Intro to Layers

One of the most important things to keep in mind when cleaning is LAYERS. Every cleaner has a different method for managing layers, but as long as you keep them well labeled, you can never have too many. (On the other hand, having 20 layers named “Layer1″ or “Layer15″ will only create confusion.)

The beauty of layers is that what you do on one layer won’t affect what’s on another layer. So if you ink an area black, redraw a white line on it, and then decide you don’t like the white line, how do you erase the white without erasing the black, too? Well if the white is on a different layer than the black, then the Eraser Tool won’t affect the black.

Also, when precleaning, always make a new layer before applying filters and leveling. That way, if you decide later that you don’t like what you’ve done, you can always start again with the original.

Other things to note about the layer window:

1) You can create folders to organize your layers.

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2) You can change the mode of a layer. Modes affect how the layers interact. In the beginning, don’t worry so much about it, but if you see a tutorial that says “Set Mode to Multiply” or “Set layer to Soft Light,” you’ll know where to look in PS.

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3) You have the option of merging layers together. Unless you need to combine them for the sake of filtering or changing layer modes (both somewhat advanced techniques), I strongly recommend NOT merging layers. If you have too many layers and they’re cluttering your Layer window, make some folders as shown above and dump them in there.

4) Remember, everyone will organize their layers differently, so find a system that works for you!

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