AV News 201 - August 2015
Any ordinary raster layer can be converted into a Smart Object. Simply select
a layer then right click your mouse, from the resulting drop down menu select
'Convert to Smart Object. Layers that have been converted or opened as
Smart Objects are indicated by a small symbol located in the lower right corner
of the layer thumbnail. In our example shown below the left red arrow indicates
the Smart Object symbol, and the two
small circles indicated by the right arrow
show that one or more smart filters are in
use on this layer. The area just left of the
layer thumbnail and behind the 'layer
visibility eye' is purposely coloured yellow
to provide simple recognition that this layer
has been converted to a Smart Object.
Layer Colouring is a useful way of
recognizing similar attributes of layers at a
glance, it's also useful for filtering layers by
colour, but adding colour isn't an automatic
feature. To add colour or change the
colour of a layer simply right click on the
layer or on the thumbnail, from the
resulting menu select a colour. Options
range from; No Colour, Red, Orange,
Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet or Gray.
Multiple layers requiring the same colour
can all be selected and coloured at the
same time, no need to colour each layer
individually.
Smart Objects can be non-destructively
edited even after the Photoshop file has been saved, closed, and re-opened.
However changes to 'pixel data' within the layer e.g. dodging, burning,
painting, pencil, cloning, bucket fill etc. cannot be applied directly to a Smart
Object without first converting the layer back to a regular rasterized layer. This
of course would negate all advantages of having a Smart Object Layer in the
first place. Adobe therefore provide several ways to edit pixel data. The most
intuitive method is to use the 'Layer Menu' command i.e. 'Layer', 'Smart
Objects', 'Edit Content', this is a clever way of editing pixel data by creating a
new linked file. After editing the linked file it should be saved as an external file
with its own unique name, preferably in the same folder as the .psd file on
which you're currently working. Note that the default file extension for this new
linked external file will be .psb which is the file name extension for Adobe's
'Large Document Format'. You may keep to this default .psb extension for the
linked file. Do not yet close this linked file. Note: The main 'Layer Menu'
command can be bypassed by simply selecting the Smart Object layer, then
right click with your mouse to bring up a smaller direct menu, select 'Edit
Contents', whereupon a new window will open exactly as before. This new
window will contain exactly the same image as your Smart Object layer. Save
this new linked external .psb file after editing.
Page 38