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How To Manage Layers Effectively In Photoshop For Organized Projects – Architectural visualization is notorious for creating complex and messy PSD files. Sometimes the little things can make a big difference, and I think layer management is one of those little things that a lot of people don’t pay enough attention to. Proper layer management in Photoshop can lead to better efficiency, more editable files, and in many cases, better looking images. Over the years I’ve switched to Photoshop’s file creation system. This system may not be perfect for everyone, but it has streamlined my workflow and resulted in clearer illustrations.
The problem with PSD files is that they can quickly get out of control. Most of my Photoshop files I work on easily exceed several hundred layers. Being careless when naming files or grouping files incorrectly can save time in the beginning. But after a few hours of working in Photoshop, the time spent finding the right layers or making changes far outweighs the time saved in the beginning. Not only that, but the image itself will start to look messy and low-quality, as it will be harder to mask layers and control lighting.
How To Manage Layers Effectively In Photoshop For Organized Projects
I created an artwork that takes into account a number of different types of groups that I usually use in PSD files. Obviously, the specific groups vary from illustration to illustration depending on the type of image, but for the most part the general structure remains consistent.
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One more note: I am in no way saying that this is the “right” way to edit PSD files. I’m sure there are other ways and better ways to do this. But this system works well for me and allows for a lot of flexibility depending on the type of illustration I’m working on.
One of the keys to a clean Photoshop file is groups. Groups are folders that contain one or more layers in the Layers palette. Groups allow you to collapse many layers into a single row and quickly cycle through several hundred layers. Another great advantage is that you can apply masks to groups, which is useful for editing. A group can be created by clicking on the folder icon at the bottom of the layer palette. The layers can then be moved to the folder one or more at a time.
A big part of working efficiently and keeping your files highly editable is using “non-destructive” methods to edit layers. The goal is to edit the drawing so that the changes can be reverted later.
Masks, if you’re not already using them, are essential for non-destructive editing. I’ve only mentioned masks a few times on this page because they can be hard to understand at first. But they are lifesavers when it comes to clipping backgrounds or removing parts of layers. Masks are exactly what they sound like and allow you to mask or hide parts of a layer, similar to erasing. The difference is that the mask can be removed later to restore the removed area of the layer. I talked more in depth about masks halfway through my Hatch Patterns Post.
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Like masks, adjustment layers are non-destructive and can adjust levels, contrast, hue, etc. allows you to edit things in several layers at once and also to reverse the edit at any time later. Adjustment layers work like real layers, allowing you to adjust the strength with opacity or even use an adjustment mask. I don’t use them much, but they really come in handy from time to time.
Above is a screenshot of the layer palette for this drawing. You will immediately notice that everything is grouped together. Having everything grouped together allows me to collapse all the layers and move around the palette more easily. This also makes me really think about where the layers are best placed so that finding them later isn’t as time-consuming.
The Photoshop process starts with a few images exported from Sketchup and a rendering tool like V-Ray. These images often include baseline rendering, export reflections, export refraction, line work, ambient occlusion pass, z-depth, alpha, among others. All these layers are placed in the “BASE FILE” group. These layers are the base layers from which everything else in a Photoshop file is built. After these layers are assembled, a mask is applied to the group to remove the sky and background elements using an Alpha layer.
After building the basic files, I bring the sky. I like to do this early because the sky plays a big role in setting the tone of the image. It can affect the coloring and the mood, so if you fix it first, the image will really liven up. I often combine several images of the sky to get the exact look I’m looking for. Since I’ve masked off the BASIC FILES group, I can drag the SKY group under the BASIC FILES group and move and scale the position until I get something that looks good.
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In addition to the sky, I also include background elements that include surrounding buildings and scenery that are not modeled or rendered. The background information comes from many places, such as the client, Google Image Search, or Google Street View.
The base plane consists of road textures, pavement textures, and green areas such as grass. At this point, the entire image has been edited and a good foundation has been created. From here, there will be a lot of detail about the light, cars, people and trees.
There is a lot of information about the glass and the interior in this picture. Rather than doing these edits with the BASE FILES group, I’d like to keep it as a separate group. This is because everything in the interior is in this group, including people, furniture and lights, which can sometimes create tons of layers. The advantage of keeping all these layers in one group is that I can use one master mask to cut the studs and define the windows.
Now that I have a good base, sky and ground, I start adding trees, cars and people. Each category has its own group folder. Within each of these groups there is a subgroup for shadows. Instead of dealing with the opacity one by one, I put all the shadows in a subgroup so I can control the opacity of all the shadows at once. This is also important when two shades overlap. Because a group controls opacity, shadows that overlap within a group blend rather than overlap.
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In most cases I will have multiple groups of trees and people. Sometimes there are trees in the foreground that cover everything, and sometimes there are trees behind the buildings in the background. This requires separate groups to avoid complex masking placed in different areas of the layer palette.
This group is always at the top of the layer palette and includes layers such as color layers, sun flares, fog, and general adjustments. The introduction of this group varies, sometimes occurring at the beginning of the process or not until the end. However, this group is one of the most important groups that give the illustration its character and atmosphere.
From time to time I will adjust the final drawing with some plugins/filters like Topaz Labs Correct to bring out some details and enhance the colors. This is to copy and merge all the layers (ctrl+alt+shift+e) to get a single layer that the plugin can be applied to. I keep this group on top so I can lower the opacity and reduce the effects of the plugin if needed.
To clarify, most of my drawings follow this structure with slight variations depending on the type of drawing. For the purposes of this tutorial, I’ve carefully named each layer, but in the heat of the moment, it’s not always possible to find the time to name everything perfectly. However, no matter what the time crunch, I make sure to name the groups in capital letters. It’s important to have a solid system that ultimately leads to a more efficient workflow and creates cleaner work.
