Table of Contents
Working with effects
When working with effects, there are a couple of useful things to know that will let you maximize your results. For example, you can rearrange the order of effects applied, temporarily disable specific effects, or even reset all the effects applied to a particular layer.
Apply effects to a single layer
You can apply effects to layers directly or add them as effects layers. Adding effects directly will automatically link them with the layer to which they are applied. This means that when editing, the changes applied to the layer will also affect the effect and vice versa. For instance, if you try painting on a layer that has some of the Distortion effects applied, the brush stroke have the same distortions as well.
- In the Layers sidebar, select the layer or layer group you'd like to edit
- Do one of the following:
- Click
in the
Tools sidebar. - Choose Tools > Effects (from the Tools menu at the top of your screen).
- Press the key on your keyboard.
- Click
- In the list of color adjustments, turn on the adjustments you want to apply.
- Edit the adjustment settings. Keep in mind that the effects will show on just that layer or layer group to which they are applied. If you'd like to add effects to multiple layers in a composition, create an effect layer.
Create effects layers
Effects layers work as individual elements you can add to a project and edit separately from the layer (or layers) to which they are applied. Just like applying effects to a single layer, creating effects layers let you work completely nondestructively. Effects layers can be moved freely up or down the layers list and will change the appearance of all other layers below them. Other than that, all the effects controls function the same way as they do when editing layers directly.
To add an effects layer, do any of the following:
- Choose Insert > Effects (from the Insert menu at the top of your screen).
- Click the Add
at the top of the Effects pane. - Click the Insert Layer
at the top of the
Layers sidebar and choose Effects. - Click the Add Layer
in the Toolbar and choose Effects. - Press + +
Rearrange the order of effects
If you apply two or more effects to a single layer, you can rearrange the order in which they are combined. For example, if you apply a Gaussian blur effect and a Kaleidoscope effect, putting the Gaussian effect on top will mean your original layer is tiled first, then the result is blurred.
To rearrange effects, click and drag the effect up or down the list of effects.
Temporarily see the original layer without any effects
In the Layers sidebar, click to select the layer you'd like to see without any effect.
Click and hold the Show Original button at the bottom of the Tool Options pane, or press + on your keyboard.
Turn on Split Comparison view
Using the Split Comparison view, you can see what an image looked like before and after you applied any effects to it. There are a few ways you can turn on the Split Comparison view:
– click the Show Original button at the bottom of the Tool Options pane.
Press + on your keyboard.
If you're using a trackpad, force click the canvas or two-finger tap the canvas and choose Split Comparison.
Choose Window > Customize Toolbar and drag the Compare item to the toolbar.
Temporarily turn off a single effect
In the Layers sidebar, click to select the layer in which you'd like to turn off an effect.
In the Tool Options pane, turn off the effect you want.
Remove an effect
In the Layers sidebar, click to select the layer that has an unwanted effect.
Click
next to the effect you want to remove.
Reset all effects applied to a layer
Do one of the following:
- In the Layers sidebar, – click a layer and choose Effects > Reset Effects.
- Choose Tools > Effects and click the Reset Effects button at the bottom of the Tool Options pane.
Flatten effects
Flattening all the effects applied to a layer can be useful when you’re happy with the way it looks and you’d like to resize the layer without the effect repeating beyond the edges of the layer (which happens with Tile effects, for example).
Do any of the following:
In the Layers sidebar, – click a layer and choose Effects > Flatten Effects.
Choose Format > Effects > Flatten Effects.
– click the Reset button at the bottom of the Tool Options pane.
