working with layer styles2

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Working with Layer Styles understanding Bevel and

Emboss

On 11.10.08, InBasic, by tommy

We continue our tour around the Layer Styles window, we go down to the Bevel and

Emboss section. This versatile effect help create a feeling of depth by adding highlight

and shadow to layer shapes. Depending on where these highlights and shadows are

placed, a D effect can be !uic"ly generated. The bevel effects ma"e #...$

We continue our tour around the Layer Styles window, we go down to the Bevel and

Emboss section.

This versatile effect help create a feeling of depth by adding highlight and shadow to

layer shapes. Depending on where these highlights and shadows are placed, a D effectcan be !uic"ly generated.

Thebevel effectsma"e an ob%ect loo" as though it has been chiselled away, and is great

for giving hard, sharp edges. The emboss options are a bit softer and ma"e ob%ects seem

to rise out of the document or loo" as though they have been stamped into the page. &n

addition to deciding on a bevel or emboss, you also have control over the si'e of the

effect, the direction of light and shadows and the shape of the edges. The option to

apply a te(ture is also worth investigating and opens up even more options.

With the Layer Stylewindow open and the Bevel and Embosschec"bo( chec"ed, go

to the Styledrop)down menu in the middle section to pic" whether you go for a bevel oran emboss.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/basic/working-with-layer-styles-understanding-bevel-and-emboss/http://www.psdtop.com/blog/basic/working-with-layer-styles-understanding-bevel-and-emboss/http://www.psdtop.com/blog/category/basic/http://www.psdtop.com/blog/author/tommy/http://www.psdtop.com/blog/category/basic/http://www.psdtop.com/blog/author/tommy/http://www.psdtop.com/blog/basic/working-with-layer-styles-understanding-bevel-and-emboss/http://www.psdtop.com/blog/basic/working-with-layer-styles-understanding-bevel-and-emboss/


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Bevel and Emboss options:

Style* this is where you choose the type of beveling that you want to apply.Outer

Beveladds a bevel outside the layer boundary, giving the impression of the layer beingraised from its bac"ground.

nner Beveladds the bevel inside the layer boundary instead, ma"ing the layer itself

loo" beveled and D.

Embossadds a bevel across the layer boundary, giving the impression of the layer being

stamped on the underlying layers.

!illow Embossadds shading to both the inside and outside of the layer boundary to

ma"e the layer loo" li"e it+s embedded in the underlying layers.

Stroke Embossadds embossing to the layer+s Stro"e effect only.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss.jpg


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"echni#ue* this option lets you twea" the method that hotoshop uses when forming

the beveling effect.

Smoothapplies a small amount of blur to the effect to produce a softer result.

$hisel %ardhugs the contours of the layer boundary much more accurately, preserving

features from the layer contents, ma"ing it great for type layers.

$hisel Softis a compromise between$hisel %ardand Smooth. &t usually doesn+t

follow the contours as accurately as $hisel %ard, but it produces a gentler effect.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/style-options.jpg


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&epth* this option specifies the contrast of the shading used for the effect.

- high value results in a high level of contrast, producing a pronounced, or deep, bevel.

- low value produces low)contrast shading, giving the impression of a shallow bevel.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/depth.jpghttp://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/technique-options.jpg


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&irection* this option controls whether the beveling effect ma"es the layer appear

raised 'p/ or indented &own/. &t+s the e!uivalent of rotating the (nglesetting by )*+

degrees.

Si,e* use this option to control the si'e of the bevel in pi(els. 0lic" and drag the slider

to change the si'e, or type a value in the bo( to the right of the slider.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/direction.jpg


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Soften* this option is great for smoothing over artifacts caused by using either of the

$hiseltechni!ues. &t adds a touch of blurring to the effect to help smooth things out.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/soften.jpghttp://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/size.jpg


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(ngle and (ltitude* use the (ngleoption to ad%ust the direction of the light source

used for the bevel effect. 0lic" and drag the little crosshair in the circle, or type a value

in the (ngle bo-to the right. 1ou can also ad%ust thealtitudeof the light source. Drag

the crosshair toward the center to move the light source directly overhead and high up.

Drag it toward the edge to move the source more toward the hori'on. 1ou can also type

a value for the light source altitude, in degrees, in the (ltitude bo-, + degrees* putsthe light source on the hori'on, while .+ degrees* puts it directly overhead.

'se /lobal Light* this option loc"s the effect+s(ngle and (ltitudesettings to the

/lobal Lightsettings. This means that this effect, and all other effects in your

document that have 'se /lobal Light selected, use the e(act same lighting settings,

thereby guaranteeing a consistent loo" to the effects. &f you change the effect+s (ngle

and (ltitude settings with 'se /lobal Lightselected, the /lobal Light angle and

altitude also are changed.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/angle-and-altitude.jpg


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/loss $ontour* this option controls how the highlights and shadows that ma"e up the

effect are mapped across the range of the effect. 0hoose a preset contour by clic"ing the

downward)pointing arrow ne(t to the bo(, or create your own contour by clic"ing the

graph in the bo(. The nput valuesalong the bottom of the graph represent the areas in

shadow in the effect on the left/ to the areas in the light on the right/. The Output

valuesup the side of the graph represent the amount of shadow at the bottom/ or

highlight at the top/ to apply. So the default Linear gradiente(actly maps shadowed

areas to shadows, and lit areas to highlights. By varying the curve within the graph, you

control how the 2dar"3 and 2light3 areas of the bevel are shaded.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/use-global-light.jpg


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(nti0(liased* if you use a fairly comple( /loss $ontour graph, with lots of spi"es,

then you+ll probably notice that the glossy effects appear %agged in the image,
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/gloss-contour2.jpghttp://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/gloss-contour.jpg


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particularly if your original layer is !uite small or detailed. By selecting the (nti0

(liasedoption, you can smooth out these transitions, resulting in a less %agged effect.

%ighlight 1ode2 $olor bo- and Opacity* these settings control the blending mode,

color, and opacity to use for the %ighlightshading in the effect. To create the bevel,

hotoshop applies a %ighlightand aShadow. These are usually applied to the 2light3

and 2dar"3 areas of the effect, respectively, but you can change this mapping using the

/loss $ontour option. 4se the %ighlight 1odemenu to select a different blend mode.

0lic" the $olor bo- to pic" a different color to use for the highlight. 0lic" and drag the

Opacity slider to control how opa!ue or transparent the highlight is.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/anti-aliased.jpg


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Shadow 1ode2 $olor bo- and Opacity* these controls apply to the Shadowshading

used for the effect and behave much li"e their %ighlightcounterparts described

previously.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/shadow-mode.jpghttp://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/highlight-mode.jpg


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By adding an nner Bevelto te(t, we+ve managed to create a pretty realistic D effect.

E(amples of Bevel and Embossin action te-t color white2 3ill 4/5

Outer Bevel

nner Bevel
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/outer-bevel.jpg


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Emboss
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/inner-bevel.jpg


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!illow Emboss
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/emboss.jpg


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Stroke Emboss
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/pillow-emboss.jpg


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The Bevel and Embosseffect has two subeffects5 $ontour and "e-ture.

$ontourallows you to sculpt the shape of the bevel itself, while "e-turelets you apply

a pattern as a bumpy te(ture to the layer contents.

Select the chec" bo( to the left of $ontouror "e-tureto enable the subeffect, or clic"

the subeffect name itself to both enable the subeffect and edit its options.

"he $ontour options:

$ontour* the contour you choose here affects the shape of the raised and lowered parts

of the bevel effect around the edge of the layer contents. Thin" of the bevel as a D

shape viewed from above, with the contour being a cross)section of that shape as

viewed from the side6 if you could cut through the bevel at any point with a saw, you+d

see your selected contour shape. The default contour, Linear, produces a standard, 78)

degree sloping bevel9which is the same as not enabling the $ontour subeffect at all9

but you can get some great effects with the other presets.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/stroke-emboss.jpg


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0hoose a preset by clic"ing the downward)pointing arrow ne(t to the bo(, or create

your own contour by clic"ing the graph in the bo(.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-contour-contour2.jpghttp://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-contour-contour.jpg


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(nti0(liased* the (nti0(liasedoption is particularly useful for this effect, because it+s

very easy to produce !uite %agged)loo"ing bevels, especially with some of the spi"ier

contours. Simply select this option to smooth out all those nasty %agged bits, and create

a nice smooth beveling effect.

5ange* use this option to ad%ust the position and si'e of the contour within the bevel+s

cross)section. :or value of ;, the contour is pushed to one edge of the bevel and only

ta"es up a tiny proportion of the bevel, for value of


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"he "e-ture options:

!attern* this option lets you choose a pattern to use for the te(ture.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-texture-pattern.jpghttp://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-contour-range.jpg


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0lic" the pattern to display the pop)up!attern picker, then clic" the pattern you want

to use. 1ou can also clic" the triangle in the top right of the !attern picker to bring up

the palette menu9 this lets you create and delete patterns, change the appearance of

patterns in the palette, load and save patterns and pic" from a range of pattern presets.

Snap "o Origin* if you have moved the te(ture from its original position by clic"ing

and dragging it in the document window, you can move the te(ture bac" to its default

position by clic"ing this button.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-texture-pattern2.jpg


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Scale* by clic"ing and dragging this slider you can control the si'e of the te(ture as it

appears in the effect. This is useful because the resolution of the pattern probably won+t

match the resolution of your document.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-texture-scale.jpghttp://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-texture-snap-to-origin.jpg


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&epth* this option lets you control how much the te(ture is 2raised3 or 2lowered.3

ositive values raise the te(ture, so that dar" pi(els in the pattern correspond to high

points in the te(ture and light pi(els correspond to dar" points6 negative values reverse

this mapping, so that dar" maps to low points and light maps to high points.

nvert* this option simply inverts the high and low points of the te(ture, so that dar"

pi(els of the pattern map to low points in the te(ture and light pi(els map to high points.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-texture-depth.jpg


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Link with Layer* selecting this option causes the te(ture to move with the layer

contents when using the1ove tool, which is usually what you want to happen. Disable

this option, and the te(ture remains fi(ed relative to the document window.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-texture-link-with-layer.jpghttp://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/bevel-and-emboss-texture-invert.jpg


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E(amples of $ontour and "e-turein action.

&n the first e(ample the 5ounded Steps contour is applied to the te(t using the $ontour

subeffect, while the second e(ample uses the "e-turesubeffect to apply the Bubbles

patternas a te(ture to the te(t.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/contour.jpg


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"!S

)61ou can apply Bevel and Embosseffects to te(t layers as well as shape layers. &n

fact, the effect is probably most successful with te(t, especially the emboss options.

76The shape of the Bevel, as defined by the chosen$ontour, is most obvious when

using the $hisel %ard techni!ue.

86When you+re applying a "e-tureto a BevelandEmboss, you can select the Linkwith Layerchec"bo(. This allows you to move the "e-ture and layer in complete

unison.
http://www.psdtop.com/blog/wp-content/images/024_Bevel-and-Emboss/texture.jpg

working with layer styles2

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