Using Layers to Create and Edit


Using Layers to Create and Edit

Layers enable you to create and edit content. You will see how to create new layers from selected areas and affect their pixels with a few of Photoshop s powerful features.

Cutting and Copying Images to a New Layer

You can make new layers from the contents of existing layers. You ll cut a planet and copy it to a new layer.

  1. Target the Uranus layer.

  2. Option/Alt-click the eye icon of the Uranus layer to reveal only its contents against a transparent checkerboard, as in Figure H2.9.


    Figure H2.9: The contents of the Uranus layer appear against the transparent checkerboard.

  3. Select the Rectangular Marquee tool . Draw a marquee around the blue planet.

  4. Choose Layer New Layer Via Copy, or press /Ctrl-J. The selected planet is copied onto a new layer. Double-click the default name and rename the layer Galaxy .

  5. Target the Uranus layer again. Draw a rectangular marquee around the green planet.

  6. Choose Layer New Layer Via Cut, or press Shift- -J/Shift-Ctrl-J. The selected planet is cut to a new layer. Name the layer Mercury (see Figure H2.10).


    Figure H2.10: The new Mercury layer appears with the others.

Editing the Contents of a Layer

Follow these steps to edit the contents of your layers:

  1. Target the Galaxy layer.

  2. Option/Alt-click the eye icon of the Galaxy layer to reveal only its contents against a transparent checkerboard.

  3. Select the Move tool. In the Options bar, select Show Bounding Box.

  4. Click the upper-right handle of the bounding box (see Figure H2.11) and drag downward to squash the circular planet into an oval. Press Return/Enter or click the check mark on the Options bar to implement the transformation.


    Figure H2.11: The bounding box

  5. Choose Filter Blur Gaussian Blur 4.4 pixels (as shown in Figure H2.12) to blur the edges of the oval.

    click to expand
    Figure H2.12: The Gaussian Blur filter applied to the Galaxy layer

  6. Draw a rectangular marquee around the oval, as shown in Figure H2.13.

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    Figure H2.13: The Galaxy selected with the Rectangular Marquee tool

  7. Choose Filter Distort Twirl, and set a value of 999 to twirl the oval into a galaxy (see Figure H2.14). The outcome of this operation depends on the size and shape of the rectangular marquee. Yours might vary from what is shown here.

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    Figure H2.14: The Twirl filter applied to the Galaxy

  8. Press /Ctrl-D to deselect.

  9. With the Galaxy layer still targeted , select the Move tool and drag the Galaxy into the upper-left corner of the document so that its center aligns with the 1 ² vertical and 2 ² horizontal marks on the rulers.

  10. View and target the Mercury layer. Press Shift as you drag Mercury to constrain its horizontal movement; reposition the planet so that its center aligns with the 6.5 ² vertical and 8.75 ² horizontal marks on the rulers.

  11. Let s change the color of Mercury. Choose Image Adjustments Hue/Saturation. Move the Hue slider to the left until it reads ”101. Move the Saturation slider to the right until it reads +29.

    click to expand
  12. View and target the Uranus layer. Move Uranus so that its center aligns with the 14 ² vertical, 2.25 ² horizontal marks on the rulers.

  13. Save the document.

Moving Layers from Another Document

You can easily move layers from one document to another. Here you will move two linked layers:

  1. In the Flying_Women.psd file, click the visibility icon next to the Background and the Saturn and Ring layers to display them. Target the Saturn layer.

  2. Open the file Red_Woman.psd from the HO2 folder on the CD, and target the Red Costume layer.

  3. In Red_Woman.psd , click in the second column next to the Red Woman layer to link it with Red Costume.

  4. Place your cursor on the Red_Woman.psd image. Press your mouse, drag the image, and place it on the Flying_Women.psd document. Release the mouse, and two new layers appear between the Saturn layer and the Ring layer.

  5. Select the Move tool and position the Red Woman and the Red Costume between Saturn and its rings.

There are three ways to drag layers and place them on another image. Make sure you use the right one:

  • You can drag an individual layer from the Layers palette or from the image window to another image.

  • To drag linked layers and maintain the linked relationship, you must target one of them and drag from the image window.

  • To drag a layer set from an image, drag from the name or folder of the layer set in the Layers palette.

Applying a Style to a Layer

A drop shadow adds realism and depth to an image. Creating the drop shadow as a layer style is easy:

  1. With the Red Woman layer targeted, double-click the layer thumbnail to bring up the Layer Style dialog box.

  2. Click the Drop Shadow option to display its controls (see Figure H2.15).

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    Figure H2.15: Drop Shadow controls

  3. Set the following specifications and then click OK. Your image should look like Figure H2.16.

    Opacity

    63%

    Distance

    13 px

    Spread

    10%

    Size

    5 px

    click to expand
    Figure H2.16: The Red Woman flying through the rings, and the drop shadow cast on the planet




Photoshop CS Savvy
Photoshop CS Savvy
ISBN: 078214280X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 355

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