How To Use Adjustment Layers

This tutorial explains what an "Adjustment Layer" is and also the benefits of using one instead of just adjusting it normally.

First of all what is an adjustment layer?

Well an adjustment layer is a layer that you create in Photoshop where you can apply any adjustments (e.g. Hue/Saturation, Levels etc...) to the image that you want to manipulate.

What are the benefits of an adjustment layer?

An adjustment layer gives one main benefit when creating your image; say for instance that you wanted to change the colour of this IPod and you were going to use the Hue/Saturation adjustment then you would go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and set it to colorize and then play around till you have the colour that you want like below:

IPod:


Adjustment Menu:


Adjusted:


But the problem is that when you get later into your project and you then may decide you don’t like the colour that you set, there is no way in changing it again if you have run out of undo’s, whereas with an Adjustment layer you can do the same Hue/Saturation on a separate layer so it can be deleted later like below, to make an adjustment layer click the black and white circle under the layers window and choose from the options also shown below:

Adjustment Layer Menu:


Adjustment Layer:


As can be seen the adjustment is on a separate layer so therefore can be deleted or hidden if you decide you want to change the colour again later on in the project or if you want to go back to the original.

If you have had any problems with this tutorial and would like some help then don’t hesitate to contact me either by leaving a comment below or e-mailing me at: stevie489@googlemail.com

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How To Round The Corners of A Shape Using Levels

This tutorial shows you how to simply and easily round of the corners of any shape, using layer masks and levels...

Step 1: Create a new document (the size doesn’t matter, but for this I used 500 x 500), when the document is ready make sure that you have the default colours set (although this is not essential it helps with this tutorial) and create the shape that you want to smooth the edges of (make sure that you right click and choose rasterize layer)



Step 2: Now hold CTRL and click on the layer in the layers tab where a preview of the layer is shown (the little box where the shape can be seen, next to the layer name) and this should select the whole of the shape, this can be seen by what look like little ants crawling around the edge:



Crawling Ants:



Step 3: Now go to the layers window and click the “Add Vector Mask” button as shown below:



Step 4: With this layer mask selected go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set it to a desired pixel amount (the higher the blur the bigger the curves radius, here I have used 20px)



Step 5: Finally go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and play around the triangles so that you get a nice curve on the shape, try to get them all in the middle as this gives the best results, and when you are happy with the curve then press “Ok” (alternatively use the Level settings as shown below), to finish right click on the layer mask and choose “Apply Layer Mask”



Final Image:



If you have had any problems with this tutorial and would like some help then don’t hesitate to contact me either by leaving a comment below or e-mailing me at: stevie489@googlemail.com

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Making Text Follow A Path

A very simple 3 step method to make normal Text follow a drawn path, can be used in many situations with good results.

Step 1: First open up a new document (any size you want) and simply choose the pen tool and draw the desired path by clicking the start point and then clicking again where you want the line to bend (to bend click and drag in any direction to the desired size) do this until you are happy with the shape of the line.





Step 2: Now simply choose the Text tool and move the cursor to the start of your line and when the cursor looks like the one shown below click and then start typing, if done right the text should follow the line/path you have drawn.



And there you have it, Text that follows a Path:



Step 3: Now apply this method to any image to get a good effect that really stands out:




If you have had any problems with this tutorial and would like some help then don’t hesitate to contact me either by leaving a comment below or e-mailing me at: stevie489@googlemail.com

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A Simple Text Reflection

This tutorial is a simple tutorial that explains how to get a realistic looking reflection when using text or images, simple to follow and easy to understand

Step 1: Open up Photoshop and create a new document with the sizes set to around 500 x 500 and the background should be set to black

Step 2: Choose the text tool and write out whatever the text you want to reflect is, here I have chosen the word “Photoshop” as it is relevant to what I am doing.



Step 3: Now press the tick on the top toolbar when you have finished typing and then press CTRL+J this then duplicates the text layer so that there are now two



Step 4: With the duplicated layer selected go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical this will make the text upside down, now drag it below the original text so all the letters line up, and the press the “Add New Layer Mask” button under the layers palette as shown below:






Step 5: With the layer mask selected choose the gradient tool and then click above the “O” and hold Shift and drag downwards to a desired position (the more you drag the weaker the reflection, so it is better if you don’t drag a long way down this allows you to get a more realistic looking reflection)



Step 6: After you have found the gradient that you like best you are done and should end up with something like this image below:



If you have had any problems with this tutorial and would like some help then don’t hesitate to contact me either by leaving a comment below or e-mailing me at: stevie489@googlemail.com

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