Adobe 23101335 User Guide - Page 215

205 Chapter 8: Using Layers W hen you create, import, or scan an image in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe ImageReady, the image consists of a single layer. You can add more layers to the image, allowing you to organize your work into distinct levels. you can see through to the layers below. All layers in a file have the same resolution, start with the same number of channels, and have the same image mode (RGB, CMYK, or Grayscale). About layers A new image in Photoshop or ImageReady has a single layer. In Photoshop, this layer is called the background layer and is analogous to the base layer of a painting. You cannot change the position of the background layer in the stacking order (it is always at the bottom of the stacking order); nor can you apply a blending mode or opacity to a background layer (unless you first convert it to a normal layer). Layers allow you to make changes to an image without altering your original image data. For example, you might store photographs or elements of photographs on separate layers and then combine them into one composite image. Think of layers as sheets of acetate stacked one on top of the other. Where there is no image on a layer (that is, in places where the layer is transparent), The zebra is on the topmost layer. Transparent areas on a layer let you see through to the layers below.