Creating Grouped Layers - Adobe PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS Manual

CHAPTER 8
180
Using Layers
Specifying opacity
A layer's opacity determines to what degree it
obscures or reveals the layer beneath it. A layer
with 1% opacity appears nearly transparent, while
one with 100% opacity appears completely
opaque.
Zebra layer with 50% opacity
To specify opacity for a layer:
1 Select the layer in the Layers palette.
2 In the Layers palette, enter a value for Opacity
or drag the Opacity pop-up slider.
Specifying layer blending modes
You use layer blending modes to determine how
the pixels in a layer or set of layers are blended with
underlying pixels in the image. By applying modes
to layers, you can create a variety of special effects.
For a description of each blending mode,
see "Selecting a blending mode" on page 147.
To specify a blending mode for a layer:
Select the layer in the Layers palette.
1
Choose an option from the Blending Mode
2
pop-up menu.
Filling a new layer with a neutral color
Some filters (such as the Lighting Effects filter)
cannot be applied to layers with no pixels.
Selecting Fill with Neutral Color in the New Layer
dialog box resolves this problem by first filling the
layer with a preset, neutral color. The neutral color
is assigned based on the layer's blending mode and
is invisible. If no effect is applied, filling with a
neutral color has no effect on the remaining layers.
The Fill with Neutral Color option is not available
for layers that use the Normal, Dissolve, Hue,
Saturation, Color, or Luminosity modes.

Creating grouped layers

In grouped layers, the bottommost layer,
or base layer, defines the boundaries for the entire
group. For example, you might have a shape on
one layer, a photographic image on the overlying
layer, and some text on the topmost layer. If you
define all three layers as grouped, the texture and
the text appear only through the shape on the base
layer, and take on the opacity of the base layer.