Click>SHIFT>Click on the layers then Right-click and choose Merge Layers. The utility of your template will be greatly enhanced by Selecting both the base layer and the Fill layer then Merging them. See how it’s now a Clipped layer above the patterned paper? The Color Picker opens and the image on the workspace shows a preview of the end result. Here’s what happens when you’ve clicked OK. Sleep is in short supply here at the moment.) Just delete that Color Fill 1 and type in your object. You can Name the layer with the type of object you’re creating a place-holder for right here. That tells Elements to Fill ONLY what’s on the layer under it. This command prompt opens up make sure Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask is ticked. (You’ll get lots of practice, and it’ll be almost automatic by the time you’re done!) Each of the place-holder layers will be created the same way. To achieve a solid Fill on this paper, I’m going to use the Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color command. That removes the Style from the layer, but puts it in safe-keeping for later. Then I Right-click on the layer again and choose Clear Layer Style. Before I Fill the layer to create a place-holder, I Right-click on the layer and choose Copy Layer Style. So I experimented some more and came up with this. Adding a Shadow Style to that makes for VERY dark and odd-looking shadows. When I was experimenting with Filling layers and Merging them to simplify things, I discovered that once the layers are Merged, the Shadow Style on the base layer becomes embedded in the image but isn’t adjustable. I’m going to take you on a little detour for a second. Clipping a paper to this could look really awful! That could be a big issue later when I go to use the template. What? Oh, the grungy paper doesn’t Fill completely and cleanly with the Paint Bucket. To make it easier on the eye to distinguish between paper layers, I chose a lighter gray for the second paper layer. This background layer reads to Elements like it’s completely flat, so using the Paint Bucket to fill it with a solid gray worked out. I turned the layers’ Visibility off for clarity but if you choose not to do that, no problem! That’s how I’m going to build the template too. I build layouts from the bottom up, just as I would if I was using paper and glue rather than digital supplies. That’s also a necessary step for turning a layout into a template. When I create a layout I always Save As a PSD file in case I need to make some adjustments. The kit I used is Aimee Harrison‘s Winter Blush. The layout I created and based the save-a-cluster tutorial on last week was purposefully 100% designed in my own head with both the cluster tut and this template-creation tut too. Press OK.A few weeks back I asked for some tutorial topic suggestions and there were some really good ones! Steph brought up the idea of building templates from your favourite (unique!) layouts, and it was something I’d given some thought to already so it was a slam-dunk that I’d take it to the next step. Press OK.ģ To avoid confusion, double-click the flag layer (currently Layer 1) and name it Flag. In the New Layer dialog box, you can set the Name, Blending mode, and Opacity of the converted layer.Ģ Type Marine in the Name text field and leave the other options at their defaults. The New Layer dialog box opens.ĭouble-click on the Background layer to convert it. In order to rename (and later re-stack) the Background layer, you’ll need to convert it to a regular layer.ġ In the Editor, double-click the Background layer in the Layers panel. The Background layer is always locked by default to protect that image. Other layers stack on top of the Background layer, which often contains the actual image data of a photo. The Background layer is always the bottom layer in an image. Now that you understand how layers work, you’ll start editing them in your file.Ĭonverting the Background layer into a regular layer Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Editing layers in Photoshop Elements It is the ninth lesson in the Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 Digital Classroom book. This tutorial provides you with a foundation for working with Adobe Photoshop Elements layers. What you’ll learn in this Photoshop Elements Tutorial: