Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
link layers together, change layers' opacity, add and delete layers—the list goes on and on.
The rest of this chapter covers all these options and more.
TIP
The Layers panel is really important, so most people like to keep it around. In the Basic
Workspace (
Understanding Expert Mode
)
, doing so is easy: It's so important that it's the
first of the panel buttons at the lower right of the Editor's main window. In the Custom
Workspace (
Custom Workspace
), you can use any of the panel-management techniques
described on
The Panel Bin
to put the Layers panel where it's easy to get to while you
work.
The Background
The bottom layer of any image is a special kind of layer called the
Background
. When you
first open an image or photo in Elements, its one existing layer is named Background (as-
suming nobody has already edited the file in Elements and changed things, that is). The
name Background is logical because whatever else you do will happen on top of this layer.
NOTE
There are two exceptions to the first-layer-is-always-the-Background rule. First, if you
create a new image by copying something from another picture, then you just have a layer
named Layer 0. Second, Background layers can't be transparent, so if you choose the
Transparency option when creating a file from scratch, then you have a Layer 0 instead of
a Background layer.
As far as content, the Background can be totally plain or busy, busy, busy. A Background
layer doesn't literally contain only the background of your photograph—your whole photo
can be on a Background layer. It's entirely up to you what's on this layer, and what you place
on other layers you add. With photographs, people often keep the original photo on the Back-
ground layer, and then perform adjustments and embellishments on other layers above it.
You can do a lot to Background layers, but there are a few things you
can't
do: change their
blending modes (see
Blend Modes
), opacity (
Managing Layers
), or position in the layer
