layer blend modes is that they don’t alter the underlying image; they’re nondestructive, and you can create stunning, significant... holding SHIFT (constrains proportions) and then dragging a corner bounding box handle When you’re happy with the scaling, click the 10 check button on the Options bar to finalize your edit 150 150 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps to Using PaintPC Layer Blend Modes PC QuickSteps Getting Know Your and 2 Drag the thumbnail in the Layers panel for the ghosted image onto the document window containing the background . linked 6 132 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections PC QuickSteps Getting to Know Your PC 133 10 9 87 6 54 32 1 UNLOCK THE BACKGROUND LAYER The background layer in a Photoshop. background. NOTE Any time you paste something into a Photoshop document, it goes on a new layer located immediately above the currently selected layer. 6 Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps Editing Layers and Selections. Internet Explorer) to a Photoshop document: 1. Open an image in Photoshop. 2. Switch to another application, such as a web browser, and select and copy an image. 3. Return to Photoshop and click