Hi there and welcome to this introductory
video in our series on layers in Corel PaintShop Pro.
Layers are fundamentally important in most photo editing projects
and are very popular for their multiple uses.
In fact there are so many ways to use layers that we couldn't possibly cover it all in one video
and that's why we're doing a series. So let's get started.
First we're going to begin with what layers actually are.
Well, in the world of photo editing software
layers are any editable content including photos, text or objects that
appear on top of the background.
If you find the concept complicated
picture how animation is done. When you see a cartoon character on the screen
the entire image that you see actually consists of multiple layers of acetate cells.
The sky or the mountains behind it is usually a painting
and it doesn't change and everything else is layered on top, hence the name layers.
If you want to paste image of a person with a transparent background on top of the photo from another location
so that it looks like they're standing in a different place,
the same technique is applied.
So where can you see layers in PaintShop Pro?
Well, in order to view or work with layers
you'll need to have the Layers palette opened
and this what the Layers palette looks like.
Now if you don't see it simply hit the F8 key on your keyboard and it'll pop up.
You can also open it by going to the View menu
highlighting "Palettes" and then clicking on "Layers".
As soon as you open a photo or a new project in PaintShop Pro
a single layer will appear there and it'll be called "background".
Now background layers can't have a transparency so if you plan to erase
that sky behind your butterfly there
you're going to need to change this layer so that its no longer called background.
To do that right click on the thumbnail
select "promote background layer" and you're ready to rock.
So you'll notice that now this layer has been called "Raster 1"
and basically what this means is that it is, as it's called, a raster layer.
A raster image consists of pixels
so an example of a raster image would be a photo or picture tube for example.
The number "1" just means that it's the first raster layer that you've created thus far in this project.
The other types of layers that you're likely going to see are vector layers and art media layers.
Vector layers are used for objects such as shapes or text
and those are objects that can be resized any time without losing any quality.
Art media layers are used for paint brushes
and when a painting is complete it has to be changed into a raster layer to continue.
Then you'll be able to use other tools on them.
We'll go into more details on how those tools work in other tutorials but this is just a basic overview.
Now we're going to take a look at how you create layers.
There are many ways to create layers in a project, as you probably already guessed
and it really depends on what you're using them for.
The simplest way to create a new layer is to click on the Layers menu at the top of the screen
and then select "Create new raster layer" or "Create new vector layer" and so on.
This is useful if you plan to add some picture tubes or text over your photo.
If you have one photo and you want to incorporate it into another photo
you can simply copy the first or the second image
and then go on to the other image and select "Paste as new layer"
from the Edit menu.
This will automatically paste the second image as its own layer
on top of the first image and this is great for if you're making a collage
or doing a background replacement.
Another very popular use for layers is duplicating
and of course you can right-click on any layer in the Layers palette
and select "duplicate". What this will do is place a copy of that content
one layer up. A lot of the time duplication is used so that if there's
issue during editing you can leave the background intact
and it's also great for doing before and afters to check your work.
Sometimes a layer will automatically be created in a situation that requires it,
so for example you can't apply text to a raster layer
and therefore if you click on the text tool and then you click on your image
PaintShop Pro will immediately create a vector layer onto it
for the text to be applied.
Later you can merge those layers or convert the text into a raster layer
but at that point you'll no longer be able to edit it as text
so make sure you're happy with that font and the spelling before you
consider merging it or changing your text to a raster.
Now let's take a look at when you would actually use layers in a project
Well layers can be used for just about any project
from the simplest concept of preserving your background to a 15-piece
collage full of effects, colors and objects
layers are by far one of the most important aspects of photo editing that
you will ever learn.
In our next video we're going to go into the various tools and options
that you'll see layers being used in and and how they can be used when you're
working with PaintShop Pro.
Thank you for watching and as always visit learn.corel.com
for tons of video and written tutorials, contests, tips, ebooks and more.