Design Gallery -Adobe--Part-5

(629 total words in this text)
(978 Reads)  

<u>Design Gallery</u>

Adobe-Part--5

Grouping: an excellent bridge

Grouping layers, essentially lets you move one object with another. Press [Alt] and in the layers palette, click between the layers you want to group.

<img src="http://www.hashdot.com/9.jpg" width="510" height="383" border="0" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.hashdot.com/10.jpg" width="510" height="383" border="0" alt="" />

Rotate through the blend modes

Searching for the right effects in Blend Modes can be painful when you have to keep going back to the Blend Mode drop-down menu. A shortcut is [Shift] and [+] or [-], which takes you to the next or previous Blend Mode.

Organising your related layers

If you need to work on several layers simultaneously, you can keep them in sync by clicking the 'Create a new set' button, and dragging and dropping them on the Set layer. Else, you can link the layers-hold down the [Alt] key and from the Layer palette's drop-down menu, choose New Set From Linked.
You can also keep related data in a more accessible format by pressing [Alt] and double-clicking on the layer.
In the Layer properties dialog box, choose a colour and click OK. This will colour the left side of that layer in the Layers palette, and make it easier for visual identification. Apply the same colour to all related layers.

Moving multiple layers between documents

To move more than one layer at a time, from one document to another, link your layers and make sure you drag your layer from within the document itself. If you drag it from the Layers palette, you can only drag one layer at a time.

Applying the same style across layers

Applying a style to many layers is simple. Just link all the desired layers, go to Layer > Layer Style > Copy Layer Style. Now, go to Layer > Paste Layer Style to Linked, and all your layers will have the same style.

Selecting a letter after the Type layer has been rasterised

To do this, just make a loose selection using the Lasso tool around the letter. Hold down [Ctrl] and press the up arrow key once and then the down arrow key once. The letter will be selected without disturbing anything else on the layer. Now, you can edit this letter, as it is a 'floating selection'.

<img src="http://www.hashdot.com/11.jpg" width="510" height="383" border="0" alt="" />

Preventing Layer styles from affecting your new work

Layer styles apply to all the elements in the layer. For example, if you apply a Bevel and Emboss to a layer, everything you do on that layer will have the same effect applied to it. To avoid this, create a new blank layer, and drag this layer beneath your Bevel and Emboss layer. Click on your Bevel and Emboss layer, and press [Ctrl] + [E] to merge it with the blank layer. This will remove the active effect from the layer, so it no longer applies a Bevel and Emboss to new things.

Creating your own styles

If you have created an artwork and want to use it in your future projects, you can save it as a Style. Open the Layer Style dialog box by double-clicking on any effect on that layer in the Layers palette, and click on the New Style button. A New Style dialog box will appear, where you can name your style. To apply this style, go to the Window menu and choose Show Styles. The style you just created will appear as the last style in the palette.

<img src="http://www.hashdot.com/12.jpg" width="510" height="383" border="0" alt="" />

Reducing file size for Web images

Save images for the Web as transparent images, so that they take up less space. Go to the Layers palette and simply delete the Background layer. This leaves only transparent layers above it. Now when you click on Save for Web, the checkbox for Transparency is no longer greyed out.