Layer Styles & Effects

Layer Styles, also known as layer effects, are effective ways to add editable, transferable, high-performance panache to layer content. Some effects (or “fx”) can be applied multiple times to the same layer for even more elaborate results.

Applying and Editing Styles

To apply effects to a selected layer, drag a style preset from the Styles panel; use the fx menu at the bottom of the Layers panel; or choose an effect from Layer > Layer Style. To refine a preset’s parameters, double-click on the letters fx to the right of the layer’s name. The other methods immediately open the same dialog box. In that dialog box, you can add multiple effects, adjust them, disable them, etc. From the same dialog, you can access the layer’s blending options and a list of styles you’ve saved for later access in any document.

To reveal all presets in the Styles panel, hold down ⌘/Ctrl as you click a disclosure arrow (>) to the left of a style group’s name. Doing that again hides them. Use the Styles panel menu to create new style presets or groups. Drag styles into groups to organize them.

In the Layer Style dialog, be sure to click on the name of an effect to both apply it and see its controls. Merely checking its checkbox will enable that effect, but you’ll have no idea how it’s configured.

Later, to revisit or edit the style you’ve previously applied, you can reopen the Layer Style dialog by using any of several methods:

• Double-click the fx icon to the right of the layer’s name
• Double-click the specific effect listed under the layer
• Select the layer, then use the fx menu at the bottom of the Layers panel
• Select the layer then use the Layer > Layer Style menu

Be ready and willing to explore and experiment! The number of options is nearly infinite. And just because something is called a “shadow” doesn’t mean it can’t be used as a glow—or the other way around. There are no inflexible rules in this feature. Have fun!

Saving Styles

If you configure a combination of effects that you like, you may wish to save it as a style that can be applied easily later. I sometimes create styles while I’m experimenting so I can get back to a successful combination if my continued tinkering should lead to a dead end.

From the Layer Style dialog, click the New Style… button. A small dialog box appears in which you can name the style (a good idea) and choose a couple of options. The style illustrated above benefits from a reduced Fill opacity, so I needed to check Include Layer Blending Options so a later application of the style will derive the same benefit. You can also add the style to a Creative Cloud library so it can be accessed from other devices.

Fill differs from Opacity in one crucial way: where Opacity affects a layer entirely, effects and all, Fill only affects the layer’s native content, leaving the effects fully intact. In the tortoiseshell example above, I didn’t want to see the purple color of the text at all, so I reduced Fill to 0.

The Effects Listed

To help guide your experiments, I’ve compiled a brief description of each type of effect, with a couple of examples in most cases. There are several controls that you’ll see in multiple effects’ controls. For example, every effect in which Global Light is checked uses the same light source angle—throughout the document! That means if you adjust the angle in one effect for one layer, you could be adjusting every effect on every layer.

Drop Shadow

We’ve all seen many of these. It’s a fast way to give a sense of space and separation between elements in an image. By default, the shadow is black and uses the Multiply blend mode to darken whatever is under it. The color and mode are editable. The mode is chosen via the menu near the top of the dialog, and the color by clicking the small color (black) square to the right of the mode.

To adjust the shadow’s position, simply move the cursor into the image while the dialog is open. You’ll see it become a move tool cursor that moves not the layer but the shadow. As you move the shadow, the Distance and Angle controls will change in the dialog.

The Size slider effectively blurs the shadow. The blurrier it is, the larger the area it covers. To increase the shadow’s solidity over that area, use Spread.

The above controls comprise the shadow’s Structure. The Quality section has two controls: Contour and Noise. The latter is easy to adjust and see. Why make a shadow grainy in this way? A little noise can help the shadow hold up in its wispiest areas on some printers. Some think it just looks more interesting.

Contour is a more subtle and tricky control. It is a kind of graph of the shadow’s opacity as you move from its outer edge to its center. By default, the center of the shadow is exactly as opaque as the Opacity setting indicates. Consider that the maximum opacity. The Linear contour gives the most intuitive result: 0% opacity at the outermost edge to the maximum in the center. Cone goes from 0% opacity at the edge to maximum opacity closer in, then back to 0% in the shadow’s center. I used a custom derivative of the cone Contour for the tortoiseshell style earlier. Why? Look at the shadow of a water glass and note how it’s denser near the edges.

There are several Contours to choose from that can even be edited. Most users are surprised that there are so many options for something as mundane as a shadow. The deeper one goes, it seems, the more one finds!

Bevel & Emboss

This effect gives a sense of volume for a two-dimensional layer by letting one edge catch light and the opposite edge fall into shadow (controlled by the Highlight and Shadow parts of the Shading section of the dialog).

The largest impact comes from the topmost options. The Style menu determines the layer’s relationship to its surroundings and how much the light is caught by them. For example, Inner Bevel keeps the effect within the layer’s boundaries, giving the impression that the layer is independent of the rest of the document. Outer Bevel keeps the effect outside the layer’s boundaries, as if it were a plateau. Emboss and Pillow Emboss split the effect between the layer and its surroundings.

Up and Down determine whether the layer is rising up from its surroundings or is depressed into it. Above, the bevels and embosses are set to Up; below, they’re set to Down. Note that the Stroke Emboss requires a Stroke effect.

I find that a Down Outer Bevel combines effectively with an Inner Shadow. Below is a simple stencil effect using just those two effects on some text. I did change the bevel’s Technique from Smooth to Chisel Hard for cleaner-cut look.

The Highlight and Shadow Modes benefit from experimentation. For example, the tortoiseshell effect that began this section has an unusual setting for the shadow side of its emboss. I changed the color to a yellow (via the color chip to the right of the Shadow Mode menu) and changed the Shadow Mode to Color Dodge, definitely not a mode that darkens.

I changed the Highlight Mode, too, so the highlight would be a little stronger and seem more reflective.

Contour

Not an effect unto itself, Contour helps give form and definition to a Bevel effect. If a bevel itself isn’t supplying the right edge on your layer, you may try using the various contours in the menu (or make your own, as illustrated below). To achieve more fidelity to some contours, set the bevel’s Technique to Chisel Hard.

To smooth rounded corners, check the box for Anti-aliased. This removes a harsh “stair-step” effect. Finally, so that the contour is evenly applied across the width of the bevel, set the Range to 50%. Other settings stretch one end of the contour, crushing the other.

Texture

Texture is another sub-effect of Bevel. With it, a pattern’s tone is used to give depth cues to the surface of the layer. Dark and light become up and down, respectively. Unfortunately, this is reversed from other features in Photoshop that use tone as depth. So I almost always check the Invert checkbox to make it more consistent with those other features.

Contrasty patterns almost always look horrible at first: the texture is too intense. Reducing the Depth setting takes care of that. Negative Depth settings are the same as using Invert. Scale simply makes the pattern bigger or smaller. If you need the ups and downs to keep their positions relative to the layer, be sure Link with Layer is checked so the pattern moves with the layer; otherwise, the pattern will be affixed to the document edges. Finally, Snap to Origin is supposed to move the upper-left corner of a pattern tile to the upper left of the layer or the document. I find this button unreliable.

Stroke

At first glance, the options for the Stroke effect seem few and straightforward. One chooses a color to surround the layer’s perimeter, how thick it should be, and some blending options.

However, a look at the innocuous Fill Type menu reveals that gradients and patterns can be used as strokes as well.

A Pattern stroke is little more complex than a solid color. The only other option to consider is the pattern’s Scale and whether, like the patterns used for a bevel’s texture, it should be Linked with Layer or not.

Gradient strokes are another animal. You may recall how complex Gradient Fill layers are. Since many options are similar, you may wish to review “Gradient” (page 137).

Gradient strokes have the same types (Linear, Radial, etc.) as any other gradients, plus a striking addition: Shape Burst.

All strokes can have their Position set to be completely Inside the layer, Outside (as in the examples above), or Centered on the layer’s edge.

Inner Shadow

Nearly everything I wrote about the Drop Shadow is true for the Inner Shadow effect. The difference is that we usually use Inner Shadow to make our layer look like a hole in what’s around it. Sometimes I use it with 0 Distance to darken the edges of an object. The earlier stencil (page 196) shows the more common use: to make the layer seem like it’s a surface below.

Inner Glow and Outer Glow

Both glow effects have controls that are quite similar to the Drop Shadow effect: Blend Mode, Opacity, color, and Contour. In fact, by changing the color (to something dark) and Blend Mode (to one that darkens), a glow can become another shadow. But unlike a shadow, glows can use more than one color by using a gradient, rather than a color. To understand a glow’s Contour, I recommend reading its description in the section “Drop Shadow” (page 194).

As the name implies, an Outer Glow effect resides outside a layer’s boundaries. An Inner Glow is on the inside, either emanating from the center or the edge of the layer, depending on which Source is selected. The default Technique is Softer: the glow somewhat loosely approximates the shape of the layer. Precise forces the glow to better conform to the layer’s shape.

In the example above, I’m using both glows. The Inner Glow is set to use the default color of white, but I chose Color Dodge as the Blend Mode to accentuate the red fill of the layer. I also set its Source to Center. The Outer Glow uses a gradient with a Precise Technique to better fit the layer’s shape. You may notice that a Gradient Stroke effect (see previous page) and Outer Glow can be very similar.

If you find that the wispiest parts of a glow cut off abruptly when printed, you can introduce a small amount of Noise. With gradient glows, the Jitter slider can also be used to dither (add noise to) the gradient.

Satin

Most find this effect a little mysterious when first attempted. But if you configure it right, you can begin to see what it’s up to. It essentially makes virtual silhouettes of the layer in the chosen Color and Blend Mode. One of these silhouettes is offset from the layer using the Distance and Angle settings. The other is moved the same distance, but in the opposite direction. Where they overlap, they disappear to create a kind of interference pattern similar to moiré pattern. This pattern is clipped to the edges of the layer to conceal the trick.

Overlays: Color, Gradient, and Pattern

Imagine duplicating a layer and replacing its nontransparent content with a color, gradient, and/or pattern. This is what the overlay effects do. With Opacity or Blend Mode adjusted, the overlay can interact interestingly with the original content. Below are simple examples of the three overlays (with the original for comparison):

Note that both the Gradient and Pattern Overlay effects can be scaled, and gradients can be angled. Also, as you’re editing a Gradient and Pattern Overlay, you can use the cursor to move the overlay by dragging on the image itself.

Layer Styles & Groups

Effects can be applied to layer groups as easily as to individual layers. When you do so, those effects impact the group as if its layers had been merged or converted to a Smart Object, but without that level of entanglement.