Adobe® Photoshop® CS2 Studio Techniques

Layer Styles

A bunch of really neat options are available under the Layer > Layer Style menu (Figure 3.43). You'll find the same options under the Layer Style pop-up menu at the bottom of the Layers palette (it's the leftmost icon). To experiment with these options, first create a new, empty layer, and paint on it with any of the painting tools. Then apply one of the effects found in the Layer > Layer Style menu: Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, Bevel and Emboss, and so on (Figures 3.44 to 3.46). You can use the default settings for now. After applying an effect, use the Eraser tool to remove some of the paint on that layer. Did you notice that the layer effect updates to reflect the changes you make to the layer? Layer Styles ...