Layers - From PHOTOS to ART with Photoshop - page 167

As you can see in Figure 52 , we have three lines of text and each one is an individual text
layer.

Text Layer 1 — From PHOTOS to ART with
Text Layer 2 — Photoshop
Text Layer 3 — Quick Start Guidebooks Book One

We could have combined Text Layers 1 and 2, but it will be easier to make changes with
two layers rather than one. Likewise, we could have divided Text Layer 3 into two layers
but it will be easier to position the two parts of the text line with just one layer centered
between the vertical guidelines.

You can change the color, size and font of a single letter or a group of letters in any Text
Layer. So, Text Layer 1 and Text layer 2 could have been combined without any difference
in appearance.

Figure 52 shows the six layers that we have created so far. The highlighted layer is cur-
rently labeled Layer 1. It will not change to the actual text on that layer until we have fin-
ished typing.

As I was typing this layer, nothing was showing in my layout. I first checked the fore-
ground color. It was white as expected. To make sure that I was typing in the right place,
I swiped my mouse over the area where I expected to see text and it turned white. This
told me that I was typing in the right area, but I still couldn't see what I had typed. I then
realized that the Text Layer was below the Series Banner Layer . The text was invisible
because the Series Banner Layer was above it in the stack of layers.

If we think of layers as transparencies, we currently have a set of six transparencies. The
Background Layer is the bottom sheet and the Series Banner Layer is the top sheet.
Anything under the top sheet will be obscured by what is on it. The same is true down
through the pile. In this case, I only had to move my new text layer to the top of the stack
in order to see what I had typed.

Moving a layer in a stack of layers is a simple matter of dragging and dropping it where
you want it to be. You will see a dark horizontal line indicating where it will be placed
when you let go of your mouse button.

Now that we have our text layers, and backdrops to make them more visible, we need to
prepare our image layers. We have two that we will be working on. Both are derived from
the same photo. The main image layer requires an isolated dancer on a radial gradient
background and the smaller image requires adding an edge-effect and resizing.