Adobe Photoshop CS2 On Demand [Electronic resources]

Creating a New Layer

Layers give you control over the design elements of your document, so Adobe's Photoshop makes sure you have plenty of them. You have the ability to create up to 8,000 layers. While that may be more layers than you would ever use in one single document, it guarantees that you have the creative options to carry your designs to any level you desire. To create a new layer, you must first have an open document. A new image in Photoshop has a single layer. If you have more than one document open, make sure the active image is the one you want to add a layer. You can quickly add a layer using a menu or button or add a layer and select options using a dialog box. You can select options to name the layer, designate it as a clipping group, or even change its color Blending mode, and Opacity.

Add Layers to an Active Document

Select the

Layers palette.

Click the

Layers Options button, and then click

New Layer .

TIMESAVER

Click the Create New Layer button on the Layers palette to quickly add a layer.

The new layer is inserted directly above the active layer.

Add Layers and Select Options

Select the

Layers palette.

Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click the

Create New Layer button to open the New Layer dialog box.

Select the layer options you want:

• Name. Enter the name of the layer into the Name box.

• Use Previous Layer To Create Clipping Mask. Select this check box to use the image information in the previous layer to mask the elements of the new layer.

• Color. This option lets you color-code your layers. Click the Color list arrow, and then select from the available colors.

• Mode. Click the Mode list arrow, and then select from the available blending modes.

• Opacity. This option controls the visibility of the new layer. Select a value from 0 to 100 percent.

Click

OK .