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Tip of the Day | Page 16
GROUPING MULTIPLE LAYERS IN A LAYER GROUP
Layer groups are a great way to collect multiple layers into one set and manipulate them. Rather than creating one set and dragging all of the layers into the set, select all of the layers first. Once the layers are selected, press-and-hold the Shift key and click on the Create a New Group icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
AUTO-SELECTING A LAYER
Here’s a really cool way to select a layer: with the Move tool (V) active, press-and-hold the Command (PC: Ctrl) key and click on that layer in the image.
CHANGE THE FILL OPACITY ON THE FLY
You probably know that (with a non-painting tool selected) you can press a number to change the opacity of a layer (1 for 10%, 2 for 20%, etc.). But what if you want to change the Fill opacity rather than the opacity? Add in the Shift key, pressing Shift-1 for 10%, Shift-2 for 20%, etc.
COPY & PASTE BLEND MODES AND OPACITY
Not only can you copy-and-paste layer styles from one layer to another, but you can also use the same method to copy blend modes and opacity to multiple layers. Just pick the layer that has the blend mode and/or opacity setting you want, and Control-click (PC: Right-click) on it and choose Copy Layer Style. Then select all the other layers you want to share the same setting, Control-click again, and this time choose Paste Layer Styles.
DUPLICATING SMART OBJECTS
When you use the standard shortcut Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate a smart object, changes you make to the smart object will affect both copies. To avoid this, Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the smart object and choose New Smart Object Via Copy. Now the two smart objects can be edited separately—ideal for making two Camera Raw edits of the same RAW file.
CHANGE LAYER CONTENT
If you have an adjustment layer and you’ve spent some time painting on the layer mask, the last thing you want to do is start all over again if you decide you should have used a different adjustment layer. Instead, go to the Layer menu and from the Change Layer Content submenu, choose the adjustment layer you want to use. The adjustment layer will change, but the layer mask will be preserved.
DELETING A LAYER MASK WITHOUT A PROMPT
This is a tip that doesn’t just apply to layer masks, but to anything that gives you a confirmation prompt. Whenever you try to do something in Photoshop (let’s say delete a layer mask, for now) it will prompt you with a warning dialog asking if you’re sure this is something that you want to do. Most of the time, it is a good idea to have this on, but if you want to bypass this dialog, press-and-hold the Option (PC: Alt) key as you drag the layer mask into the trash. The dialog doesn’t even appear.
MOVING A LAYER MASK
To move a layer mask from one layer to another, click-and-drag the layer mask from the layer that it is presently on to the new layer. To copy a layer mask to another layer, press-and-hold the Option (PC: Alt) key, then click-and-drag it to that layer.
DISABLING A LAYER MASK
If you would like to temporarily disable a layer mask, press-and-hold the Shift key and click on the layer mask thumbnail.
LOADING A LAYER MASK AS A SELECTION
In order to load a layer mask as a selection, Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers panel.
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Hollywood Touch-Ups
See how you can add some subtle touches to give that green screen studio shot the Hollywood treatment.
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3D Christmas Ornaments
Corey shows how to create reflective holiday ornaments using 3D in Photoshop.
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3D Distortions
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Smart Object Masking Trick
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Light Painting
Dave Cross takes a popular trend - light painting - and shows you how you can paint text recreating this cool trend.
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Create A Composite Layer
If you have a multilayer composition and you
want to apply an effect to all the layers at once, don’t flatten the layers–use a composite layer instead. Hide the layers you want excluded, and press Shift-Command-Option-E (PC: Shift-Ctrl-Alt-E). A new layer will be created at the top containing a merged copy of all the visible layers.
Another option is to create a new layer at the top of the stack and make it active. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) each layer you want to include to make those layers active, as well. Press Option-Command-E (PC: Alt-Ctrl-E).
by Colin Smith
