Thread: Mah first real map!

If you cntrl-click on layer while another layer is selected, Photoshop will select the the new layer while leaving the old layer selected. Once you have multiple layers selected, you can right click any of them, and one of the options available will be "merge down". What this does is combines the layers and makes permanent any special effects you have on the layers. That means you can't tweak your emboss or outer glow or what have you. Merging is a way of keeping things from getting nuts on the layers.

I suggest merging less when you're learning, as it is always possible to merge, but difficult to un-merge. When you're doing a tutorial, however, do exactly what you're told.

Ok, thanks Immolate.

Another small issue: I am using PS elements 5, and there is no Select > Color Range > Black . any suggestions on how i can get around that?

Also, what does it mean by "copy the background copy layer"?

Mojo, it means duplicate...something I have to edit and will be doing tonight. Whenever you see "copy this layer" what it means is to duplicate the layer. I always forget the proper terminology.

So i need to make a copy (duplicate) the copy of the background, and then merge the "Base" and "Background Copy 1" while keeping "Background Copy 2" separated above? Heres a screenie if it helps...

According to the first image above I'm assuming that you're somewhere around step 8 to 13. The base layer gets merged to the ocean copy layer. So duplicate the ocean layer then click on the base layer, merge down, then proceed.

Ok, I did. That merged Ocean/Background copy 2 with the Base. Now i have the Background layer, An Ocean Layer, And the two Merged Layers, right? Also, I dont have the Select > Color range = black in PS Elements. Is there an equivalent?

I don't have Elements so maybe I need to get that and figure out some work-arounds on my own to put in PSE tut. As for you, you could use the Magic Wand tool to select big black chunks and delete those. The smaller stuff will be much more difficult to magic wand and delete. What most people do is skip these few steps in favor of the Threshhold tool (Image-Adjustments-Threshhold). What I prefer is to use Image-Adjustments-Brightness/Contrast...set the contrast all the way up and move the brightness down until you get something that you like. Before you do any image adjustments, duplicate the layer that you're working on so that if something doesn't come out right you can just delete the whole layer and come back.

The magic wand did fine. I put tolerance all the way to 1 and it deleted everything but the pure white. I presume when I add the coastline noise it will de-blockify (not that its that bad right now) because there was no way for me to put fuzziness at 200.