Layer Effects

You can add Layer Effects to the selected layers to change the appearance of their contents. To add an effect, click in the Layers panel or call the command Layers -> Layer Effects.

Layer Effects

Layer effects are applied to a particular layer or group of layers. When you change the contents of a layer, the effects are applied to the new content.

Layer effects can be moved between layers by dragging them with the mouse cursor.

You can use the commands:

Copy Layer Effects - to copy the selected effects to the clipboard.

Paste Layer Effects - to add the copied effects to the selected layer.

Clear Layer Effects - to remove the selected or all layer effects.

You can also copy effects from one layer to another by dragging them with the mouse cursor while holding down the Shift+Alt keys on Windows, ⇧+Options on Mac.

Layer Effects:

Bevel & Emboss. The effects in this group add volume to the layer.

Emboss. The effect imitates the relief surface; both the current and the underlying layer are affected.

Emboss

Bevel. The effect imitates the relief surface; only the current layer is affected.

Bevel

Deboss. The option imitates the stamping effect.

Deboss

Parameters of the effects group:

Blend Mode. The parameter determines how the effect blends with the pixels of the current layer.

Shadow Opacity (0-100). The parameter controls the opacity of the shadow.

Shadow Color. To change the color of the shadow, call the Select Color dialog box by clicking on the color plate.

Highlight Opacity (0-100). The parameter determines the opacity of the highlight.

Highlight Color. To change the color of the highlight, call the Select Color dialog box by clicking on the color plate.

Smoothing (0-50). The parameter determines the sharpness of the effect. The higher the value, the more blurred the effect.

Size (1-200). The parameter specifies the width of the effect. The higher the value, the larger the size of the relief.

Rotation (0-360). The parameter adjusts the position of the light source. Depending on the value, the arrangement of light and dark areas changes.

Altitude (0-90). The parameter sets the height of the light source. At higher values, the shadow becomes darker.

Depth (1-150). Specifies the depth of the effect. The higher the value, the stronger the relief.

Shift (1-99). The parameter moves the semi-transparent effect border within the blurred area. At higher values, the effect shifts inwards; at lower values - outwards.

 

Glow. The effects add color glow to the layer.

Outer Glow. The effect adds glow that emanate from the outside edges of the layer’s content.

Outer Glow

Inner Glow. The effect adds glow that emanate from the inside edges of the layer’s content.

Inner Glow

Parameters of the effects group:

Blend Mode. The parameter determines how the effect blends with the pixels of the current layer.

Color. To change the color of the glow, call the Select Color dialog box by clicking on the color plate.

Opacity (0-100). The parameter defines the transparency of the effect.

Brightness (0-100). The parameter determines the brightness of the glow. At small values, the glow is semi-transparent and blurred. At higher values, it becomes opaque with sharp edges.

Size (0-300). Specifies the width of the glow.

 

Color Overlay. Fills the layer with the selected color.

Color Overlay

Effect Parameters:

Blend Mode. The parameter determines how the effect blends with the pixels of the current layer.

Color. To change the color of the effect, call the Select Color dialog box by clicking on the color plate.

Opacity (0-100). The parameter defines the transparency of the effect.

 

Shadow. Adds the shadow effect to the layer.

Outer Shadow. The shadow appears outside the boundaries of the layer.

Outer Shadow

Inner Shadow. The shadow appears inside the boundaries of the layer.

Inner Shadow

Parameters of the effects group:

Blend Mode. The parameter determines how the effect blends with the pixels of the current layer.

Color. To change the color of the shadow, call the Select Color dialog box by clicking on the color plate.

Opacity (0-100). The parameter defines the transparency of the effect.

Distance (0-300). The distance between the shadow and the object/layer casting the shadow.

Rotation (0-360). The parameter adjusts the position of the light source. Depending on the value, the position of the shadow changes.

Spread (0-100). This parameter determines the sharpness of the shadow. The higher the value, the sharper the shadow’s edge.

Size (0-300). Specifies the size of the shadow relative to the size of the object.

 

Satin. Creates the effect of light reflection in the current layer.

Satin

Effect Parameters:

Blend Mode. The parameter determines how the effect blends with the pixels of the current layer.

Color. To change the color of the effect, call the Select Color dialog box by clicking on the color plate.

Opacity (0-100). The parameter defines the transparency of the effect.

Distance (0-300). The parameter determines the size and position of the light reflection.

Rotation (0-180). The parameter specifies the direction in which the reflection should shift.

Size (0-300). This parameter determines the amount of blur.

Invert check-box. Enable the check-box to reverse the colors of the object and the effect.

 

Stroke. The effect outlines the contents of the layer with the chosen color.

Stroke

Effect Parameters:

Blend Mode. The parameter determines how the effect blends with the pixels of the current layer.

Color. To change the color of the contour, call the Select Color dialog box by clicking on the color plate.

Opacity (0-100). The parameter defines the transparency of the effect.

Size (1-200). The parameter determines the thickness of the contour.

Blur (0-50). The parameter specifies the sharpness of the contour. The higher the value, the more blurred the contour.

Shift (1-99). The parameter moves the contour within the blurred area. At higher values, the effect shifts inwards; at lower values - outwards.

Position. From the drop-down menu, select the position of the effect: Outside, Inside, or Center.