The Ultimate Guide to Layers in Photoshop

Last Sunday, I posted the ultimate guide to layer mask in Photoshop and I got emails that there’s no ultimate guide to layers in Photoshop on TrickyPhotoshop. You are partially right. There was no ultimate guide to layers on TrickyPhotshop until now.

Layer panel is something that you will use often in Photoshop. It is the thing that differentiates Photoshop from other cheap photo editing apps. You can do below things with the help of layer panel

  • Non-destructive editing
  • Go back to any point in time
  • Edit a photo with multiple revisions

What can you expect from this tutorial?

I will be showing you how does a layer panel look, what it is, how does it work, all the buttons that you get in a layer panel, its features, and most used shortcuts for layer panel to make photos for your business or personal use to create a better look.

Table of Content

  1. What is layers in Photoshop?
  2. What is layer panel in Photoshop?
  3. Where is layer panel located in Photoshop?
  4. Anatomy of layer panel in Photoshop.
  5. Major types in layers in layer panel in Photoshop
  6. Shortcuts in layer panel in Photoshop.

1. What is Layers in Photoshop?

I am going to explain it with an analogy. Think of two identical paintings. One painting is placed on another. So, the final result is a stack of two identical paintings. That is what layers in Photoshop is. It’s a stack of images placed over one another. The only difference between the analogy and the layers is that all layers don’t have to be identical.

In a nutshell, Layers are simply a stack of images placed over one another

If you brushed on the upper painting with white color, the lower painting will stay intact. Also, if a person is seeing the painting from the top, he will not see any change in the lower painting as it is covered by the upper painting. The same way layers also work.

Let’s say that you have two layers and you edit the upper layer. The final image you’ll see is what’s being edited in the upper layer. There are ways to manipulate this but I’ll come to this topic in another tutorial.

2. What is a Layer Panel in Photoshop?

Layer panel is the window where you’ll see all the layers. The highlighted part written with “Background” is a layer.

This is how a layer panel looks in Photoshop. I’ll explain everything in this panel shortly.

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3. Where is layer panel located in Photoshop?

If you’re using Photoshop for the first time, it should be at the bottom right.

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If by any reason it does not, you can open it by going to Windows > Layer. You can also press F7 as a keyboard shortcut.

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4. Anatomy of a layer panel in Photoshop.

Save below image. It is the most important image if you want to understand the layer panel. Here I have explained all buttons in a layer panel.

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I am going to explain each one to you one by one. Let’s start with Layer Filter and go anti-clockwise.

Layer Filter – You will use it once you become an advanced user. There are so many types of layers like a normal layer, adjustment layers, smart object, etc. You can filter the similar types of layers via this.

Blend Mode – This is used to create special effects. Blend mode is basically the behavior of pixels that is based on the behavior of the pixels presents in the below layer. This is a bit complex topic. If you want to learn more, I have already written a complete guide on Blend Modes in Photoshop.

Visibility – You can show or hide a layer by clicking on this. It looks like an eye icon.

Thumbnail – This is the tiny view of the layer. It will preview how your layer looks

A layer – The entire thing that is surrounded by the blue rectangle is a layer.

Link Layer – It will help you to connect/link two layers. Two linked layers move together when you use the Move tool to move a layer

Layer Style – This is where you get options ta add fancy styles like a shadow, outer glow, etc.

Layer Mask – It adds layer mask. The layer mask controls the transparency of a layer.

Adjustment Layers – Here you can do basic adjustments like Brightness, contrast, saturation, photo filter, color balance, etc.

Group Layers – This comes into handy when you have so many layers. You can group multiple layers together so that your layer panel doesn’t look cluttered.

Delete Layer – This allows you to delete a layer. Many a time, you’ll be using the Delete/Backspace key to delete a layer rather than this one.

Create a New Layer – You can create a new layer here. Alternatively, you can use keyboard shortcut Cmd + Shift + N/Ctrl + Shift + N.

Locked – This allow a layer to be protected from moving.

Fill – It adjusts the amount of opacity of the pixels only. Any layer styles are unaffected and remain 100% opaque.

Opacity – It adjusts the amount of opacity. Layer styles are also affected by this.

5. Major types of layers in a layer panel

 

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I will explain each layer one by one. Let’s start from the top.

Layer Group – You can group multiple layers inside a folder. Photoshop calls it a group. The icon of a group is a folder. To group multiple layers, hold down Cmd/Ctrl and keep on clicking the layers you want to group. Now, press Cmd + G/Ctrl + G.

Text Layer – This layers can contain only texts. You can change the font, size, styling of the text present in this layer.

Adjustment Layer – This is a special type of layer where you can edit the photo like changing its brightness, contrast, saturation, color, etc. non-destructively (means you can undo or change it at any point of time). Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer to have a look at the adjustment layers.

Layer Style – Add special effects with this type of layer. You can add inner glow, shadow, bevel, and so many things with this type of layer style. In the above photo, I have added Inner Glow and the same I can see as written. Go to Layer > Layer Style to have a look at the layer styles.

Layer Mask – This allows you to set the transparency of a layer. Suppose, there are two layers in the layer panel and you brushed the left half of the image in the layer mask with the black color. Then the left half of the image in that layer will become transparent and you can see what’s present in the layer beneath it.

Smart Object – A special type of layer that is actually a container that can hold; multiple (or 1) layers, vectors for illustrator, raw files, video, 3D or many other types of objects.

Background Layer – When you open an image, the image will be present in the background layer. There’s a lock sign at the right of the layer. This means that the layer is locked and you cannot move the image in this layer. Click on the lock to unlock it.

6. Shortcuts in layer panel in Photoshop

To select multiple layer, hold down Cmd/Ctrl and then click on the layers.

To turn the visibility on/off of a layer, click on the eye icon present at the left side of the layer.

To copy or duplicate a layer, press Cmd/Ctrl + J.

To move a selection to a new layer, press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + J.

To move all selected layers to a group, select the layers and then press Cmd/Ctrl + G.

To merge all the layers into a new layer, press Cmd + Opt + Shift + E/Ctrl + Alt +Shift + E.

To add an inverted mask (everything will be hidden), hold Option/Alt while adding a mask.

You can drag elements from the layers panel into other documents

To clip a content, hold down Option/Alt and click in the layer panel between two layers.

To cycle through all the blending modes, press Shift + “+”. Press Shift + “-” to cycle in reverse.

This is all for today. Have a look at The Ultimate Guide series for more exciting tutorials.

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The Ultimate Guide to Layer Mask in Photoshop

TrickyPhotoshop is for beginners and intermediate Photoshop users, and layer mask is one of the most basic things in Photoshop and all users need to know. I wonder why I never wrote an ultimate guide on the layer mask in photoshop ever since I founded TrickyPhotoshop on 23rd July 2012. Shame on me!

So, to make everything up, I am writing the ultimate guide to layer mask in Photoshop. I am going to tell you all the things that you can do with layer masks. Here is the table of content

Table of Content

  1. What is layer mask?
  2. How is layer mask different from Opacity Slider?
  3. Minimum Requirements of a layer mask.
  4. Where to find layer mask?
  5. How to use layer mask?
  6. Why should you choose layer mask instead of the Eraser Tool?
  7. Shortcuts for and in the layer mask

Before I begin with the very first section, I want to show you an image where I hide the original background with the help of Quick Selection tool, Select and Mask, and Layer mask.

After

Final.jpg

Initial

Initial.jpg

1. What is Layer Mask in Photoshop?

The layer mask controls the transparency of a layer.

It is only in shades of gray. 100% black means that the area is completely transparent. 0% Black (100% white) means that the area is completely opaque. Any value of gray between 0 – 100% black means the area is translucent. I’ll explain this thing later when I am going to show you how to use a layer mask.

2. How is a layer mask different from the opacity slider?

Opacity slider reduces the opacity of the entire layer. There’s no way you can isolate the area of which you want to reduce the opacity.

Let’s say I want to reduce the opacity of the parrot’s beak to 50%.

Here’s an example. I reduced the opacity to 50% and the entire image of parrot is now translucent. This is not what I intended to do.

1.jpg

Now, I want to show you the result that I did with the layer mask. I’ll show you how I did it later.

Check the beak. Only it’s 50% opaque. Rest of the photo is 100% opaque. I did it with the help of layer mask.

2.jpg

3. Minimum requirements of a layer mask.

If you go back to the original definition of layer mask that I wrote in section 1 which is that it controls the opacity of a layer.

So, a layer mask has to have a layer to work. Without a layer, layer mask will not have anything to the control the opacity of.

4. Where to find layer mask?

The layer mask is present at two locations. One is in the layer panel and another on the menu.

To use it, you need to make sure that the layer is unlocked first in the layer panel. Press F7 is you cannot see the layer panel.

If you see a lock icon next to a layer, it means that the layer is locked and you cannot do anything on this layer unless you unlock it.

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Click on the lock icon to unlock it.

Approach 1 for adding a layer mask

Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All in the menu to add a layer mask.

Approach 2 for adding a layer mask

Open layer panel by pressing F7. Click on the icon which is enclosed with the yellow color to add a layer mask.

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Once layer mask is added, you will see a rectangular box next to the layer.

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5. How to use a layer mask in Photoshop?

The layer mask controls the opacity of a layer.

By now, you know that whenever you add a layer mask, you would see a white rectangular box next to the layer.

Now, let’s understand how to use a layer mask in Photoshop.

Whenever I brush the layer mask with black color, it will hide that part of the layer. Whenever I brush the layer mask with 40% black (a shade of gray) color, it reduces the transparency of that part by 40%. And, whenever I brush the layer with 100% white, it will make that part completely opaque.

Having some difficulty to digest? Read on…

5.1. How to Hide using layer mask?

First of all, I am going to select Black as my foreground color.

6.jpg

I’ll brush the layer mask with the black color.

To make things easier for you to understand, I have already copied a layer below the parrot layer. This is the image that I am putting just below the parrot layer.

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I am going to grab the Brush tool from the tool panel.

Now, I am going to brush the layer with the black color.

I have brushed randomly and see what happened. I brushed randomly and that part is now hidden. You can the trees from the layer that is present in the below layer.

If you see layer panel, you will also see some black marks in the layer mask. That black mark means that that area is not hidden by the layer mask.

7.jpg

I’ll give a few more examples.

This time I brushed on the right side with the black color. Did you notice what happened? The part where I brushed is now hidden and I can see what’s present in the layer just below to it.

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This time I am going to brush on the entire background. Let’s see what happens.

My entire background is now hidden. You can check my layer mask (I magnified it), you will see that the background is of black color and the parrot is of white color.

In a layer mask, Black means that part is hidden and white means that part is visible. So, you can now easily understand that the background is painted with black color and that’s why it’s hidden. Parrot is with a white color that’s why it’s visible.

10.jpg

5.2. How to Reveal using layer mask?

Now, suppose I want to bring back my background. I will simply brush that part with white color.

Time to choose white color as my foreground color.

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I am going to paint the left side of the image with the white color. It will make that part visible again.

See below. I have brushed the left side with the white color and I can see the background again. If you see my layer mask, you can also see that the corresponding part is in white color.

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You see that how easily I brought the background back? I just brushed it with white color and it’s back.

So, working with layer mask makes your editing non-destructive. It means that you can go back at any point of time without worrying about what would happen to the rest of your image.

Now, what should I do to make the background partially visible?

I can simply reduce the opacity of the brush. In the toolbar of the brush tool, I am going to reduce the opacity to 40%.

13.jpg

Here I go. I brushed the left side of the image with 40% of the white color. It means that the area is now 40% visible. You can also see that you can see a partially visible face. In the layer panel, you’ll see that area with a gray color.

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And yes, this also works the other way round. You can brush with the black color with 40% opacity. It will hide that layer by 40%.

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This is how you use a layer mask.

6. Why should you choose layer mask instead of the Eraser Tool?

Eraser tool erases destructively. You cannot go back in time except using History window, but that is so not recommended.

Let’s say that you erased a part of the image and then you made 13 other steps like toned the brightness, fixed the color, corrected the white balance. Now, you realize that you want to bring back what’s erased.

The only way to do it is to use History window (Windows > History)  and go back to that step. That’s good. But the problem is the 13 steps that you did after erasing will also be undone. You need to perform those 13 steps again.

For example, let’s say that I erased some part of the image with the Eraser tool.

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Now, I did several other things like adjusting the brightness, contrast, vibrance, etc.

17.jpg

Now, I realized that I made some mistakes while erasing and I need to bring some part of the image back.

To fix this, the only way is to go to the History panel (Windows > History) and click on the step just before when I used the Eraser tool.

And yes, I have my image back. But you know what’s the downside? Whatever steps that I did after erasing (marked with yellow rectangle) are also gone. I need to manually redo those steps again. Things would have become even more complicated if I had performed 100+ steps after using the Eraser tool.

18.jpg

Layer mask fixes this problem. It edits your image non-destructively. It means that you can go back in time at any point of time without worrying about other things.

If you have accidentally hide something by brushing it with the black color, you can unhide it by brushing the same area with the white color.

This is why I always use Layer Mask to hide something.

7. Shortcuts for and in the layer mask

There are few shortcuts for layer mask that will make your life easier.

A. A Layer Mask that will hide the entire layer by default.

Hold down Opt/Alt and click on the layer mask. It will hide the entire layer once it’s created.

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B. Disable the Layer Mask

Hold down Shift and click on the layer mask. It will disable it.

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C. To Actually See the Layer mask

You can actually see how it looks like. Hold down Opt/Alt and click on the layer mask.

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Your image will look like the below one. Here black part represents what is hidden and the white part represents what’s visible. Again, hold down Opt/Alt and click on the layer mask to go back to the original mode.

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D. To make a selection out of a layer mask

Hold down Cmd/Ctrl and click on the layer mask to make a selection out of a layer mask.

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Change the Color of Specific Areas in Photoshop

I ran a campaign on my site and asked people the tutorials which they want to read next. And, changing the color of specific areas is on the list. Time to show you how to change the color of specific areas in Photoshop.

The most demanding tutorial was adding shadow in Photoshop and I wrote a tutorial on that 2 days ago.

Here’s the plan for today’s tutorial. First, we’re going to select the area where you want the color to be replaced. We will do it with the help of the Quick Selection tool (because it’s my favorite). Then we’ll use Hue and Saturation to change the color. After that, I’ll show your one bonus technique which you can also use.

Final image

Final.jpg

Initial image

Initial.jpg

Let’s begin the tutorial

Video

If you like watching videos, here’s the video tutorial for you.

Step 1 – Select the area

I am going to change the color of the hat.

Grab the Quick Selection Tool from the toolbar or press Shift + W again and again until it comes.

Start dragging it on the area to select.

1.jpg

Once done, here is my image.

If you have accidentally selected something unwanted, hold down Opt/Alt and brush over the unwanted area. This will deselect that area.

2.jpg

Step 2 – Refine the Selection

Open Select and Mask if you’re using Photoshop CC 2017 and newer. I like to keep the smart radius as 0 as I don’t like its effect. Rather I prefer to use Refine Edge brush for the refined selection. Press OK once done.

This will create a new layer with the selection.

If you’re using older versions of Photoshop, you can use Refine Edge. I cannot show how to do it via Refine Edge because it is not there in Photoshop anymore. But, you can refer the tutorial that I wrote when the tool was present.

3.jpg

Step 3 – Change the Color of Specific Areas in Photoshop

We’re going to use Hue and Saturation to change the color.

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation.

The first thing we need to do is to enable Colorize. This will remove the color of the selected area. I have put a rectangle on this box in the below screenshot so that it’ll be easier for you to locate.

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Next thing, I am going to do is to play with the Hue, Saturation, and the Lightness sliders to get the color that I want. I really like this green color so I am going to stick with it.

This is all. This is the final image.

Final.jpg

Bonus Step – Change the color via Color Blend Mode

There’s one more way to change the color i.e. Color Blend Mode.

We’re going to create a new layer, fill it with the desired color, and change the color or blend mode. That’s all.

Create a new layer by pressing Cmd + Shift + N/Ctrl + Shift + N. Clip the layer to the layer just below it. This will ensure that it will only affect the layer just below it. Hold down Opt/Alt and put the mouse cursor just in between the two layers. You’ll see that the cursor changes its icon as shown below. Now click the mouse button.

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Change the foreground to your desired color. This will be the final color of the area.

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Press Opt + Delete/Alt + Backspace to fill the layer with the foreground color. Change the blend mode to Color.

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That’s all! But as you’ll see that the layer is clipped to its below layer, it will only affect the selection.

Final-2.jpg

This is all.

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