Adobe 13102498 - Photoshop CS3 - Mac User Manual page 301

Create a knockout
Knockout options let you specify which layers "punch through" to reveal content from other layers. For example, you
can use a text layer to knock out a color adjustment layer and reveal a portion of the image using the original colors.
As you plan your knockout effect, you need to decide which layer will create the shape of the knockout, which layers
will be punched through, and which layer will be revealed. If you want to reveal a layer other than the Background,
you can place the layers you want to use in a group or clipping mask.
Farm logo with shallow knockout to Background layer
Do one of the following in the Layers palette:
1
• To reveal the background, position the layer that will create the knockout above the layers that will be punched
through, and make sure the bottom layer in the image is a Background layer. (Choose Layer > New > Background
From Layer to convert a regular layer into a Background layer.)
• To reveal a layer above the background, place the layers you want to punch through in a group. The top layer in
the group will punch through the grouped layers to the next layer below the group. If you want to punch all the
way through to the background, set the blending mode for the group to Pass Through (the default setting).
• To reveal the base layer of a clipping mask, place the layers you want to use in a clipping mask. (See "Mask layers
with clipping masks" on page 323.) Make sure that the Blend Clipped Layers As Group option is selected for the
base layer. (See "Group blend effects" on page 295.)
Select the top layer (the layer that will create the knockout).
2
3 To display blending options, either double-click the layer (anywhere outside the layer name or thumbnail), choose
Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options, or choose Blending Options from the Layers palette menu.
Note: To view blending options for a text layer, choose Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options, or choose Blending
Options from the Add A Layer Style button at the bottom of the Layers palette menu.
Choose an option from the Knockout pop-up menu:
4
• Select Shallow to knock out to the first possible stopping point, such as the first layer after the layer group or the
base layer of the clipping mask.
• Select Deep to knock out to the background. If there is no background, Deep knocks out to transparency.
Note: If you are not using a layer group or clipping mask, either Shallow or Deep creates a knockout that reveals the
background layer (or transparency, if the bottom layer is not a background layer).
To create the knockout effect, do one of the following:
5
• Lower the fill opacity.
• Using the choices in the Blend Mode menu, change the blending mode to reveal the underlying pixels.
PHOTOSHOP CS3 294
User Guide