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8 8 G R A P H I C S P R O • J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M Layers In order to control the level of opacity of regions, the content must be isolated to individual layers in pixel-based images or specific objects (or sub-layers) on vec- tor objects. A global opacity adjustment can be applied to the entire layer or sub- layer so that layer content in its entirety is affected. e Opacity slider in Photoshop is calibrated by percentages from zero to one hundred percent. 100% opacity levels provide extremely precise control over the visibility of layer content. Transparency in a Photoshop document is indicated by a gray checkerboard pat- tern. there is no content in that region. When the checkerboard is at full strength there is no content. When an image is superimposed over the checkerboard and the opacity is adjusted then the checker- board will appear through the content. (Fig. 5) Opacity settings are embedded in the content. If a layer that has been assigned an opacity percentage is cut or copied to a new layer or document, it will maintain that setting and can be readjusted back to one hundred percent or any other value. Fill e Layers panel in Photoshop actually has two opacity settings. e global set- ting is labeled "Opacity" and affects the entire layer content. (Fig. 6) e "Fill" opacity slider is designed to isolate only the layer content and excludes any layer styles that have been applied so that they remain at one hundred percent opacity when the setting is applied. Layer masks So far, we've looked at global opacity/ transparency adjustments that affect the visibility of an entire layer. ese settings can be handy when the goal specifically requires that the viewer sees through everything that is on the layer. Suppose, however, that the layer content is com- plex and more specific and only part of content the needs to be transparent or semitransparent. In these cases, layer masks provide a solution — a very different technique Fig. 5: When an image is superimposed over the checkerboard and the opacity is decreased then the checkerboard will appear through the content. Fig. 6: The "Fill" opacity slider is designed to isolate only the layer content and excludes any layer styles that have been applied so that they remain at one hundred percent opacity when the setting is applied. Fig. 7: In Photoshop a layer mask is created several different ways. B U S I N E S S S T R A T E G I E S