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Tip of the Day | Page 48

 

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.

December 23rd, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (1)

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.

December 22nd, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (4)

Select Similar layers

Here’s a quick way to select multiple layers of the same kind—meaning multiple shape layers, type layers, or adjustment layers. Just click on one of the layers, and then from the Select menu, choose Similar Layers.

December 21st, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

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.

December 18th, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (1)

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.

December 17th, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (1)

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.

December 16th, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Add a second stroke with Smart Objects

Here’s a cool way to be able to add more than one layer style to a layer: add a layer style and then convert the layer to a Smart Object. Then you can apply an additional layer style, giving you two strokes, for example.

December 15th, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Smart Object warp

If you have a Smart Object made from a Photoshop document or object on a layer, you can warp it any way you like. However, if the Smart Object is a Vector Smart Object from Illustrator, you cannot warp it. The solution is simple, yet odd: convert the Vector Smart Object to a Smart Object (from the Layers panel’s flyout menu) and then it can be warped. If you need to edit the original Illustrator artwork, you’ll have to double-click on the Smart Object’s layer thumbnail to open a Photoshop document that contains the Vector Smart Object. Double-click on its layer
thumbnail to open it in Illustrator. (It’s easier than it sounds.)

December 14th, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

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.

December 11th, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

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.

December 10th, 2009 | | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

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Photoshop Tutorials

  • Flare Effects

    Corey has a cool trick for creating a flare brush and see how one effect can lead to another.

  • Hollywood Touch-Ups

    See how you can add some subtle touches to give that green screen studio shot the Hollywood treatment.

  • 3D Christmas Ornaments

    Corey shows how to create reflective holiday ornaments using 3D in Photoshop.

  • 3D Distortions

    This week Corey has a cool new trick for using 3D reflections in a rather creative way!

Premium Video Tutorials From NAPP


 

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

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