Photoshop How to Combine Layers Again

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Principal Photoshop layers: half dozen top tips

Tony Foti explains what layer mistakes you are making and how to rectify them

Photoshop is a complex bit of kit, which can take years to acquire properly. There are many helpful Photoshop tutorials around to assist with this, but where should you starting time? The language of layers! It can exist a difficult thing to chief, simply having a skillful understanding of Photoshop layers gives you a solid foundation to build your digital art.

Beginners' tips

Before you become started, it's important to try and avoid these common Photoshop mistakes:

• Don't put every niggling thing on dissimilar layers; it tin tiresome down the process and the program
• Avoid merging everything into one afterwards until yous're fairly certain there will be no more revisions. Moving an object or character is a lot easier when it's on its own layer
• Which layer was information technology that had the magic wing highlights? Was information technology 406? Or 306 copy12? Seriously, proper noun your files sensibly and avoid interrupting your painting menstruum
• An extended painting session can slow down Photoshop (it's all downwardly to virtual memory usage). So salve your piece of work and restart the program to complimentary up this retentivity and take a quick screen intermission
• Working on projects with a high resolution or excessive layers can also wearisome the plan downwards, which will change the style some tools perform. If you need the tool to run more smoothly, save as a new file and reduce resolution temporarily

Got all that? Expert. Now, let's master the linguistic communication of layers. Right upward in that location with the History function in the near useful features of Photoshop for artists list is the whole concept of layers. In the same style that traditional animators will use several sheets of acetate in a single shot, painting unlike parts of your picture on different layers means they can be edited separately while yet being viewable as a whole.

01. Creating layers

Use 'Window > Layers' to toggle the layers window on and off

In most default viewing modes, the Layers window will exist visible and either attached to the right side of the screen or floating around somewhere. You lot can use 'Window > Layers' to toggle it on and off. New documents will just take a background layer, but clicking the drop-downward carte du jour at the top right will give you lot a range of options, such equally Create, Duplicate and Merge.

02. Locking layers

Layer locking comes in handy when adding gradients

Sometimes when painting, I'll need to add a gradient to an area without changing its edges, and that's when Layer Locking comes in handy. By clicking the minor chequerboard icon in the Layers window, any translucent areas will be unaffected by the tools, remaining clear. You tin freely brush without irresolute the all-important silhouette of what yous're painting.

03. Grouping

It is possible to highlight multiple layers at one time

Complex assignments can pb to Photoshop files with over 100 layers, and when that happens y'all want to stay organised. Holding downwards cmd enables you to click and highlight multiple layers at once. Then go to New Group From Layers in the drop-down bill of fare.

Yous're then asked to name the group. Now those layers will move together and be editable as a grouping by highlighting the group folder instead of the individual layer for whatever painting activity you're using.

04. Adjusting the opacity

Look to the correct hand corner of the layers window to command transparency

Some other useful role of layers is the power to control their transparency. Up in the right corner of the Layers window is a driblet-down slider labelled Opacity, which enables y'all do merely that. This comes in handy for a multifariousness of furnishings, such equally creating sheer clothing, smoke and lite beams.

05. Making backup saves

Brand certain you lot create multiple saves and then you don't lose annihilation

I like to create multiple save files for each image, in case one becomes corrupted or if I make some huge mistake and save before realising it. This fashion I ever have several versions that are, at most, but a few hours less developed than what I was just working on.

When this happens, I'll often open an older salve file, delete the offending layer, and drag my replacement from the one-time file (or a completely different illustration) over into the Layers window in my almost recent iteration.

This commodity originally appeared in ImagineFX magazine issue 114.

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• Illustrator tutorials: astonishing ideas to try today!
• Automate effects with these amazing Photoshop actions
• Read our guide to choosing the best photo editor

Freelance illustrator Tony Foti makes art for books, games, magazines and advertisements. His work can be found regularly in Fantasy Flight's Star Wars lines.

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Source: https://www.creativebloq.com/photoshop/master-photoshop-layers-31619519