Lesley Yarbrough
March 31, 2021 · 5 min read
What are Photoshop layer styles?
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 any other layer. You will probably be most familiar with these in the form of the preset layers available in Photoshop, such as Drop Shadow, Stroke, Inner Glow, etc.Why are Photoshop layer styles useful?
Photoshop layer styles make it incredibly simple to apply one or many different effects to your designs. When applied, a layer style are 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.Installing Layer Styles
If you remember how easy it was to install both Actions and Brushes, then you should have no problem installing Styles. There’s actually a couple different methods that you can use to install layer styles, but each one takes only a couple of steps: 1. If you don’t have any layer styles to play with, you can grab a set from the great selection available on Creative Market. 2. Download the zip file containing your styles and unpack the contents of the file. This will reveal a new folder containing a few other files, one of which is an .ASL file.Using Layer Styles
Now that you’ve got your layer styles loaded into Photoshop, 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 to and then 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 have been added to your layer. The more complicated the style, the more effects you will see listed under your layer.Important tips: You cannot apply a style to a layer that is locked. If you find that your style is not working, check to make sure the layer is not locked. Layer styles tend to look best on bold fonts & large sizes. If you find that your styles aren’t looking quite right, you might try a different font.For you visual learners out there, John Shaver of Design Panoply and Photoshop Video Tutorials was kind enough to put a video together that walks you through the steps. To follow along with John, you can download the demo content here. 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 some amazing products available in the marketplace to help you get started using layer styles:
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Lesley Yarbrough
Tinkerer. Maker of quirky fonts with a sprouty disposition.
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