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Working With Photoshop Blending Modes & Opacity - Photoshop Tutorial
In this tutorial, I'm taking a brief look at opacity and blending modes in Photoshop and how you can create different image effects by using them. I'm not going to look at each of the blending modes – there are 23 of them – but more an overview of how they work.
When you blend layers you are changing the way pixels on the different layers mix with each other and this gives us some cool (and unusual) results. Blending modes can be a great way to compose multiple-image artwork.
I'm using a Photoshop file that has two layers. One layer contains an image of an old building with an orange coloured wall and the other layer contains a staircase on the outside of an apartment block. When you're trying this out yourself, just use any Photoshop image with two different layers, with something on each layer.
It's always a good idea to give your layers a descriptive name. Don't just leave each layer with it's default of Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3 and so on. When you're dealing with an image with 20 layers this becomes very tiresome when you're trying to figure out what's on each layer.
Step 1
To rename a layer, double-click the layer name in the Layers palette. A bounding box will appear around the words Layer 1 . Type a new name and Press Return or Enter .
Note: Make sure you click directly on the layer name, otherwise you will open the Layer Style dialog box and you won't be able to rename the layer.
Step 2
When I click on the eye icon on the newly-named Stairs layers. The image of stairs appears in the image and the Orange Wall is hidden.
Step 3
With the Stairs layer selected in the Layers palette, click on the arrow beside the opacity field and drag the slider to 40%. Notice that everything on this layer - the stairs and the wall they are attached to becomes less opaque (more see-through).
Step 4
Lowering the opacity of a layer makes the artwork on that layer more translucent, so that the layers beneath it show through.
Step 5
Drag the opacity slider back to 100% so that you can see the Stairs normally.
Step 6
On the layers palette, click on the down arrow beside the field that says “ Normal”. By default, layer appear with a blending mode of Normal.
Step 7
From the drop down menu that appears, choose Hard Mix.
The image changes quite dramatically.
Take a few minutes to try out different blending modes and see how the image is affect. Below you can see Overlay and Multiply modes.
The Multiply mode is probably one of the most often used blending modes. It blends layers to produce a darker colour, except where there are white pixels. The white pixels will disappear.
When you have found a blending mode that produces an effect you like, click on the Stairs palette to select it. Click on the “Create a New Layer” button at the bottom of the Layers palette.
A new empty layer appears in the Layers palette just above the Stairs layer, but nothing has changed on your image in the document window. When you add a new layer, by default the layer is empty and transparent. You're now going to use this new layer to draw a border around the image you've been working on. The benefit to drawing on this layer, as opposed to drawing on any of the other layers, is that it can be isolated on its own - turned on or off, transparency adjusted and other adjustments applied to the layer.
Make sure that the new empty layer is selected. Select the Brush tool from the Toolbox (or hit B on the keyboard). On the tool options bar, click on the Brush Preset Picker and select a rough looking brush. (I picked a Dry Brush Light Flow) and set the master diameter to about 100 pixels. On the toolbox, set the foreground colour to black by hitting “D” on the keyboard – this sets the foreground and background colours to their default – black and white. Start drawing around the edge of the image to create a rough border.
Rename the layer as “B order”. (Yes, I know I'm nagging about the naming of layers but it's good practice!)
The benefit to drawing on this new empty layer is if you don't like your work you can turn it off without affecting your entire image. You could also reduce the opacity to see how that looks.
Take some time to try adding another layer to your image and draw some more. Pick different brushes and colours and choose some blending modes.
So that's it for an intro to blending modes and opacity. The best way to find out how they work is, of course to experiment and check out all the different effects you can achieve.
See more Photoshop tutorials from Jennifer Farley.
Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store
Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.
Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.
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SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
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