Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're feeling really good and I'm so pleased that you're here.

My name's Ms. Afsal, and I'll be your art teacher for this lesson.

Today's lesson is all about digital processes.

It's called Digital Processes: Using Digital Media to Layer an Image.

I wonder if you've had a go at that before.

Don't worry whether you have or you haven't.

Today, we will be exploring this.

Our lesson comes from the unit of work Foundation Workshops and Introduction to the Areas of Study.

So if you are ready with some energy, focus, and enthusiasm, we'll begin our lesson.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can use digital photo editing software to layer images for different purposes.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

Layers, adjustment layer, and background.

What do these keywords mean? Well, layers, the main concept in digital editing, used to control and separate parts of an image.

Adjustment layer, a type of layer used to edit color, tone or effects without changing the original image.

And background, the parts of an image that is furthest away.

In digital editing, this refers to the layer placed behind all others.

These are our keywords, layers, adjustment layer, and background.

Let's look out and listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called Digital Processes: Using Digital Media to Layer an Image, and it has three learning cycles: what are layers in digital editing; using adjustment layers; and creative compositions.

Sounds fun.

So what are layers in digital editing is where we'll begin.

Take a look at this photograph.

Would you describe this photograph as flat or layered? Pause here while you decide.

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps you describe this image as layered.

Digital images are often made up of layers that sit in front of each other.

These are then flattened into a single image.

By having different layers separated out, you have more control over each part of the photograph.

You can manipulate or edit images more easily.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What do we use to manipulate different parts of our image separately? Is it A, sections, B, divisions, C, layers, or D, units? Pause here while you decide.

Well done if you selected layers.

That is how we manipulate different parts of our image separately.

When using layers in your digital editing software, you'll need to access your layers panel.

To do this, go to Window, Layers.

You could also press the F7 key.

It might look something like this.

When opening an image, the layers panel displays the image in a single background layer.

Other layers can be added as you edit your image.

Each layer may have an eye symbol to toggle whether you can see the layer or not.

Layers may also have a lock symbol, so you can prevent unwanted changes to layers by locking them.

It might look something like this.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What symbol is on the button you might press to stop unwanted changes on your layers? Is it A, lock, B, hand, C, eye, or D, chain? Pause here while you decide.

Well done if you chose A, lock.

That's the symbol that you might press to stop unwanted changes on your layers.

The layers panel is very important when working with digital photography.

Understanding where to find the correct buttons is very useful and will save you time.

The background layer will always be at the back of your image stack, and will always be positioned at the bottom of the layers panel.

Remember, the higher the layer, the nearer the front of your image.

And now, it's time for your first task.

I would like you to explore layers in digital editing software.

Open up your digital editing software and load an image you have taken.

Open the layers panel and identify your background layer.

Find the following buttons: new layer; new fill or adjustment layer; layer masks.

These will be needed later, so make a note of where to find them.

How can you tell which layers are nearer the front and which are at the back? So pause here while you have a go at this task of exploring layers in digital editing software.

Have fun with your explorations and I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task, exploring layers in digital editing software? Let's hear from Jacob.

"I managed to load my photo into the editing software and found the background layer.

I could see the icons for new layer, adjustment layer, and layer masks and wrote them down.

I think the layers that are nearer the front are at the top of the list in the layers panel, and the ones at the back are lower down.

It was interesting to see how I could add new ones and how they stack up." Here's Sofia, "I think the layers at the top of the panel are nearer the front because when I hid the top layer, I could see the one underneath.

This helped me understand that layers work like a stack of paper, with the top ones covering the ones below." That's a really nice way of looking at it, and I hope you enjoyed exploring layers in your digital editing software.

And now, we're onto our next learning cycle, using adjustment layers.

Using adjustment layers is a great way to edit your image without altering the original.

This is often referred to as non-destructive editing.

Any changes to the image are made on a separate layer and do not affect the original image for you, phew.

The adjustment layer can be edited at any time, giving more control and flexibility, and can be deleted at any point to remove its effects.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Editing that doesn't affect the original image is called what? Is it A, conservation, B, benign, C, harmless or D, non-destructive? Pause here while you decide what editing that doesn't affect the original image is called.

Well done if you selected non-destructive.

That's the name for editing that doesn't affect the original image.

With an adjustment layer, you can choose an area to apply your effect to.

There are several tools you can use to select this area.

These include the lasso tool, selecting shapes manually, the marque tool, selecting geometric shapes, such as squares and circles, the selection tool, automated selection tools for quick and easy editing.

The new fill/adjustment layer will create a new layer with an effect that only affects the selection area.

Like other layers, And adjustment layer can be locked by clicking the padlock symbol or hidden by clicking the eye symbol in the layers panel.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which tool would you use to create a geometric selection, such as a square or circle? Is it A, the marquee tool, B, the lasso tool, C, the selection tool, or D, the pen tool? Pause here while you decide.

Well done if you selected A.

Indeed, it's the marquee tool that you'd use to create a geometric selection, such as a square or circle.

And now, it's time for your next task.

I would like you to create a selection using a lasso, marquee, or selection tool.

Load an image into your editing software.

Use an image that has differences in color or tone in different parts of the image that can be easily edited.

You can add or subtract your selection by holding shift or option/alt key while using any of the tools above.

So pause here while you have a go at this first part of your task, creating a selection using a lasso, marquee, or selection tool.

And now, for the next part of your task, I would like you to create a new layer in the layers panel and make adjustments.

Click on the new adjustment/fill layer button to create a new layer in the layers panel.

You'll then be prompted to choose what type of adjustment layer you would like to create.

Adjustments such as hue, saturation, color balance, or black and white will affect the color of your selection.

Try a range to see what fun effects you can create.

You can also create shapes such as squares and circles using the marquee tool to use as your adjustment layers.

Pause here while you have a go at this part of your task, creating a new layer in the layers panel and making adjustments.

It's great to be back with you.

So how did you get on with your task, creating a new layer in the layers panel and making adjustments? Here's Lucas, "I created separate layers for the red and blue sections of these swings and made the red much stronger and the blue a little lighter to make them contrast more." And that looks really effective.

And here's June, "I inverted the color twice using adjustment layers to turn this photograph of a tire into an abstract image." It's really rather interesting.

I hope you enjoyed this task.

And now, we're onto our final learning cycle, creative compositions.

As well as creating selections for effects, photographers also use layers to manipulate their images by combining elements of multiple pictures into one.

This is called a composite image.

Composite images can be used to create interesting compositions, unreal or unusual images, or interesting graphics or illustrations.

Pause here and share with someone your impressions of this composite image that we can see on the screen.

Thanks for sharing.

In art, collage has often been used to create composite images, with artists physically cutting out images and sticking them together to form new compositions.

In the digital age, composite images made on photo editing software can be used to achieve a similar result, though with far more potential for manipulating images by using other effects and processes.

Let's look at some examples of photographers who create composite images.

They include Rashini Kempadoo, blends multiple photographs to explore memory, identity, and layered narratives, Giacomo Costa combines and digitally manipulates his photos into fantastical apocalyptic scenes, Stephanie Jung layers multiple photographs taken from slightly different angles to construct dynamic urban landscapes, Muhammed Faread blends multiple photographs to create surreal, layered compositions that explore themes of identity and memory.

And so here are some photographers creating composite images.

To create composite images in digital editing programs, we use layers with different elements on each.

Much like adjustment layers in the last task, by keeping different elements on separate layers, we have greater control and flexibility over our image.

We can also create unreal images that would be impossible to photograph naturally.

Pause here and share your impressions of this quite unreal image you can see on the screen.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What art form shares similarities with the digital layering of images? Is it A, collage, B, sketching, C, film photography, or D, oil painting? Pause here while you decide which art form share similarities with the digital layering of images.

Well done if you chose collage.

Indeed, this is the art form which shares similarities with the digital layering of images.

To create layered images, we can cut out elements using the same tools.

When creating a new layer however, the layer mask is used to hide any part of the layer not selected.

Using a layer mask is another example of non-destructive editing, as the original image is kept unaffected and changes can be easily undone.

Different masked layers can then be combined to create a new composition, with each element on its own layer.

Elements can be resized using the Transform effect and moved around using the move tool.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What can you use to make an element larger? Is it A, the move tool, B, the grab tool, C, Transform, or D, the crop tool? Pause here while you decide what you can use to make an element larger.

Well done if you chose Transform.

This is what you can use to make an element larger.

And now, it's time for your next task.

I would like you to create a layered image.

Capture or select a background photo, as well as photos of objects that can be placed against the background.

Load your background image into your digital editing program and drag and drop your first object into the same window.

This will add the image on a new layer.

So pause here while you have a go at this first part of your task.

Next, I'd like you to use any of your selection tools to create a selection around your object.

On your layers panel, select create layer mask.

This cuts your object out in a non-destructive way.

You should now see your background layer appear behind your selection.

Both elements should now be on their own layer and are ready for editing.

Pause here while you have a go at this part of your task.

You can now resize your element by selecting Edit, Transform, Scale.

You can also move your element around by using the Move tool.

Try loading multiple elements onto your background image and get creative with a composite composition.

Pause here.

Have fun.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's great to be back with you.

How did you get on with your task of creating a layered image? Here's Laura, "I laid this picture of a stone to make it look like it was floating." So creative.

Here's Izzy, "I put these pictures together to make a suspicious-looking cat." Love that.

I think I've seen a few of those around.

Pause here and share your composite composition with somebody and if they can guess what the original images were that you have combined to create this composition.

Pause here while you do this.

Thanks for having a go at that.

In our lesson, Digital Processes: Using Digital Media to Layer an Image, we've covered the following: in digital editing, layers are used to give greater control and flexibility when editing; they can be used to add effects to an area of an image; they can also be used to layer different images, creating unreal effects; when different images are layered together to make a single image, we call this a composite image; using adjustment layers and layer masks are examples of non-destructive editing.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson.

It was really fun exploring digital processes with you, looking at layering, looking at some of those different tools and then creating some possibly quite unreal composite images.

I really hope you've enjoyed this lesson.

I've really enjoyed teaching you, and I'm looking forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative.