angedawn
03-14-2006, 08:50 PM
OK - One of the first things I learned when working with Photoshp was so totally hard for me to believe. It was this:
When you bring a new layer (like a new picture... we are talking like a jpeg image here) into your layout, once you have sized it down (like sized it down, hit the green arrow or enter, done other work beyond that... etc.) you can't size it back up without losing image quality.
This was so disheartening to me! I had a hard time believing that photoshop wasn't "smart" enough to remember that my image had once been 8 by 10 at 300 dpi, and even though I'd resized it down to 4 by 5, I might just want to make it 8 by 10 again!
Now, here's some good news. If you are a CS2 user, CS2 comes with a new feature called "Smart Objects". A smart object allows you to resize a photo or other element and not loose quality if you decide to resize it back up! :) A great thing in my book.
To make a layer a "smart object", go to Layer>Smart Object> Group into New Smart Object. The layer thumbnail will now have a small icon on the bottom of it to tell you that it's "smart" (I think of them like the little layers with the pocket protectors... smarter than the rest of the layers!)
I found this article that explains it somewhat better if you are interested in reading further... here (http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.asp?p=425823&rl=1).
So, if you aren't sure what size your final image is going to be... or you are just indecisive, consider making your layers smart objects. And, if you are in an earlier version of Photoshop, make sure to not resize down and then back up! :)
When you bring a new layer (like a new picture... we are talking like a jpeg image here) into your layout, once you have sized it down (like sized it down, hit the green arrow or enter, done other work beyond that... etc.) you can't size it back up without losing image quality.
This was so disheartening to me! I had a hard time believing that photoshop wasn't "smart" enough to remember that my image had once been 8 by 10 at 300 dpi, and even though I'd resized it down to 4 by 5, I might just want to make it 8 by 10 again!
Now, here's some good news. If you are a CS2 user, CS2 comes with a new feature called "Smart Objects". A smart object allows you to resize a photo or other element and not loose quality if you decide to resize it back up! :) A great thing in my book.
To make a layer a "smart object", go to Layer>Smart Object> Group into New Smart Object. The layer thumbnail will now have a small icon on the bottom of it to tell you that it's "smart" (I think of them like the little layers with the pocket protectors... smarter than the rest of the layers!)
I found this article that explains it somewhat better if you are interested in reading further... here (http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.asp?p=425823&rl=1).
So, if you aren't sure what size your final image is going to be... or you are just indecisive, consider making your layers smart objects. And, if you are in an earlier version of Photoshop, make sure to not resize down and then back up! :)