Photoshop Layer

From Pigbert Wiki

• Ctrl + J: Layer via copy
• Ctrl + Shift + J: Layer via cut
• Ctrl + [ / ]: Move a layer up or down the stack
• Change the background layer to a new layer: Double Click on background layer -> OK

Shape Layers

Adjustment Layers

• Color: Fills the layer with a solid colour
• Gradient: Fills the layer with a colour gradient
• Pattern: Fills the layer with a repeating pattern
• Levels: Adjusts the tones in an image
• Curves: similar to levels, adjusts the tomes, but with more precise control
• Color Balance: Handles basic colour correction and shifting
• Brightness/Contrast: Brightens an image and adds contrast across the board
• Hue/Saturation: Controls colour shifting and effects
• Selective Color Options: Adjusts process colour for printing
• Channel Mixer: Exercises precise control over the colour channels
• Gradient Map: Replaces the colour table in an image with a gradient.

Layer Blending Modes

Normal Modes

colour and opacity are unaffected

• Normal: The standard mode in which images are blended without any special effects.
• Dissolve: When you lower the opacity, the blend layer dissolves rather than turn transparent.
• Behind: Available only with the painting tools. Paints only on the transparent pixels and ignores opaque pixels.
• Clear: Available only with the painting tools. Erases opaque pixels and performs just like the Eraser tool.

Darkening Modes

cause white to disappear on the blend (top) layer

• Darken: Where the blend (top) layer is darker, it becomes dominant. Where it is lighter, the base image becomes dominant.
• Multiply: The white areas on the blend (top) layer appear transparent. Only the darker areas affect the base color. This is commonly used for drop shadows, allowing the underlying colour to bleed through.
• Color Burn: Use to paint deeper shadows onto images by increasing the contrast on the base layer.
• Linear Burn: Darkens the base colour by decreasing the brightness.

Lightening Modes

cause black to disappear on the blend layer

• Lighten: where the blend layer is lighter, it becomes dominant. Where it is darker, the base image becomes dominant.
• Screen: The dark areas on the blend layer appear transparent. Only the lighter areas affect the base colour.
• Color Dodge: Decrease contrast on the base layer.
• Linear Dodge: Lightens the base colour by increasing the brightness.

Light Modes

cause 50% gray to disappear, have no effect on black or white

• Overlay:
  • The shadows and highlights of the base layer are not affected; the colour are blended together.
  • It is useful to make the top layer "blend" into the bottom layer. Better if the top layer does not have much colour information.
• Soft Light: If the blend colour is lighter than 50% gray, the colour are dodged, or burned if it is darker than 50% gray.
• Hard Light: 50% gray disappears and white and black are unaffected. Lighter than 50% gray screens and darker than 50% multiplies.
• Vivid Light: Same as Hard Light but the result is burned or dodged colours, depending on the percentage of gray.
• Linear Light: 50% gray disappears and white and black are unaffected. Lighter than 50% gray increase brightness and darker than 50% reduces the brightness.
• Pin Light: If the blend colour is darker than 50% gray, pixels are lighter.
• Hard Mix: Reduces everything to eight colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, red, blue, green, black, and white. If the blend layer is lighter than 50% gray, the colour shifts the base hue to one of the eight colours; if it's less than 50%, the blend hue shifts to the closest of the eight colour.

Inverting Modes

good to get radical and psychedelic effects'

• Difference: Inverts the colour where the layers overlap. Black is ignored.
• Exclusion: Inverts the colour where the layers overlap, but with less intensity than Difference.

Colour-based Modes

These are more practical modes. They affect only certain aspects of the image at a time and affect the underlying image

• Hue: Change only the colour of the underlying image.
• Saturation: Change only the strength of colour in the underlying image, the actual colour itself is ignored.
• Color: This is like hue and saturation mixed together. This is the best mode for colourising grayscale pictures.
• Luminosity:
  • cause the top layer to shed its colour and allow the base colours and textures to come through. The top layer will retain its highlight and shadow information.
  • It is useful for texturaise the image (set the texture layer as the bottom layer and set the target layer to luminosity mode.

Making White Disappear

1. Convert top layer to multiply mode

Making Black Invisible

1. Convert top layer to screen mode

Making Objects Overlay in a Natural Way

Removing the Layer Colour