Make Your Image Sparkle & Glow
This post is all about using styles in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements (PSE). If you don’t use either of these you likely have something similar in your graphics package. If not, this may not be a good topic for you. However, if you do have style effects available in your software, you might still find some useful tips about when & how to use them to spruce up your layout.
A while back in my post about Fonts I mentioned that I would have a post coming up about using layer styles. I know I gave you an example of using styles in my post about using stamps. But I have always intended to post some specific tips about styles. Well finally, here it is.
Photoshop layer styles are just about what you would expect given the name. They are style effects that alter the appearance of a layer. Typically layer styles are used for text effects, but they can be used on images, backgrounds, and basically any other layer. You are probably already familiar with these in the form of the presets in Photoshop, such as Drop Shadow, Stroke, Inner Glow, etc. But there are tons more out there that create stunning effects. And the great news is…I’ve never found a “Photoshop” style that wasn’t compatible with Photoshop Elements (PSE). That doesn’t mean there aren’t some out there…I just haven’t run into any.
Photoshop layer styles make it incredibly simple to apply one or many different effects to your designs. When applied, a layer style is linked to all the contents of a layer — so when you move or edit that particular layer, your styles are still applied to the modified contents. The versatility of such a tool allows for tons of experimentation as you can easily switch between styles, apply different styles to different layers, and shift all of your contents around without affecting the styles. Basically, this tool is just a lot of fun.
Using Layer Styles
What would we do without styles? Being able to add touches of virtual glitter, glass, paint, metal, wood, and so much more is one of the best parts about digital scrapbooking. The number and type of styles available changes daily…I can’t even begin to tell you what all is available out there today. The image above shows a small sample of some styles available through Creative Fabrica. Sadly, like fonts…it’s so easy to end up with too many loaded into your system.
Now, I’m not going to get into installing styles…once again there are way too many good tutorials out there to cover this for you. Just search the internet for “Installing Photoshop Styles”. What I am going to tell you about installing them is DO NOT install absolutely every style that you own. Just as is the case with fonts, it can lead to performance issues if you install too many. Try to keep just a core group of frequently used styles installed. You can always add new styles as you go. If you start noticing performance issues over time, you can always go in and delete the styles used the least.
Now, on to using these wonderful tools. With your layer style(s) loaded into Photoshop or PSE, all that’s left is for you to start experimenting. To apply a layer style, simply select the layer that you would like to modify and find the style you’d like to use in your Style Palette.
Then when you click the style, it will be immediately applied to your layer. If you glance at your layers palette, you will see the Effects icon at the far right edge of your layer. This means that the style(s) have been added to your layer.
If you double-click on that icon, it will open the Style Settings dialog box and you can see the different style options. The more complicated the style, the more effects you will see listed in the Style Settings box.
When you’re working with preset styles that came with PSE (or whatever graphics editor you’re using) I generally say it’s ok to make adjustments to these style settings. Whenever you’re working with a style setting you purchased from a designer I highly recommend not monkeying around with the settings (other than perhaps the shadow settings). It could dramatically alter the desired effect in unexpected ways.
Scaling Style Effects
Now I want to tell you about one of the other style options available: adjusting the pattern size of styles by scaling. Sometimes you might want to apply the same style to different-sized objects from background papers to tiny embellishments. Smaller objects like a brad may look better with a smaller pattern than say a large piece of paper. It’s good to remember we have that scaling capability available in our “arsenal” of tricks.
Not all styles have noticeable patterns, but let’s see what happens when we change the scale of styles that do. I’m going to show you some examples using this layout I recently created in my creative team work for ScrapChat Designs using her “Sisterhood” collection. You can see more details about this layout in my CT gallery.
As you can see, a bevel style has already been applied to the title text. I love using bevels on titles and/or word art. They just “zhuzh” things up a bit and make the words pop more than just a shadow. Now, back to the real topic of this part…scaling.
I’m going to change a couple other elements on this layout to demonstrate how changing the scaling can impact the style. For this first example I’m going to be using the “Clearly Styles” that came with the pack shown in the sample styles image above (from Creative Fabrica). I’ve hidden part of the title text so you can see what happens to the “arrow” tag underneath that text. Here’s what it looks like when I simply apply a style:
As you can see, not only did the style apply a paint spatter to the arrow shape, it also removed the original detail and beveled the edges. Notice how you can now see the page background behind the arrow. Not really what I expected but it’s still going to give you an idea of scaling as I move on.
Now that I’ve applied the style, I go to Layer > Layer Style > Scale Effects.
This opens the Scale Layer Effects dialog box allowing me to change the percentage of scaling. I then use the slider (or type into the number box) to make changes to the size of the pattern.
Using 56% this is the result:
As and easy reminder here’s the style before scaling:
See how not just the paint splatters but also the bevel on the edges are both smaller? I just as easily could have made them larger:
This particular style really isn’t going to work for this arrow behind the title so I’m going to show you another example using a glitter style from “Soul Bird Glitter” part of the “Soul Bird” collection by Manu Scraps.
Now, this could work. The color will go nicely with the rest of the layout. But I think this is just a bit too “glittery” compared with the rest of the page. So, I’m going to scale the size of the glitter:
That’s so much nicer. Now it’s more of a shimmer than “chunkier” glitter. I’ll apply a nice shadow and unhide the title so we can see what it looks like.
As you can see, scaling makes quite a difference! Admittedly, some patterns look better than others when their scale changes drastically, so it doesn’t hurt to experiment a bit and see for yourself which results you like.
I hope you have fun adjusting the pattern size of styles by trying you hand at scaling.
Layering Styles
This technique comes in very handy more times than you might think. This is something not everyone understands. I know I didn’t when I first started using styles. There are (to the best of my knowledge) two different types of style layering. I will call the first one “simple” and the second one “complex”.
Simple Style Layering
Once you have applied one style to an element it’s very easy to open the Style Settings box and change or even add styles (preset ones).
I’m going to go back to the glitter arrow that I created in the above layout.
In the Style Settings box, you’ll see that the only “active” style setting is for Drop Shadow. That’s because I had applied that shadow after the glitter. So, I’m sure you might be wondering about where the glitter information is. The glitter style I used did not include any settings that were part of the preset options. Therefore, other than scaling, there are no settings for the glitter that can be changed.
But I can go in and add settings for any one of the other options available. Let’s see what happens if I set a bevel setting. First, I want to ensure that the “Preview” box is checked. This allows me to see the changes as I apply them to the element without having to save them. I then set the bevel size to 35 pixels (px) and for Direction, I check the “Up” box.
This bevel might be a bit too steep but I’m going to leave it for now. Next, I want see what happens if for Direction, I check the “Down” box.
That’s a pretty interesting look. I like that better than the upward bevel so I’ll click OK. I could have added a stroke or glow effect as well. But I’m happy with just the bevel.
So that’s the simple version of layering styles.
Complex Style Layering
Now I want to tell you about the trickier method of layering styles. I’m guessing you’re wondering when you might need to do this. Let’s say you want to turn a “flat” paper element into a flair (glossy button or brad-type element). This is exactly when you will likely need to layer style effects in a more complex fashion. I’m going to take the plaid circle behind the title and make that into a flair.
I’ll remove the shadow until I’m finished applying other styles. And since I clipped a paper to the original circle in the template I used, I need to first merge the paper/circle & then simplify this new layer. Just a note here…I would suggest that when you’re first experimenting with layering styles you should make a copy of (& hide) whatever layer you’re playing with before beginning. That includes copying the layer(s) before merging them.
To create the flair effect, I’m going to use a combination of styles from “Stylin’ 109 – Flair & Gloss” by Mommyish (sadly, now retired). I duplicate the simplified layer (just as a precaution) and apply one of the flair styles first, being sure to adjust the lighting angle to fit the other elements in the layout.
Now, I think I might want to apply a bit more gloss to this. Before I do that, I have to duplicate the layer again. If I try to just apply a gloss style directly over the flair that I just created it will not work…all I’ll get is the gloss effect. I won’t even be able to see the plaid anymore.
With the duplicate layer selected I can now apply the gloss style.
It’s a subtle change but I do like it better. I still want to add a shadow back in. Now, before I do that, I can do one of two things: I can leave the two layers as they are & link them, or I can merge the two layers together. I generally leave the layers separate but linked. That way if I feel the need to change something later, it will be easier than if I have merged the layers.
With the separate layers (not merged) I will select only the bottom (flair) layer and apply an appropriate shadow and unhide the title so we can see what the layout looks like now.
In the example above with the flair I used a single set of styles that contained both the bevel and the gloss. Sometimes, you may need to combine styles from two different packs to achieve similar results. Whether using styles from the same or separate packs, you likely will follow these same steps for complex layering.
I hope you’ll try layering styles to see what kind of results you can achieve.
Remember, the order in which layer styles are applied to the content in the layer can be very important. For example, the Drop Shadow effect should typically be applied after all other effects. Whereas, any bevel, emboss or gloss effect should typically be applied on top of any other effects. This should help when visualizing how multiple effects will be applied to the contents of a layer.
Single Most Important Tip About Styles
Pretty cool, right? With those basics in mind, the fun is really just beginning. If you have a few handy style packs in your designer utility belt, you’re well on your way to adding a layer of depth and professionalism to your designs. There are so many amazing products available in the marketplace to help you get started using layer styles. And you can even find some free styles if you search the internet.
And as I always say…the more you work with styles the more proficient you’ll become at using them.
And, if you have any questions or need a bit of help finding a particular font, please don’t hesitate to “Message Me” for some assistance.
Thanks for reading yet another Tuesday Tip. If you don’t want to miss the next post, just click “Follow Me” to stay in touch. And as always…“Happy Scrapping!”