Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

Using Adobe Photoshop

6 – Layers
One of the most useful features of applications like Photoshop is the ability
to work with layers. Layers allow you to have several pieces of images in
the same file, which can be arranged on top of each other to create a
complete image. The following examples show the sort of things that can be
done with layers in an image.

Change the order of overlapping image elements

Change the position of overlapping elements

Blend image elements together in interesting ways

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 1 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

1 - Creating Layers
In Photoshop, you can create a new layer with nothing on it which can be used for editing. You
can also create a new layer by either cutting or copying a selected section from an existing layer.
Additionally, a new layer may already be created when you paste a copied section from another
image or when you add additional image components such as text. The exercises which follow
will use examples of some of these methods.

Exercise 1 – Creating new Layers from Selections

1) Open [Link].
2) Select the upper rectangle in the image using any method learned previously.

3) From the Layers menu select New and

then Layer via Copy [Ctrl] [J].

Note This option can also be found by right-

clicking on the selected area and then
selecting Layer via Copy.

4) Select the circle shape using the elliptical marquee tool (remember you can hold down [Shift]
to make the selection circle shaped and hold down [Alt] to select from the middle).
5) From the Layers menu select New and then Layer via Cut [Shift] [Ctrl] [J].

A message like the one shown here will appear. You can’t select the circle because it is on a
different layer.
6) Click OK to close the message.
7) View the Layers Palette (usually grouped with the Channels Palette).

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 2 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

You will see 2 layers. The top layer will be a new layer you have just created (most likely called
Layer 1). The other one will be your Background layer. When you create a new image, it will
usually have a background layer unless you created a new image with the transparent option.
When a layer is selected it means that any edits or selections will affect that layer and not the
other parts of the image. You can click on a layer to select it.

8) Click on the Background layer to select it.

9) Select the circle shape if it is not still selected.
10) From the Layers menu select New and then Layer via Cut [Shift] [Ctrl] [J].
This time there shouldn’t be a problem since you’ve selected the layer that the circle is on. Look
in the Layers Palette and there will now be three layers. Next to each layer you can see a small
preview of the layer’s contents which helps you to know which layer is which. A good way to
identify layers is by changing the properties of a layer.
11) Double click on the name of the first layer (which should contain the rectangle).


12) Type Rectangle as a new layer name and press [Enter].
13) Rename the second layer as Circle. You can also change the colour of a layer in the Layer
Palette.
14) Right click on the Rectangle layer and select a colour for the layer from the menu.

15) Change the colour of the circle layer.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 3 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

Exercise 2 – Rearranging Layers

One of the big benefits of layers is that it is easy to rearrange different parts of the image.
1) Select the Rectangle layer in the Layers Palette.
2) Temporarily select the move tool by holding down [Ctrl]. If that doesn’t work for some reason
(it may not work when certain tools are selected, you can select the move tool by pressing [V]
or by clicking the icon in the Tools Palette.
3) Move the rectangle to the right. You will see another rectangle underneath since we created
the new layer by copying the selection.

4) Select the Circle layer in the Layers Palette.

5) Move the circle to the right. Since we created the circle layer by cutting, the area left behind
by the circle will be filled with whatever your background colour is.

6) Move the circle so that it overlaps the rectangle.

The circle will cover the original rectangle that is a part of the background layer, but it will be
covered by the new rectangle layer. The stacking order is determined by the order in the layers
palette.
7) In the layers palette, drag the circle layer so that it is above the rectangle layer.

 
The circle will now cover both rectangles.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 4 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

Exercise 3 – Create more Layers

1) Select the top car in the image using one of the methods learned in the previous section (Hint-
make sure you have the background layer selected first).

2) From the Edit menu select Copy or press [Ctrl] [C].

3) From the Edit menu select Paste or press [Ctrl] [V] to paste the selection as a new layer.
4) Rename the new layer as Car. You can change the layer colour if you want.

To create a new blank layer you can go to the Layer menu and then select New and Layer, or press
[Shift] [Ctrl] [N]. You can also click on the new layer icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette.

5) Use one of the methods just described to create a new layer.

6) Move the new layer below the Car layer and rename it Shadow (If you used the menu to
create the layer you would have already been asked for the layer’s name).

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 5 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

7) Select the brush tool by pressing [B] or clicking .

8) Set the brush options as follows.
 Turn on the airbrush option -
 Select a brush diameter of 30 pixels with a hardness of 0%
 Set the flow to 2%
 Change the foreground colour to black. You can do this quickly by choosing default
colours with the icon or by pressing [D].
9) Use the airbrush to gently shade in a shadow under the car. Because you are doing it on a layer
under the car, it will be behind the car and won’t affect the car layer itself. Also, because it is
on a different layer, if you don’t like the result it is easy to fix it without ruining the rest of
your image.

10) Save the changes to the image.

Exercise 4 – Showing and Hiding Layers

Next to each layer in the Layers Palette is a small eye icon . This indicates whether or not a
layer is visible.
1) Click on the icon next to the Rectangle layer to hide the
contents of that layer. The rectangle in your image will disappear.
2) Click the blank space next to the Rectangle layer where the eye
icon used to be. This will unhide the layer and its contents will
reappear.
3) Hold down [Alt] and click on the hide icon next to the Car layer. Every layer except the car
layer will be hidden. The chequered squares indicate transparent areas of the image.

4) Hold down [Alt] and click on the empty hide icon next to the Car layer again to re-display all
of the hidden layers.
5) Try hiding and displaying the Shadow layer and see the effect in the image.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 6 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

2 - Blending Layers
Once you have an image with more than one layer, the layers can be blended together in a variety
of ways. One way is to use modes. By default, a layer will block out any sections of layers that it
covers. Blending modes allow you to combine layers in a variety of ways. Another way is to use
layer transparency settings to simply make a layer partially transparent. A layer mask can also be
used to hide parts of a layer a bit more selectively.

Exercise 5 – Layer Blending Modes and Transparency

1) Select the Circle layer.
2) Locate the Opacity option on the layers palette. To use this option you can
either click the arrow and drag the slider or you can enter amounts in the
box. Higher amounts mean the layer will be more opaque. Lower amounts
mean the layer will be more transparent.
3) Adjust the Opacity to see how the Circle layer looks on different settings.

100% opacity 70% Opacity 30% Opacity

4) Select the Rectangle layer.
5) Move the rectangle so that it overlaps the car (remember you can hold
down [Ctrl] to temporarily access the move tool).
The Modes options one of the first options you will find in the layers
palette. Clicking on Normal will display a list of layer
blending modes. These are exactly the same as the modes
you used earlier with the painting tools. Selecting a mode
will affect the way the layer will blend with layers that are
beneath it. These layer blending modes are often used to
create special visual effects in an image.
6) Try some blending modes to see how the rectangle will blend with the car beneath it.

Multiply mode Overlay mode

Difference mode Color mode

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 7 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

Exercise 6 – Copying a layer to another image

1) Select the Car layer.
2) Press [Ctrl] [A] to select all pixels on the car layer. Although it might look like the whole image
is selected, areas of the layer where there are no pixels will not have anything selected.
3) Press [Ctrl] [C] to copy the selected pixels.

Note Pasting now would create a new copy of the layer in the current image but we will paste it in to a
new image instead.

4) Create a new image by selecting File and New or by pressing [Ctrl] [N]. Notice that the Preset
option is set to Clipboard. The width and height of the new image will be automatically set to
the dimensions of what you have copied. A handy feature!

5) Click OK to create the blank image and then press [Ctrl] [V] the paste what you had copied. The
new image will now have a layer with the car image (which will probably be called Layer 1).
There are other convenient ways to copy a layer to another image. If both images are visible you
can simply use the move tool to drag a selection from one image to another as shown below. You
can make both available by going to the Windows menu, then selecting Arrange followed by an
option which allows for the viewing of more than one image at a time such as Tile or Float.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 8 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

If you have both images showing, you can also drag the layer’s name from the layers palette to the
new image. The benefit of this method is that the whole layer will be copied along with the layer
name.

With either of these two methods, it is useful to hold down the [Shift]
key as you drag the selection / layer to the new image. This will
mean that the copied selection or layer will be placed exactly in the
centre of the new destination image.
6) Switch to the Selections image.
7) With the new image selected, delete the new layer by dragging it
to the delete layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.
8) Move your mouse over the Car layer in the Selections image.
9) Hold down [Shift] and drag the layer to the new image. The layer
will be copied to the new image and will retain the layer name.
Any additional information about the layer such as opacity,
blending modes and layer effects (explained later) are also copied.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 9 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

Exercise 7 – Using a layer mask

1) Make sure you have the new image with the car layer selected.
2) Create a layer mask by clicking the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette.
A layer mask thumbnail will appear next to the layer thumbnail in the
layer palette. It will be all white indicating that the entire layer is
currently visible. A layer mask is very similar to a selection mask. With a layer mask, you paint
over areas with black that you want to be hidden. Painting over hidden areas with white will make
them visible again. Painting over areas with any other colour will make them partially visible. The
layer mask thumbnail will show the hidden areas of the image. The main benefit of a layer mask
is that it allows you to hide parts of a layer without actually deleting pixels. Time to test it out.
3) Press [D] to set your foreground and background colours to the default colours. Normally
black will be the default foreground colour with white as the background but the reverse is
true with a layer mask. Press [X] to swap the colours so that black is the foreground colour.
4) Press [B] to select the brush tool. Select a brush size that is big enough to see clearly so you
can see the effect on the layer mask. Make sure the Mode is set to normal and Airbrush off,
with Opacity and Flow set to 100.
Before painting on a layer mask it is important to make sure you actually have the layer mask
selected, otherwise you might end up painting a black streak across your layer. If the layer mask is
selected, it will have a thick line around the layer mask thumbnail. Otherwise the layer thumbnail
will have the line around it. If in doubt it doesn’t hurt to click on the layer mask thumbnail before
painting on the mask.

Layer selected

Layer mask selected

5) Make sure you have the layer mask selected and paint a line across the car. The area you paint
across will become transparent.
6) Paint some more lines across the car to make more areas
transparent. The transparent areas will be shown as black areas on the layer mask thumbnail.
7) Press [X] the swap the colours so that white becomes the foreground colour.
8) Paint across the lines you have created. Transparent areas you paint across with white will
become visible again.
9) Make black the foreground colour again. Set the brush Opacity to 50%. Paint over the car and
the affected areas will become partially transparent.
10) Press [D] to set default colours again (white will be the foreground).
11) Press [Alt] [Delete] to fill with the foreground colour (white) and make the whole layer visible
again.
12) Press [G] to select gradient tool.
13) Drag across the image to create a
gradient that will change from
transparent to opaque.
14) Hide the background layer. The
transparent areas will show a checker
pattern.
15) Close the new image without saving it.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 10 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

Exercise 8 – Using Layer Effects

Photoshop has many built in effects that can be applied to a layer. These include effects such as
shadows, gradients and bevels. If a layer effect is applied to a layer, the effect will update if the
contents of the layer change. Several layer effects can be combined to create some very interesting
looking visual effects.
1) Make sure your Selections image is still open.
2) Use what you have learned in this section to create a new layer copy based on the
star shape. Call the new layer Star.
3) Click the Add a layer style icon at the bottom of the layers
palette.
4) Select Bevel and Emboss from the list of layer styles. A dialog
like the one shown below will appear.

You will notice that the layer itself will automatically be changed by the layer effect options. This
means that you can experiment with the layer effect options and see the effect immediately.
5) Try some of the different Style options and then change the style back to Inner Bevel.
6) Try adjusting the Depth, Direction, Size and Soften options until you like the result.
7) Drag your mouse around the Angle preview to adjust the light direction.
8) Adjust the options until your star looks similar to the one below.
It is possible to apply more than one layer effect at the same time, simply by ticking
each effect you want from the list on the left and then modifying the options for each
effect to suit your needs.
9) Tick the Drop Shadow option to add that layer effect.
10) Click on the name of the Drop Shadow effect to display its options.
11) Experiment with some of the drop shadow effect options.
12) Click OK to apply the layer effects and save the changes to the Selections file.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 11 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

Exercise 9 – Putting it all together

See how good you are at working with layers by completing the following.
1) Open the files [Link] (which should have your saved selection from an earlier section)
and [Link].

[Link] [Link]

We are going to copy the boy from the Portrait picture in to the foreground of the park picture.
2) Make sure the Portrait image is selected. If your images are in the tabbed layout then make
sure you click the File tab for the Portrait picture.

3) The tabbed view allows us to switch between open pictures while viewing one at a time. Since
we’ll be working with more than one picture here it can be useful to have them both showing.
From the Window menu select Arrange. Then select one of the options that allows for viewing
more than one image at a time such as Tile or Float All in Windows. In the following exampled
the Tile option has been used.
4) Display the channels palette. Your saved selection should
be at the bottom of the channels list (if it’s not then bad
news – you’ll have to select it all over again).
5) Hold down [Ctrl] and click on the Outline channel to
quickly activate the selection.

Tip You can also hold down control and click a layer in the
Layers palette to make a selection based on the content of
that layer.

6) Hold down [Ctrl] to temporarily

activate the move tool since we
will be moving (copying actually)
the selected area to the park
image.
7) With the move tool still selected
drag the selection to the other
image (You can hold down [Shift]
as well if you want the selection
to be placed in the middle of the
other image, but we’re going to
move it around once it’s there
anyway so it’s not so important).
© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 12 of 16 [Link]
Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

8) Once the selection is copied, you can close the Portrait image since it’s no longer needed.
9) The boy will now be a new layer in the Park image. Rename the new layer as Boy (If you still
have the Channels palette showing you will need to switch to the Layers palette).
10) Press [Ctrl] [T] to activate Free Transform. Move and resize the boy so that the size and
positioning are similar to the example below When you are re-sizing make sure you are
dragging a corner and holding down [Shift] so the height and width stay in proportion. Press
[Enter] when your size and positioning are about right.

11) If your original selection was a bit rough, you may have extra bits around the boy that don’t
belong. Now is a good time to apply a layer mask and then use an appropriate brush to neaten
up the edges.
12) Save the image as [Link].
You might like to practice this by placing a picture of yourself in another image.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 13 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

3 - Shortcuts Learned
Shortcut Icon Purpose
[Ctrl] [J] New layer via copy
[Shift] [Ctrl] [J] New layer via cut
[Shift] [Ctrl] [N] New layer

Tip In an image with a lot of layers, you can organise them by grouping related layers in to sets. The
Create a new set icon lets you create a new folder set. You can then move layers in to that set.
This allows you to not only be more organised, but to apply certain changes to the grouped layers
all at once. Layer sets can be moved and edited in other ways together. Layer groups can also be
collapsed to save room in the layers palette as shown below.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 14 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

4 - Blending Modes
The following descriptions of blending modes are taken from Photoshop’s online help.
Normal
Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color. This is the default mode. (Normal mode is
called Threshold when you're working with a bitmapped or indexed-color image.)
Dissolve
Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color. However, the result color is a random
replacement of the pixels with the base color or the blend color, depending on the opacity at any
pixel location.
Darken
Looks at the color information in each channel and selects the base or blend color--whichever is
darker--as the result color. Pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker than
the blend color do not change.
Multiply
Looks at the color information in each channel and multiplies the base color by the blend color.
The result color is always a darker color. Multiplying any color with black produces black.
Multiplying any color with white leaves the color unchanged. When you're painting with a color
other than black or white, successive strokes with a painting tool produce progressively darker
colors. The effect is similar to drawing on the image with multiple magic markers.
Color Burn
Looks at the color information in each channel and darkens the base color to reflect the blend
color by increasing the contrast. Blending with white produces no change.
Linear Burn
Looks at the color information in each channel and darkens the base color to reflect the blend
color by decreasing the brightness. Blending with white produces no change.
Lighten
Looks at the color information in each channel and selects the base or blend color--whichever is
lighter--as the result color. Pixels darker than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter than
the blend color do not change.
Screen
Looks at each channel's color information and multiplies the inverse of the blend and base colors.
The result color is always a lighter color. Screening with black leaves the color unchanged.
Screening with white produces white. The effect is similar to projecting multiple photographic
slides on top of each other.
Color Dodge
Looks at the color information in each channel and brightens the base color to reflect the blend
color by decreasing the contrast. Blending with black produces no change.
Linear Dodge
Looks at the color information in each channel and brightens the base color to reflect the blend
color by increasing the brightness. Blending with black produces no change.
Overlay
Multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the base color. Patterns or colors overlay the
existing pixels while preserving the highlights and shadows of the base color. The base color is
not replaced but is mixed with the blend color to reflect the lightness or darkness of the original
color.
Soft Light
Darkens or lightens the colors, depending on the blend color. The effect is similar to shining a
diffused spotlight on the image.
If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened as if it were
dodged. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened as if it were burned in.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 15 of 16 [Link]

Using Adobe Photoshop CS6 Layers

Painting with pure black or white produces a distinctly darker or lighter area but does not result in
pure black or white.
Hard Light
Multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the blend color. The effect is similar to shining a
harsh spotlight on the image.
If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened, as if it were
screened. This is useful for adding highlights to an image. If the blend color is darker than 50%
gray, the image is darkened, as if it were multiplied. This is useful for adding shadows to an
image. Painting with pure black or white results in pure black or white.
Vivid Light
Burns or dodges the colors by increasing or decreasing the contrast, depending on the blend color.
If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by decreasing the
contrast. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened by increasing the
contrast.
Linear Light
Burns or dodges the colors by decreasing or increasing the brightness, depending on the blend
color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by
increasing the brightness. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened by
decreasing the brightness.
Pin Light
Replaces the colors, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than
50% gray, pixels darker than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter than the blend color
do not change. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, pixels lighter than the blend color are
replaced, and pixels darker than the blend color do not change. This is useful for adding special
effects to an image.
Difference
Looks at the color information in each channel and subtracts either the blend color from the base
color or the base color from the blend color, depending on which has the greater brightness value.
Blending with white inverts the base color values; blending with black produces no change.
Exclusion
Creates an effect similar to but lower in contrast than the Difference mode. Blending with white
inverts the base color values. Blending with black produces no change.
Hue
Creates a result color with the luminance and saturation of the base color and the hue of the blend
color.
Saturation
Creates a result color with the luminance and hue of the base color and the saturation of the blend
color. Painting with this mode in an area with no (0) saturation (gray) causes no change.
Color
Creates a result color with the luminance of the base color and the hue and saturation of the blend
color. This preserves the gray levels in the image and is useful for coloring monochrome images
and for tinting color images.
Luminosity
Creates a result color with the hue and saturation of the base color and the luminance of the blend
color. This mode creates an inverse effect from that of the Color mode.

© Steve O’Neil 2012 Page 16 of 16 [Link]