Layer Basics
Learn the basics of Photoshop layers with this sample chapter from Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book (2021 release). Conrad Chavez and Andrew Faulkner show you how to use the Layers panel to rearrange layers, add layer masks, and apply blending modes, gradients, filters, text, and other effects.
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In Photoshop, you can isolate different parts of an image on layers. Each layer can then be edited as discrete artwork, giving you tremendous flexibility as you compose and revise an image.
About layers
Every Photoshop file contains one or more layers. All new layers in an image are transparent until you add text or artwork. Working with layers is analogous to placing portions of a drawing on clear sheets of film, such as those viewed with an overhead projector: Individual sheets may be edited, repositioned, and deleted without affecting the other sheets. When the sheets are stacked, the entire composition is visible.
Many of the lesson files for this book have a background layer, a layer behind all others that is always completely opaque. Photoshop documents intended for print, digital camera images, and scanned images typically have a background layer. Photoshop documents created for mobile devices and websites might not have a background layer; for example, website graphics may need transparent areas that won’t block a web page’s background or other elements. To learn more about the background layer, see “About the background layer” on page 78.