Photoshop CS Timesaving Techniques For Dummies [Electronic resources]

Getting to Know Layer Styles

The Layer Style dialog box shown in Figure 20-1 is the place to go for special layer effects. As shown in Figure 20-1, the layer style effects are listed with check boxes on the left side of the dialog box. When a box is checked, that layer style is applied to the active layer. To view the settings for a layer style, click the effect’s name in the left column. The settings for a selected layer style appear in the center of the dialog box. Most of the layer effects include several settings that you can change.

Figure 20-1: The Layer Style dialog box is special effects central.

You have two ways to access the Layer Style dialog box:

Use the Layers palette to select a layer.

Click the Add Layer Style button at the bottom of the palette, as shown in Figure 20-2.

Figure 20-2: Choose a special effect from the menu.

Select the effect that you want to apply from the menu.

Here’s the second way:

Use the Layers palette to select a layer.

Choose Layer>Layer Style and select the effect that you want to apply from the menu.

In both cases, the Layer Style dialog box opens with that effect selected. You can then select the settings you need for that effect and add any other effects that you would like to apply as well.