Maybe a dumb Photoshop question?
-
Hello, I am working my way through the light and shadow class. I am learning a lot about Photoshop as I go through this class, I have been able to figure most of it out... But I am stumped by what it means to have "opacity control on" and it's purpose? A little help
-
Opacity control - controls the density (thickness) of the layer of color. Think of it as a way to water down the color. So when you are putting in a shadow, the full strength of the color might be too heavy and cover up too much of your underdrawing. So, you can lighten it up a bit, by lowering the opacity. Less of the color pixels will lay down when you use the brush. You can find the opacity level in the tool bar on top when using the brush tool. Or, you can control the opacity layer of an entire layer over in the layers panel.
Hang in there... it gets easier.
-
@maryannlucas Thanks! It's going to be worth it but it's like learning a foreign language at first. Is there also a function on digital pens that allows the pen to control opacity while in use? I only have a mouse at this point.
-
@frogpunzel yes, it's a pen setting which ties the opacity (aka transparency) to the pressure you are applying using the pen.
You can also manually set opacity of the brushstrokes when you have the brush tool selected. Use your other hand on the keyboard numbers and you will see the Opacity change.
I pasted a screenshot that shows the differences between 100% 50% and 20% opacity. I didn't change the colors, and I used a mouse.
-
@jenn Thank you, I really appreciate the help!
