Taking Advantage of Fill Layers in Photoshop

A fill layer lets you add a layer of solid color, a gradient, or a pattern. Like adjustment layers, fill layers also have layer masks, as indicated by the mask icon thumbnail in the Layers palette. You can create as many fill layers as you like, just as you can with regular layers and adjustment layers. You can also edit, rearrange, duplicate, delete, and merge fill layers. And you can blend fill layers with other layers by using the opacity, fill, and blend mode options in the Layers palette. Like an adjustment layer, to confine the effects of a fill layer to a portion of the image, make a selection or create and select a closed path before you create the fill layer. And editing or changing the contents of a fill layer is similar to editing or changing the contents of an adjustment layer. Here’s how to create a fill layer:
1. Open an image of your choice.
In this case, open an image that would look good with a cool border or cool type. For my example, I created the word fujiyama by using the Horizontal Type Mask tool. If you want to create a simple border, you can just create a rectangle along one of the sides of your image. If you don’t have an active selection, the fill layer encompasses your entire canvas.
2. Choose Layer-->New Fill Layer. From the submenu, choose your desired adjustment. Name the layer, leave the other options at their defaults, and click OK.
For my example, I chose Pattern from the submenu. You can also just click the Create a New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon (the black and white circle icon) at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose a fill from the pop-up menu. The dialog box pertaining to your fill appears.
3. Follow the steps that correspond with the option you chose in Step 2:
- Solid Color: Choose your desired color from the Photoshop Color Picker.
- Gradient: Choose a preset gradient from the pop-up palette or click the gradient preview to display the Gradient Editor to create your own gradient. Set additional gradient options as desired.
- Pattern: Select a pattern from the pop-up palette. Click Scale and enter a value or drag the scale slider. I scaled my bubble pattern 250%. Click Snap to Origin to position the origin of the pattern with the document window. Finally, select the Link with Layer option to specify that the pattern moves with the fill layer if you move it.
4. Click OK.
After you close the dialog box, the fill layer appears in the Layers palette, as shown in Figure 1-6. Similar to adjustment layers, you’ll notice the layer mask that was created on the fill layer. In my example, the word fujiyama appears white on the layer mask, thereby allowing my pattern to show through. The remaining areas are black, hiding my pattern. I added a couple of Layer Styles (Drop Shadow and Inner Bevel) to my type to jazz it up a bit.

If you want to delete the fill layer, do one of three things: Drag it to the trash can icon in the Layers palette; choose Delete from the Layer menu; or choose Delete Layer from the Layers palette options menu. One final note. You can also rasterize a fill layer to convert it to a regular raster image. Choose Layer-->Rasterize-->Fill Content. This will enable you to use painting tools or filters on the layer.