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There are several ways to beautify images while editing. One of them is to fill layers with various colors, gradients, or patterns. If you know the basics of how to fill layers in Photoshop, this will allow you to create fascinating visuals that will instantly enhance the appeal of your real estate images and catch viewers’ attention.
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Photoshop interface is all about equipping users with ease and abundant functionalities to improve their image editing skills. When it comes to filling layers, not only do you have features and tools to do so effortlessly but there are ample filling options as well, which help unleash your creativity.
You can add interesting effects to your real estate images by filling layers with solid colors, beautiful patterns, and gradients. You can adjust the level of transparency of these fill options according to your editing needs. If that wasn’t enough, you could even fill the layers and selections using the Content Aware feature.
Let’s walk through the various methods and options to fill layers in Adobe Photoshop CC.
The first method to fill layers is to use the Fill command, which is present under the Edit menu. You need to select the layer that needs to be filled from the Layers panel. After that, go to the Edit menu and click on Fill.
This will open the Fill dialog, in which you will get a number of options. The first three options in the Contents drop-down menu are for a solid color fill.
The next option after the solid colors in the Contents drop down of the Fill Dialog is Content Aware. It is one of the highly intuitive automated features in Photoshop that takes image manipulation to a whole new level.
Filling layers with the Content Aware option lets Photoshop analyze the surrounding pixels and replicate them. The feature can be used to remove and replace objects or to extend backgrounds. The Content Aware works in an interactive way as you first give a clue to Photoshop about the surroundings, and then it works to fill the layer with matching content.
Color Adaptation: When you select a layer and choose the Content Aware option from the Fill Dialog, you will see that the Color adaptation option appears, which is checked by default. This lets Photoshop blend the colors with the surrounding.
Choose the pattern fill to fill the layers with unique custom patterns from Photoshop. You can click on the custom pattern drop down and select the desired patterns. If you click on the gear icon, a drop down will appear, showing additional patterns which you can append to the custom patterns.
You can also select a pattern and then click on the Script option and click ok. It will launch another dialog where you can customize the pattern script as you wish.
Tip For Real Estate
Besides the Fill dialog, the paint bucket tool and the Gradients tool can also be used alternatively to fill the layers. The paint bucket will fill the layer contents with solid colors, while the gradients are a patterned blending of two or more colors which add an aesthetic appeal to the visuals.
In the toolbar on the left side of the Photoshop interface, the paint bucket tool is present. You can also select it via the keyboard shortcut G. When you choose the tool, the options bar will appear on the top, where you can set the color or pattern, blend mode, opacity, and tolerance values.
Choose the foreground or background color in the toolbox before choosing the Paint bucket tool.
The Gradients tool can be activated by selecting it from the Paint Bucket Tool flyout. Once you choose the Gradient tool after selecting your layer, you can adjust its settings from the option bar on top.
In the first option, choose the gradient that you want to use. Photoshop has a few default gradients, and more can be appended to the list if you click on the gear icon and select them from the drop down. Or, you can install gradients and add them to the list.
After choosing the Gradient, set the type, blending mode, and opacity to get the desired effect on your layer.
Here are the layer fill keyboard shortcuts to accelerate your Photoshop workflow.
In the Layers panel, you will see a half-filled circle icon, which is used to create Adjustment or Fill layers. If you click on it, you will get the options in the drop-down menu, which include solid color, gradient, or pattern layer.
To create a Fill Layer, select the desired type of layer after clicking on the Create New Fill or Adjustment layer icon, set the layer options from the dialog box that appears, and click OK.
The fill layers do not have any impact on the layers underneath them.
The benefit of using Fill Layers is that you can choose the opacity and blending modes for them after adding them. Also, you can easily rename, duplicate, hide, or rearrange them just like you do with any other layer in the Layers panel.
Filling selections or paths in layers is very simple.
I hope that my in-depth guide will help you with the process of filling layers in Photoshop. Using the multiple layer fill options, you can enhance the appeal of your photos and increase the viewers’ interest in otherwise ordinary-looking pictures. Practice your skills to fill layers in various ways and master the art of beautifying your images effortlessly.
