Instructor Demo: Mandatory Lesson 4's Polaroid Effect Menu Project - Define Pattern/Shape Layer/Layer Styles

Colored Pixels vs Solid Color Fill/Adjustment Layers:

There are differences between a colored pixel layer and a solid color fill/adjustment layer, even though they may appear to produce identical results when you look in the document window.

You cannot apply filters from the Filter menu to any type of fill/adjustment layers, per se; filters can only be applied to the attached 8-bit mask. You cannot use any painting editing tools on fill/adjustment layers (however you can use these tools on the "mask" of any fill/adjustment layer). You cannot apply direct Image>Adjustment commands to an existing Fill/Adjustment but you can apply the commands directly to the Mask. This is because these types of layers are not a finite amount of pixels but rather think of them as a "set of instructions" linked to an 8-bit layer mask. The mask determines the boundaries, not the canvas. To prove this, all you have to do is create a fill adjustment layer (choose Solid, Pattern or Gradient). After choosing one of these, your entire canvas will be "filled" with your "set of instructions." Now, Go to Image Canvas Size and increase your canvas 2 inches all around. Click OK. The fill/adjustment will adapt and remap to the new larger canvas size. There will not be a border where the new canvas size has increased. This only works if you have used a fill/adjustment with a white or "reveal all" mask, which is not confining it's boundaries.

Not so with pixel layers--If you create a new document and choose to simply fill a pixel layer with a solid color, gradient or pattern by using the Edit>fill command; or use the Gradient Tool to drag a gradient across your canvas, you will have a layer filled with a finite amount of pixels Filters may be applied to these types of layers, as well as any painting editing tools. The pixels are finite and only go to the edges of the current canvas size. To prove this, go to Image Canvas Size and increase your canvas 2 inches all around. When you click OK, you will have a 2 inch visible border; the finite pixels layer(s) do not adapt or remap themselves to the new larger canvas.

See Layers palette below. After extending the Canvas the Solid Color Adjustment/Fill layer still filled the new size but the the Background layer which was filled with Red pixels did not remap. The white background color was extended to the bottom edge.

Color Mixing:

Color Wheel

Color Terms to Know:

Hue—The name of the color. The dominant wavelength. Reference to the actual color or location on the Color Wheel.  Examples: Red is at both 0 degrees and 360 degrees. Cyan is 180 degrees.

Saturation—Chroma, Intensity. Highly saturated color would be the most pure, intense, bright and vivid color. The fully saturated & pure colors are located at the perimeter's edge of the Color Wheel.

Value—Lightness or Luminance; lightness or darkness of a color.

Complimentary Colors—Two colors that are positioned at opposite ends of the Color Wheel. Example: Magenta & Green, Red & Cyan, Yellow & Blue.

1. Shade—Mix black with a Hue.
2. Tint—Mix white with a Hue.
3. Gray—Mix of black and white or equal amounts of Red, Green, and Blue, in an additive Color Space, like RGB Mode in Photoshop.
4. Tone—Mix gray with a Hue.

Neutralize—To dull a color or neutralize it you add a bit of it's compliment or black, which desaturates that color. 

Changing the Shade or Tint of a Colored Pixel Layer:

1. Highlight the Layer that is filled with pixels.
2. Go to Image>Adjustments>Levels
3. For a darker shade of the Hue, move the Levels OUTPUT white slider on the bottom right, toward the center.
4. For a lighter version (also known as screening) of the Hue, move the Levels OUTPUT  black slider on the bottom left, toward the center.

Changing the Shade or Tint of a Solid Color Fill/Adjustment Layer:

1. Double-click on the fill/adjustment layer thumbnail--this will open the Color Picker.
2. Note where the Color Box Selector (round open circle) is in the big color box.
3. To darken the Hue slowly drag the selector toward the lower right corner, until the top Rectangular Preview Swatch of the Current Color Selection preview is desired shade.
4. To lighten the Hue slowly drag the selector toward the upper left corner, until the top Rectangular Preview Swatch of the Current Color Selection preview is desired tint.

Note: The above directions apply only when the "H" radio button is selected in the Color Picker Dialog box.

Define Pattern:

In Photoshop, you can create custom patterns from any open document. The pattern can be created from the visible layers of the whole document or just a marquee selection of a part of document.

Steps to Define Pattern

1. Edit>Define Pattern—If this command is grayed out then it probably means you have a fill/adjustment layer or layer mask thumbnail highlighted in the Layers palette. Solution--highlight a regular pixel layer or the layer thumbnail.
2. If you only want part of the document window contents as your pattern, you must use the rectangular marquee tool to marquee the desired area for the pattern.
3. After selecting the Edit>Define Pattern command, the Pattern Name dialog box will open. Type in a name for the pattern and click OK.

How to access and apply the Pattern: There are three ways to access and apply a Pattern from the Pattern Picker Palette in Photoshop.

1. The Edit>Fill Command—You must be on a pixel layer or a new transparent layer. Optionally you may have a selection running if you only want the pattern to fill a defined portion of the document.
   1. Go to Edit>Fill and select "Pattern" from the Contents Use window.
   2. Once you choose Pattern you will see a small Custom Pattern Preview box.
   3. Click the tiny black triangle to preview all the current patterns loaded. The most recently "defined" pattern will be at the bottom of the list.
   4. Select the pattern, Click OK. The pattern will fill the currently selected pixel layer or active selection on a pixel layer.
2. The Layer Styles Pattern Overlay Effect—This is what we used in class on the rectangle shape layer for the multi colored striped bar on the menu.
   1. Click on the desired layer.
   2. Click on the "f" icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette and choose Patter Overlay. When the Pattern Overlay Styles box opens, click on the tiny downward triangle of the Custom Pattern Preview box. The most recently "defined" pattern will be at the bottom of the list.
   3. Select the pattern and click OK to close the Styles box. Using the Layer Style Pattern Overlay effect will fill the boundaries with the Pattern of whatever shape is on the active layer. The shape can be comprised of pixels or a Vector Shape Layer.
   4. For the menu stripe boundary area we chose to use the Rectangular Shape tool, creating a Vector Shape Layer rather than a Rectangular Marquee, filled with pixels. Using the Vector Shape rather than a filled pixel area allowed us to move the path lines of the endcaps of the rectangle bar area outside of the canvas boundaries. This was necessary, so that the bevel/emboss effect we later applied would not show on the ends of the bar in the canvas.
3. The Fill/Adjustment Pattern—Click on the Add fill/Adjustment icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose Pattern.
   1. The Pattern Picker will open, choose a pattern, and scale amount from the box. You can also reposition the pattern by moving your cursor directly in the document window. Click OK.
   2. This will create it's own layer, where the pattern will fill the entire document window unless you create a mask, designating what areas the pattern is to be revealed.
   3. You can also create a grouped clipping mask with this fill/Adjustment layer to the layer below it. Go to the top menu, Layer>Create Clipping Mask [Option Command G (Mac); Alt Control G (PC)].
   4. You can also change the Pattern fill/adjustment layer's blending mode, to achieve a variety of effects interacting with the other layers.

Double-Stroking:

There are two basic methods to achieve a double stroke on a layer object. Remember, choosing to stroke with the "Inside" radio button checked will maintain the shape of the object without rounding the corners of the stroke. Choosing "Outside" radio button will round the corners of the stroke.

Method #1:

1. Highlight the layer with the object you want to stroke.
2. Click the "f" icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose "Stroke"
3. Pick the color, size and orientation of the stroke. Click OK.
4. Create a blank transparent layer above your object layer, highlight this layer and link it to the object layer with the Stroke Layer Style.
5. Click the flyout tab of the layers palette, choose "Merge Linked." Now, your style has been merged into pixels, so you can add another stroke.
6. Click the "f" icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose "Stroke"
7. Pick the color, size and orientation of the stroke. Click OK. Now, you have a double-stroke.

Method #2:

1. Highlight the layer with the object you want to stroke.
2. Load the selection of the layer, by Command clicking on the layer thumbnail(Mac); Control clicking on the layer thumbnail (PC).
3. Set the foreground color in the Toolbox to the color you want for the stroke.
4. Go to Edit>Stroke and choose the size and orientation of the stroke. Click OK.
5. Go to Select>Deselect [Command D (Mac); Control D (PC)].
6. Load the selection of the layer, by Command clicking on the layer thumbnail(Mac); Control clicking on the layer thumbnail (PC).
7. Set the foreground color in the Toolbox to the color you want for the stroke.
8. Go to Edit>Stroke and choose the size and orientation of the stroke. Click OK.
9. Go to Select>Deselect [Command D (Mac); Control D (PC)]. Now, you have a double-stroke.