Basic Layers
page threeNow, I want you to add another layer. Select the topmost layer in the Layers palette. New layers are created directly above the currently selected layer, and I want this new one to be topmost.
Click on the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. It's the one that looks like a little page. Hover the cursor over the buttons if you're not sure which it is. The tool tip should tell you if you're right.
Press Alt, and double click on the new layer after it appears to rename it. Call it “Flat”.
With the Flat layer still selected, go to the Layers palette menu (click on the little arrow in the upper right corner of the palette) and click on Merge Visible. BUT, and pay attention to this, do not release the mouse button from the Merge Visible menu listing. Press the Alt key. THEN release the mouse button. By pressing the Alt key before you release the mouse button, you create a merged copy of all the visible layers in the image. If you did not hold down the Alt key, you would simply merge all the layers, and we really, really don't want to do that.
Make sure the new merged Flat layer is still selected. Then choose Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical.
With this third, flipped layer in place, I played with the blend modes for the Flat layer. The Blend menu is accessed by clicking the little down arrow next to the current mode name, usually showing“Normal”, in the upper left part of the Layers palette. In the illustration below, it is showing the Darken mode.
Note that the blend mode for all other layers was left at Normal. Also, remember, that the middle, “Second” layer is at 50 % opacity. Below are several examples of what you can get by choosing different blend modes for the Flat layer.
Here, also, is the final Layers palette layout for your reference.
There's much more to this tutorial. We've just scratched the surface.
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above: Blend mode set to Difference
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above: Blend mode set to Lighten
above: Blend mode set to Darken
above: Blend mode set to Hard Light
above: Blend mode set to Normal, with Opacity lowered to 60 %
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