Understanding Layers in Photoshop
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Then I started pulling the pieces together. The text came from my business card, copied and pasted from PageMaker and some of it was typed in directly as a new layer. The background was a gradient fill done in Photoshop. The decorative borders and pen came from my clipart collection. The @ and insert character were drawn using a red marker and scanned directly into Photoshop. And the pen tip bullets are from a wingding font.
Layers Menu
The Layers menu lists all the layers on the bookmark. If the Layers box is not open, click on the Windows menu and select Layers from the list. The "T" shows which layers are text and also include the first word(s) so you know which "T" goes with each layer of text. The remaining layers are numbered and there is a small picture associated with each.
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To make changes, in this case on the bookmark, click on the layer in the Layer menu that is associated with what you want to change. For example, at the bottom of the Layers menu is Layer 3 and the image associated with it is a gradient fill. This represents the background. When selected the background of the selection in the Layers menu turns blue indicating that is the item selected. While selected you can make changes to the background layer -- possibly changing the color or direction of the gradient fill.
The same thing if you wanted to change the text or images. Clicking on the layer in the Layer box selects the layer to change. Clicking on the text layer in the Layers menu for Graphic Design Services would then allow me to change the text or move the selection within the bookmark.
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Always save your work as a Photoshop file first before saving as a jpeg or other file format. Saving as a Photoshop file preserves your layers so, if you need to make changes in the future you will be able to. Saving your file as another format will "flatten" your image, merging all your layers into one. Once you flatten and save in a format other than Photoshop, there is no going back. So always save as a Photoshop file first.
Layer Styles
The last thing on the Layers box that I would like to add is adding styles to your layers. As you can see from the second image above where Layer 2 is highlighted in blue, underneath you see Effects, Drop Shadow and Bevel and Emboss. These enhancements as well as many others are available by clicking on the first symbol at the bottom of the Layers box which opens the Layer styles dialogue box. Here you can add shadows, glows, overlays, strokes, bevel and emboss. As always, play around and try different things and have fun being creative!
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You Should Also Read:
Enhance Clip Art Using Photoshop
Making Text Pop in Photoshop
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