When you scale layers in Photoshop that have layer styles applied to them, you’ll notice the layer styles do not scale with the layer. For example, let’s say a layer had a stroke of 15px. When the layer is scaled down using Free Transform, the stroke remains at 15px making it too thick for the smaller size.

In this tip, we’ll go over two methods for handling layer style scaling in Photoshop.

Scale Layer Styles in Photoshop

Scaling with Smart Objects

(Shown at 0:55 in video)

1. Right-click the layer with the layer styles applied to it.

2. Select Convert to Smart Object from the dropdown.

3. That’s it. Now when you scale the layer with Free Transform, the layer styles won’t be affected.

To modify layer styles of a Smart Object, simply double-click the Layer Thumbnail for the layer you want to change. This will open the document of the Smart Object in a new tab. Once here, make any changes and they will update on the original document when saved.

Using Scale Effects

(Shown at 1:44 in video)

1. Select the layer you want to scale the effects for in the Layers Panel.

2. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Scale Effects…

3. Adjust the percentage or drag the slider until you get the desired outcome. Make sure the Preview checkbox is checked. This will scale all values of the effects applied to that layer. Press OK when you’re happy with the results.

Tip: For a more precise scale of the layer styles, scale the layer down using the percentage values from Free Transform. Then, you can input that exact percentage in the Scale Effects dialog box.

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In this tip, learn how to sample colors outside of Photoshop with the Eyedropper tool.

Sample Colors Outside of Photoshop

1. Open the color picker to activate the Eyedropper tool or activate the Eyedropper tool from the Tools panel.

2. With the Eyedropper tool active, click inside Photoshop and drag outside the window to the color you want to sample. You will see the color update with the position of the Eyedropper.

3. Let go of the mouse button and your selected color will be chosen in Photoshop.

That’s it! Maybe this can help save you some time in the future.

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By default, you may or may not see all the filters available in Photoshop CS6. Let’s bring them all back in the Preferences.

In Windows, go to Edit > Preferences > Plug-Ins

Mac: Photoshop > Preferences > Plug-Ins

Be sure “Show all Filter Gallery groups and names” is checked. Click OK.

You should now have all the original filters in Photoshop!

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Simply double-click the pattern to load it into Photoshop CS6.

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Overview

Download Project File .Zip 31.9 MB

Sources

Texture: http://www.tofurious.com/post-production/grunge-textures/

Flare Overlay: http://www.cutestockfootage.com/

Free Valentine Stock Footage

CuteStockFootage

Awesome Valentine Tutorials

Chocolate Text Effect in Photoshop for Valentine’s Day

How to Create Amazing Valentine’s Day Background with Abstract Hearts in Adobe Photoshop CS6

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Video

There are endless possibilities when it comes to colorizing a QR code. Take a look at some of the designs over at QRLicious for inspiration.

QR Code

We’ll begin by creating our QR code. I used goqr.me to generate mine. QR codes can contain anything from a little message to a link. I just linked it to the website for now. However, if you have a very long link be sure to use a link shortener such as bit.ly to simplify the code a bit.

Once complete, you may adjust the size of the code. Click on Options and change the Error Correction Code to “Q” or “H” depending on what works best with your final logo. The Error Correction Code adjust how much of the QR code can be covered with it remaining readable. Download the code to your computer.

Photoshop

Create a new document and adjust the size to fit your needs. I chose 1000 x 1000 px.

I added a radial gradient to the background, but you may leave it white or transparent depending on where you plan on placing the QR code.

Drag (or File > Place) the QR code file you’ve just downloaded into this new Photoshop document. Adjust the size and center it.

To center, simply select the QR code layer and hold Ctrl to select the background layer. With both the QR code and background layers selected, use the move tool to center everything vertically and horizontally.

We now need to Rasterize the QR code layer since it is currently a Smart Object. To do this, Right-click the QR code layer and choose Rasterize Layer. Now we can delete the white background.

Select > Color Range click the white background within the QR code.

Choose a Fuzziness of around 100. Click OK. Everything that’s white in the image will be selected. With the QR code layer selected, hit Delete. You’ll notice all of the white has been deleted. Now you can hit Ctrl + D or Cmd + D(Mac) to deselect the selection.

All that’s left to do is to stylize the QR code with Layer Styles. Double-click the QR code layer or right-click and choose Blending Options. Here you can add anything from a Bevel & Emboss to a Drop Shadow. Keep in mind that some of these changes may effect the readability of the code so keep testing it while designing.

I added a dark navy blue #031634 to light navy blue #033649 Linear Gradient. Again you can add any of the styles here as long as everything’s still readable by devices.

You can also experiment with the different Artistic filters to stylize the code a bit. And even add a design within the three squares of the code. Make sure it’s still readable!

That’s it! We’ve added some color to the QR code making it much more appealing.

Post your QR code creations in the comments section below!

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One little function that can be easily overlooked in Photoshop is the ability to create a new layer below the current layer. Normally, one would simply click the Create a New Layer icon (Ctrl+Shift+N) to add a new layer above the current layer. To add a new layer below the current layer, hold Ctrl while clicking the New Layer icon.

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