Lesson 2b: Photoshop 101: LAYERS & STYLES

Lesson 2b: Photoshop 101: LAYERS & STYLES


What is a layer?
Bad & Good Examples of Mixtape Cover Artwork
Layer Properties - Blending Options
Objective


Layers

What is a layer?
If you're totally unfamiliar with layers in graphics software, they can be a bit difficult to grasp. You can think of each layer in a document as a sheet of clear transparent film. When you paint on one of the sheets, you can still see through the unpainted areas of the sheet. When you stack the sheets, the painted areas on the lower sheets will show through the transparent areas of the sheets above. In Photoshop, the transparent portions of a layer are displayed as a gray and white checkerboard pattern (unless the image contains a background). The checkerboard pattern is not really part of the document, it's just there to help you identify the transparent areas.

Show example of layer stacking
copy
delete
opacity
fill




MIXTAPE COVER ART

A good example of what can be done with adobe photoshop with layers and filters can be seen on hip hop mixtape covers. They are a good look for inspiration in whatever graphic design area you specialize in as they try to be as unique as possible from one another.


Worst Mixtape Covers
http://www.vladtv.com/blog/42286/the-worst-mixtape-covers-of-all-time/


Best Mixtape covers
http://creativeoverflow.net/50-inspiring-mixtape-covers/
http://inspirationfeed.com/inspiration/digital-art-inspiration/25-amazing-examples-of-mixtape-cover-design/



Layer Styles (Blending Options)

DROP SHADOW

The Blend Mode allows you to blend the shadow into the background in different ways (Multiply, Overlay, etc.).

Lower the Opacity to increase the shadow’s translucence.

The Angle option of your drop shadow will affect the direction it drops when the Distance is set to 1 pixel or higher. If the Distance is set to 0, the shadow will spread equally around the layer’s contents.

Spread allows you to make the shadow thicker/denser.

The Size is how big or small the drop shadow will be on each side of the object.

Changing the Quality set of options enables you to add noise to your shadow and alter the contours of your shadow.



INNER SHADOW
Definition: The Inner Shadow effect is very similar to the Drop Shadow. In fact, it’s just the inverse in that it’s applied inside the object instead of the outside of it.

All of the options are the same as Drop Shadow. You may notice, however, that Spread has been replaced with Choke – the higher the Choke value, the thicker the shadow.





OUTER GLOW
Glows are very similar to shadows in concept. Outer glows are often used to create subtle effects when an outer edge of an object needs a bit of a boost to get it to stand out from its background. Outer glows usually work best on dark backgrounds.

Like shadows, you can adjust the Blend Mode, Opacity and Noise of your glow, as well as the Spread and Size of it.

An option you have with glows that isn’t available with shadows is the Technique option, which can either be Softer or Precise.

Softer gives the edge of your glow a softer and more subtle edge, whereas Precise makes your glow stronger and bolder.

The Range option of your glow allows you to change its thickness — the lower the number, the thicker. Setting this at 1%, for example, will actually make your glow look like a stroke rather than a glow.





INNER GLOW
Like the Drop Shadow versus Inner Shadow, the Inner Glow versus the Outer Glow is similar, they are just the inverse of each other.

All the options are the same as Outer Glow, with one additional option: Source. The Source allows you to make your glow appear from the Edge (default setting) or the Center.




Bevel and Emboss - Contour-Texture
The Bevel and Emboss gives an object a raised (Bevel) or depressed (Emboss) look. The effect has two sub-effects, Contour and Texture.

Contour allows you to make your bevel/emboss sharper or softer.

Texture gives you the option to add a pattern to your object.

There are a handful of different settings when it comes to using the Bevel and Emboss effect. The higher the Depth, the sharper the structure. The higher the Size, the more center your bevel/emboss will be. The Shading set of options allow you to increase the Opacity of both the highlights and the shading, and also allows you to change the Angle (the source of light).




Satin
The Satin style, in my experience, is very rarely used. One use I have found for it in the past is for recreating vintage effects — although there are lots of different other ways to do that.

The Satin options are very simple, and similar to the others we have already looked at.



Color Overlay
Color Overlay is an incredibly simple layer style, allowing you to completely cover the layer’s contents with a color.

There are three settings: the Blend Mode, the Color, and the Opacity — they are pretty self-explanatory. This is a useful effect for quickly changing colors and is often used in web design variations, when alternative colors of things like text is desired.





Gradient Overlay
The Gradient Overlay does the exact same thing as a Color Overlay, apart from that it overlays your objects with a color gradient rather than a color.

The Style of the gradient can be Linear, Radial, Angle, Reflected or Diamond.

The Scale of the gradient makes it smaller or bigger with respect to the size of your layer objects.

There is also a Reverse option, which allows you to quickly reverse the orientation of your colors, saving you from having to recreate a new gradient.

Clicking on the Gradient option presents the Gradient Editor where you can set your gradient’s colors and type.






Pattern Overlay
Like the other overlay effects, the Pattern Overlay works in almost the same way. This is actually very similar to the Texture setting we used under the Bevel and Emboss effect.

You can select from various built-in Photoshop patterns or create/install your own.





Stroke
This is the last layer effect we will talk about. The stroke effect simply places a border around your object.

The options are similar to the ones we’ve discussed earlier and are pretty self-explanatory (at least by now). The Position option, which indicates where you want the stroke to be made, can be Inner, Outer, or Center. The size of your stroke determines how thick it is — you can adjust this in pixel units. The default is 3px, but the most common is probably 1px.

The Fill Type allows you to fill your stroke with different elements; you can either choose from a solid color, a color gradient, or even a pattern. The default Fill Type is Color.


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OBJECTIVE
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Execute a layer style on text or image