How to use Photoshop Layer Styles & Effects [Example]
Henry Cooper
⚡ Smart Summary
Photoshop Layer Styles and Effects add non-destructive treatments such as Bevel and Emboss, Stroke, Gradient Overlay, and Drop Shadow to a layer. This resource explains how to apply, edit, share, remove, and detach layer styles to make text and graphics more appealing.
In this article we will learn how to apply Photoshop layer styles, how to share them between layers, and how to utilize layer styles to make our content more appealing.
Look at this image, in which I have applied some layer styles to the word www.guru99.com.
Here you can see some layer styles like “Bevel & Emboss”, “Stroke”, “Gradient Overlay”, and “Drop Shadow”.
We can turn them on or off individually or all together. And this fx icon indicates that this layer has an applied layer style.
To apply a layer style to a layer, you need to select the layer and go to the “Layer” menu, then “Layer Style”, and choose any of the layer styles you want to apply.
It will open the Layer Style panel, where you are able to edit each and every layer style as per your requirement.
Here I have already applied some layer styles like “Bevel & Emboss”, and I have some options in that which I can easily edit. Then I have “Stroke”, “Gradient Overlay”, and “Drop Shadow”. All of these have their own different customizable options. If you want to add or subtract any layer style, then just click on it.
One other way to apply layer styles is at the bottom of the layer panel. Have a look at this fx icon; by clicking on this button you will have the same options that you have seen in the Layer menu.
Share Layer Styles
Now let us talk about sharing layer styles between two layers. Here I have one more Photoshop text styles layer, “Free online Education”. There are many different ways to share layer styles.
Here is a very quick way. Hold down the ALT key, grab the fx icon, and drop it on the layer to which you want to apply the same layer styles.
It will copy and paste the layer style in one single move. One other way is to just right click on the layer having layer styles and select “Copy Layer Style”, then go and right click your target layer and select “Paste Layer Style”.
Now if you think you do not like these layer styles, then you can easily grab the “fx” icon and drag it to the “trash”. It will only delete the layer styles and not the layer itself.
One more way: you can simply right click on the layer and choose “Clear Layer Style”, and it will clear all the layer styles which you have applied on that layer.
One more important thing is that you can also detach layer styles from the layer. For that, you simply need to right click on the “fx” icon and choose “Create Layers”. It will create layers for each and every layer style that you have applied to your layer.
You can also turn them on and off, and you can work on them as separate layers.
One more thing about layer style is that if the layer style is applied to a text layer, then it is easily editable. So go ahead and retype, and you will get the same effects on the newly typed word.
