In this lesson we will be covering the different areas of the layers palette such as layers, visibility, transparency, blend modes, context (right click) menu, groups, and so on.
Extract the files from the b06layerpalzjh_v8-dl.zip file which contains some images we will be using in this lesson.
The Layers palette displays the layers of the image. It allows you to rearrange the order of the layers, hide/show layers, and provides a variety of options you can perform on the individual layers. The layers are displayed to the left of the window. The right side allows you to toggle visibility, adjust the transparency, and choose blend modes. The top provides a variety of buttons which are shortcuts to the options found on the Layers menu. Right clicking on a layer will display a context menu which also gives you a variety of tasks you can perform.
File || Open the b06layerpalzjh2.jpg image in PSP 8. Duplicate it (Window || Duplicate or Shift+D) and close the original.
Now look at the layer palette you should have one layer named Background. The first thing we are going to do is Promote the background layer to a regular layer. Click Layer || Promote Background layer or right click on the Background layer in the Layers palette and left click on Promote Background Layer.
The layer name has changed from Background to Raster 1. Lets rename the layer so we know what is on it. Right click on the Raster 1 layer and left click on Rename. Type in Rose and hit Enter.
Click on Layer || Properties or right click on the Rose layer and click Properties. This will display the properties of the current layer. You can also change the name of the layer here as well as change the properties. You will notice that the tasks on the right side of the Layers palette are also available in the Properties dialog. Click Ok to close the Properties dialog. Note: To save time I will not keep telling you to right click on the layer so keep in mind most options on the Layers menu is on the Context (right click) menu. Personally I prefer to use the Context menu because it is easier for me.
Now lets have some fun. Open (File || Open) the b06layerpalzjh1.jpg image in PSP. Click Edit || Copy (Ctrl+C) to copy the image to the windows clipboard. Close the original.
Make sure the Rose image is selected and click Edit || Paste || As New Layer (Ctrl+L). Now you will have a Rose layer and a Raster 1 layer in your image. Change the name of the Raster 1 layer to Sun.
To the right of the Sun layer you should see the word Normal (you may have to use the scroll bar on the layers palette to see it). This is the blend mode. If you click on the arrow beside Normal you will see several blend modes you can choose from. Select each blend mode one at time so that you can see what effect they have. Then choose your favorite. I chose Screen. Save your image (File || Save) as a jpg you will get a warning that the layers will be merged just click ok. Then close it. If you open the jpg you will notice that the image only has Background layer. To preserve layers you have to save the file in PSP format.
Open backgroundzjh1.jpg, Duplicate it, and Close the original. Layers || Promote Background Layer. This is a background I made when doing GraphicButterfly's Effects browser tutorial. It is already a seamless tile but it is too loud to use as a background for a web page because it would be hard to read text on. Let's mute it.
Click the New Raster layer button (first button) on the Layers palette. Type white as the name and click Ok. Select the Flood tool using default settings except change the Match mode to none. In your Materials palette change your Foreground to color and choose white. Note: You can right click on the Foreground box and choose white from the popup menu).
Make sure the white layer is highlighted in the Layers palette and then left click in your image. Now if you want you can change the blend modes to see what effects they produce just be sure to set it back to normal when you are done.
To the left of the Blend modes on the Layers palette is the Transparency settings (should say 100%). Click in the middle of Transparency bar beside the white layer. You will notice the little up and down arrows moved to around the center of the transparency bar. If you click somewhere else the Transparency layer the arrows will move again. The arrows are the transparency slider if you click on the arrows and hold down the left mouse button you can drag the slider right or left. Watch your image and move the transparency slider around. Change the transparency to 50%.
To the left of the Transparency bar you should see an Eye. Click on the Eyeball to turn visibility of the layer on/off. If visibility is off there is an X over the Eye. Make sure visibility is on for both layers.
Now text should show up pretty well on this background. Let's merge the layers. Click Layers || Merge || Merge Visible. Merge All (Flatten) will fill any transparent areas of the image with the background color and change it to a Background layer. In this case we are done with the image so we could have chosen Merge All (Flatten) but I chose Merge Visible because unless otherwise specified this is what most tutorials mean if they say something like Merge the layers. Save your image as a jpg. Now click Edit || Undo Merge Visible.
You can also use the Layers palette (or one of the menus) to rearrange the layers. Personally I use the layers palette. Click on the white layer and hold down the left mouse button drag the layer to the bottom. Now drag it back to the top. You could also click Layers || Arrange and choose one of the options on that menu.
For the purpose of this lesson I have just covered the most commonly used tasks however there are many more options left to explore. For example Masks are considered layers now so you apply them using the Layers options. We will be covering Masks in the advanced lessons. You also have adjustment layers for correcting and enhancing individual layers and Layer groups. You can use Layer groups to group layers together. You can move an entire group at the same time, apply layer properties (transparency, blend modes and etc) to the entire group, and limit the effect of an adjustment layer.
We will also be covering Vectors in the advanced lessons for now when directed to add a new layer assume they mean Raster layer.
That's it for this lesson I hope you enjoyed it.