Whenever we use Layer Styles for a layer, Photoshop stores them in the same layer rather than creating a new layer for each style to keep the things simple and clutter free. But what if we want the layer styles in separate layers?
In this short tutorial, I am going to show you how to breakdown layer styles into layers. Lots of Photoshop users don’t know how to do this as it’s not something that we use in our daily design tasks and practices.
It’s a rarely used option but you can make use of it whenever needed. Let’s get started.
Step1
Here, I have some text on the canvas with some layer styles applied to it. I highly recommend saving the layer styles so whenever you need them, you can restore them easily from the Styles panel.
Step2
With the text layer selected, go to Layer > Layer Style > Create Layer. This will create a separate layer for each layer style.
Make sure you have done all the final adjustments before breaking the layer styles into layers.
TIP: If you have numbers of layer styles applied to a layer and want very few to be as layers then you can hide rest of the layer styles. Now, Photoshop will only process the visible styles.
Step 3
As you can see in the given image, all the layer styles (Gradient Overlay, Stroke and Drop Shadow) are now on separate layers. Now, you can use other layer operations (such as Masking) with them.
I hope you enjoyed this Photoshop tip. Stay connected with us for more great tips and tutorials. Thanks