Photoshop 101 : Layer Basics
- Thread starter thahappycamper
- Start date
thahappycamper
Level 3
Photoshop Layers Introduction
It’s hard to believe there was ever a time when layers didn’t exist inside Photoshop. Yet prior to Photoshop 3 (that’s 3, not CS3), they didn’t. Hard to believe, you say? Wait, didn’t I just say that? Are you even paying attention? Well, you should be, because this is important stuff. Layers are, without a doubt, the single most important aspect of Photoshop. Nothing worth doing in Photoshop can or should be done without layers. They’re so important that they have their own Layers panel as well as their own Layer category in the Menu Bar at the top of the screen. You can add layers, delete layers, name layers, rename layers, move layers, adjust layers, mask layers, show and hide layers, blend layers, lock and unlock layers, add effects to layers, group and ungroup layers, and even change the opacity of layers. Layers are the heart and soul of Photoshop. Best of all, layers are easy to understand, once you wrap your mind around them.
“That’s great!”, you say, “but that doesn’t tell me what layers are”. Good point, so let’s find out!
Download our tutorials as print-ready PDFs! Learning Photoshop has never been easier!
We can spent a lot of time discussing the theory of what layers are in Photoshop, just like we could try to learn how to ride a bike by reading a lot of theory about it. Problem is, you could read every book and website there is on the theory of bike riding and still fall on your head the first time you try to ride one (trust me on this). A better way to learn would be to simply hop on that bike and start peddling, and that’s exactly how we’re going to learn about layers. Fortunately, we run much less of a risk of falling on our heads while using layers, but feel free to put on a helmet if it will make you feel safer.
What Would Life Be Like Without Layers?
Before we look at what layers are and how to use them, let’s first see what working in Photoshop would be like without layers! We’ll start by creating a new document in Photoshop. I’m using Photoshop CS5 here but any recent version will work just fine. Go up to the File menu in the Menu Bar along the top of the screen and choose New:
...cont
It’s hard to believe there was ever a time when layers didn’t exist inside Photoshop. Yet prior to Photoshop 3 (that’s 3, not CS3), they didn’t. Hard to believe, you say? Wait, didn’t I just say that? Are you even paying attention? Well, you should be, because this is important stuff. Layers are, without a doubt, the single most important aspect of Photoshop. Nothing worth doing in Photoshop can or should be done without layers. They’re so important that they have their own Layers panel as well as their own Layer category in the Menu Bar at the top of the screen. You can add layers, delete layers, name layers, rename layers, move layers, adjust layers, mask layers, show and hide layers, blend layers, lock and unlock layers, add effects to layers, group and ungroup layers, and even change the opacity of layers. Layers are the heart and soul of Photoshop. Best of all, layers are easy to understand, once you wrap your mind around them.
“That’s great!”, you say, “but that doesn’t tell me what layers are”. Good point, so let’s find out!
Download our tutorials as print-ready PDFs! Learning Photoshop has never been easier!
We can spent a lot of time discussing the theory of what layers are in Photoshop, just like we could try to learn how to ride a bike by reading a lot of theory about it. Problem is, you could read every book and website there is on the theory of bike riding and still fall on your head the first time you try to ride one (trust me on this). A better way to learn would be to simply hop on that bike and start peddling, and that’s exactly how we’re going to learn about layers. Fortunately, we run much less of a risk of falling on our heads while using layers, but feel free to put on a helmet if it will make you feel safer.
What Would Life Be Like Without Layers?
Before we look at what layers are and how to use them, let’s first see what working in Photoshop would be like without layers! We’ll start by creating a new document in Photoshop. I’m using Photoshop CS5 here but any recent version will work just fine. Go up to the File menu in the Menu Bar along the top of the screen and choose New:
...cont