Photoshop Layer Palette Tutorial

In the image above you can see that I have outlined each option with a colour and then given it a number and a name. I will now list the numbers and explain what they do.

• #1 - Locked layer. When you create a new image the first layer will automatically be locked. You can unlock it by “double clicking” on the layer, this will unlock it and enable you to edit it more than you can when it is locked.

• #2 - Layer Visibility. When you want to hide a layer all you have to do is click the eye and it’ll be hidden. It’s a great tool for when you want to hide it temporarily, enabling you to see the underneath layer. To make the layer visible again, just press it - simple as that.

• #3 - Layer Mode. This is one of the most important parts in your layer palette. It’s automatically set to “Normal”, but changing it to something else alters how your layer is displayed. All you have to do is play with it, test out a few of the modes and you’ll see what they all do.

• #4 - Opacity. The opacity is how strongly the layer is displayed. All you have to do is lessen it and it’ll fade your layer.

• #5 - Fill. The Fill is almost identical to Opacity… the only difference is when you alter the opacity it changes the whole, entire layer. But when you alter Fill it only changes the pixels drawn there, the shapes, text etc. Try it out, you’ll see what I mean.

• #6 - More Layer Options. I’m not entirely sure what this is actually called… but when you select the little tab it brings up simple layer options. You can create a new layer, duplicate a layer, delete one, merge layers etc.

• #7 - Layer Tab. When you’re using layers your layer tab will always be selected. This just shows you are using your layer palette rather than Channels or Paths.

• #8 Channels Tab. I often use the channels to enhance my image. They split the one layer into 3 separate contrasts. I wrote a tutorial on using the channels - you can find out what I do with them in this Photoshop Grayscale Tutorial.

• #9 Paths. The paths tab is for when you use the pen tool, you make different paths for different lines. Play around with the pen tool it’ll be clear.

• #10 Delete Button. If you want to delete a layer, just select it and press this button.

• #11 New Layer. This one is very simple; if you press the New Layer button you’ll get a new layer, not a solid one but an empty one.

• #12 New Group. Although I personally don’t use this much, it can be handy at times when you have an awful lot of layers. If you press this button a “group”, or simply a folder will be created, you can then put current layers inside it, or create new ones inside it.

• #13 - Layer - Layer Adjustment. The layer adjustment button is the half black and half white one (just in case I didn’t make it obvious)… this is a list of all the different adjustments you can do on your layer.

• #14 Layer Mask. This button creates a layer mask. “What is a layer mask though?” A layer mask in Photoshop is basically a way of hiding and revealing certain parts of a layer. And even if you erase parts of the image the mask allows it to never completely disappear…

• #15 Layer Options. This option is mostly used on text, shapes, brushes etc… but can also be used on layers themselves. When you select this option is lists several things; Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, Bevel and Emboss and other options… including stroke, pattern overlay, gradient overlay and so forth.

• #16 Link Layers. By linking two or more layers or layer sets, you can move their contents together. You can also copy, paste, align, merge, apply transformations to, and create clipping groups from linked layers.

• And that’s it…… I hope I somewhat explained the Photoshop Layer Palette. It’s quite tricky to explain, so if you have any questions about this then please do leave a comment below, I’ll happily reply.