Rearranging layers

The order in which the layers of an image are organized is called the stacking order. The stacking order of layers determines how the image is viewed—you can change the order to make certain parts of the image appear in front of or behind other layers.

Now you’ll rearrange layers so that the door image moves in front of another image in the file that is currently hidden.

Changing the opacity and mode of a layer

The door image now blocks any images that lie on layers below it. You can reduce the opacity of the door layer, which allows other layers to show through it. You can also apply different blending modes to the layer, which affect how the color pixels in the door image blend with pixels in the layers below them. (Currently, the blending mode is Normal.)

For more information on blending modes, see “Blending an image with the background” on page 220.

Linking layers

An efficient way to work with some layers is to link two or more of them together. By linking layers, you can move and transform them simultaneously, thereby maintaining their alignment with each other.

You’ll now link the Door and Doorway layers, and then move and scale them as a unit.

1.	Select the move tool (), and drag the door to the left so that the left edge of the door aligns with the right side of the doorway arch.
2.	With the Door layer active in the Layers palette, click the small box between the Doorway (not Door) layer name and the eye icon for the Doorway layer. A link icon () appears in the box, indicating that the Doorway layer is linked to the Door layer. (The active or selected layer does not display a link icon when you create linked layers.)
3.	Still using the move tool, drag the doorway to the left side of the image window so that the bricks touch the left margin of the image. The door and doorway images move together. Now you’ll scale the linked layers simultaneously.
4.	With the Doorway layer selected in the Layers palette, choose Edit > Free Transform. A transformation bounding box appears around the images in the linked layers.
5.	Hold down Shift and drag the one of the corner handles on the right side of the bounding box to scale the door and doorway to a slightly larger size.
6.	If necessary, position the pointer inside the bounding box, and drag to reposition the two images.
7.	Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS) to apply the transformation changes.
8.	Choose File > Save.

Adding a gradient to a layer

Next you’ll create a new layer with no artwork on it. (Adding empty layers to a file is comparable to adding blank sheets of acetate to a stack of images.) Then you’ll add a semi-transparent gradient effect to the new layer, which influences the layers stacked behind it.

In ImageReady, which does not have a gradient tool, you can apply a Gradient/Pattern layer effect from the Layers palette.

1.	In the Layers palette, click Background to make it active.
2.	Click the New Layer button () at the bottom of the Layers palette. A new layer, named Layer 1, appears between the Background and the Doorway layer. Note You can also create a new layer by choosing New Layer on the Layers palette menu.
3.	Double-click the name Layer 1, and type Gradient to rename the layer. You can now apply a gradient to the new layer. A gradient is a gradual transition between two or more colors. You control the type of transition using the gradient tool.
4.	In the toolbox, select the gradient tool ().
5.	In the tool options bar, make sure that the Linear Gradient button () is selected and then click to expand the gradient picker. Select Foreground to Transparent and then click on the image window to close the gradient picker. To identify the different types of gradients, let the pointer hover over a thumbnail in the gradient picker until a tooltip appears, showing the name of the gradient. Or, open the palette menu for the gradient picker and select either Small List or Large List.
6.	Click the Swatches palette tab to bring it to the front of its palette group, and select any shade of purple that appeals to you.
7.	With the Gradient layer active in the Layers palette, drag the gradient tool from the right margin of the image to the left margin. (You can hold down Shift as you drag to constrain the gradient horizontally.) The gradient extends over the width of the layer, starting with purple and gradually blending to transparent, and affects the look of the garden on the layer below it. Because the gradient partially obscures the garden, you’ll now lighten the effect by changing the Gradient layer’s opacity.
8.	In the Layers palette, change the opacity for the Gradient layer to 60%. The full garden shows through the gradient.

Adding text

Now you’re ready to create and manipulate some type. You’ll create text with the type tool, which places the text on its own type layer. You’ll then edit the text and apply a special effect to that layer. (ImageReady also has features for creating and manipulating type, but it uses a palette to display type options, rather than a dialog box.)

1.	In the Layers palette, click the Statue layer to make it active.
2.	In the toolbox, click the small Default Foreground and Background Color box () near the bottom of the toolbox to set the foreground color to black. This is the color you want for the text. Note If you decide to change a text color later, you can do this by selecting the text with the type tool and using the color swatch in the tool options bar.
3.	In the toolbox, select the type tool (). Then, in the tool options bar, select the following options for the type tool: Select a font from the Font pop-up menu (we used Adobe Garamond). Select a font style (we used Regular). Enter a point size in the Size text box (we used 60 point). Select Crisp from the Anti-Aliasing pop-up menu (). Select the Center Text alignment option.
4.	Click somewhere in the upper left area of the image window. Notice that the Layers palette now includes a layer named Layer 1 with a “T” icon next to the name, indicating that it is a type layer.
5.	Type Jardin and then press Enter or Return, and type 2000. The text automatically appears on a new layer in the upper left area of the image where you clicked. Now you’ll reposition the text in the image.
6.	Select the move tool (), and drag the “Jardin 2000” text to center it under the arch of the doorway. The text may be a little difficult to read against the dark shrubbery in the background, but you’ll make adjustments for that shortly.

Notice that the layer name changes to Jardin 2000 in the Layers palette.

Applying a layer style

You can enhance a layer by adding a shadow, glow, bevel, emboss, or other special effect from a collection of automated and editable layer styles. These styles are easy to apply and link directly to the layer you specify.

Layer styles are handled differently in Photoshop and ImageReady. In Photoshop, you use the Layer Style dialog box to edit layer styles. In ImageReady, you use the Layer Options/Style palette along with the name of the effect you want to edit.

Photoshop Layer Style dialog box

An ImageReady style palette

Individual effects can also be hidden temporarily by clicking the eye icon () in the Layers palette or copied to other layers by dragging the effect onto the destination layer.

Now you’ll apply a glowing yellow stroke around the type, and fill the type with a pattern. You’ll begin by adding a glow.

1.	With the Jardin 2000 type layer still active, choose Layer > Layer Style > Outer Glow. (There may be a slight pause as the Layer Style dialog box opens.) You can also open the Layer Style dialog box by clicking the Add A Layer Style button () at the bottom of the Layers palette and then choosing a layer style on the pop-up menu.
2.	In the Layer Style dialog box, select the Preview check box and move the dialog box aside as needed so that you can preview the results in the image window as you change settings.
3.	In the Elements area of the dialog box, enter 10 for Spread and 10 for Size in pixels.
4.	In the left pane of the Layer Style dialog box, select the Stroke check box, and notice that the right pane of the dialog box still shows the options for the Outer Glow effect. Click the name Stroke to change the display so that the Stroke layer style options appear on the right side of the dialog box, and then select the following options: In the Structure area, enter 1 for Size to create a 1-pixel-wide stroke. Under Fill Type, click the Color swatch to open the color picker. Then choose a yellow color (we used R=255, G=255, and B=0). Close the color picker but leave the Layer Style dialog box open.
5.	On the left pane of the dialog box, click the name Pattern Overlay. Notice that by clicking the name, you automatically select the Pattern Overlay check box and change the available options on the right side of the dialog box. Select the following options: Click the arrow beside the pattern thumbnail to open a pop-up display of available patterns, and select Wood. Click a blank area of the dialog box to close the pop-up. You can identify the Wood pattern thumbnail by waiting for a tooltip to appear or by choosing Small List or Large List on the palette list for the pattern picker. In the Scale option, enter 200.
6.	Click OK to accept all the settings and close the Layer Style dialog box.
7.	If necessary, scroll or resize the Layers palette so that you can see the changes in the palette listings.

Now there are four rows of information nested under the Jardin 2000 text layer. The first of these rows identifies them as Effects. The other three rows are named by the three styles that you applied to the layer: Outer Glow, Pattern Overlay, and Stroke. There is also an icon for layer styles () next to the three style names. This same icon and a small arrow also appear on the right side of the Jardin 2000 layer.

To hide the layer styles listings, click the arrow to collapse the Effects list.