Photoshop Quick Tip: Layer Fill vs Layer Opacity

Today we're going to be looking at the difference between layer fill and layer opacity. Both fill and opacity deal with the transparency of a layer, but can have very different effects depending on the contents. Let's drop the opacity of one logo to 50% and on the other fill to 50%. Notice that these two layers behave exactly the same. At this point you might write off fill as just another way to control the overall transparency of a layer, but that's not entirely the case. Take a look at our third layer which includes a few layer styles like drop shadow and inner glow. If we set the opacity to 50%, it behaves as expected by adjusting the overall transparency. However, as we adjust the fill percentage, notice how only the logo itself becomes more transparent, while the layer styles remain completely visible. This is the major difference between opacity and fill. The opacity value controls the transparency of everything on a layer, including layer styles. The fill value only affects the actual contents of the layer, in this case our logo. While you'll find yourself using opacity more frequently in your work, the layer fill option is a great way to add some really neat effects to your layers. That's all for this quick tip. Thanks for watching, please like and subscribe to receive more tips and tutorials.

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[godnite]

I've been working with Photoshop for the last 3 years+ and didn't really know the differences between these two. Thanks, learned something new today.

[careycampbell]

That was actually a very helpful tip. : ) Thank you.