Smart objects in Adobe Photoshop Class - 18 [Adobe Photoshop for Beginners]:

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As you create and build in Photoshop,

you will find yourself repeatedly performing various tasks.

A common task is to frequently resize images

in your composition.

Designing with raster images in Photoshop

can sometimes prove hazardous.

If you ever scale up an image above the original size,

you will lose the sharpness in the image.

Another task is updating and adding

new visuals to compositions.

As you bring in new raster images

from files and other documents,

it can be a challenging task to manage them all

in the layers panel.

As you create,

you will find yourself building complex layer structures

and it will help to stay organized.

In Photoshop there is a smart way of working with images

to help maintain quality

and maintain a well-organized document.

In this  tutorial I'm going to be discussing the use

of Smart Objects in Photoshop.

I'll be discussing why we use them

and how to build them into a composition.

By the end of this tutorial,

you will have a good understanding

of Smart Objects in Photoshop.

So to follow along with this Blog,

So, what are Smart Objects?

Well, Smart Objects are layers within a composition

that contain image data from raster or vector images.

Smart Objects are layers that contain original image content

with all its original characteristics.

This enables you to perform

non-destructive editing to a layer.

So let's see this in action.

So over on the left we have

what look like two identical images.

Now these are actually quite different.

So if we look over in the layers panel

in the Example Area we can see two layers:

one called PURPLE BIRD and one called PINK BIRD

Now if we look carefully, we can see that on

the PINK BIRD layer this has an icon on the image thumbnail.

Now this is a Smart Object icon.

This icon indicates that this layer is a Smart Object.

So currently, they look identical.

But let's take a look at raster image above.

So I'll select this layer in the layers panel, PURPLE BIRD,

and press Command T to activate free transform.

So I'll scale this image right down, like so,

then press Enter to commit.

I'll press Command T again and scale back up

to the original size and press Enter.

So now we can see some deterioration in quality.

The image is now looking a little pixelated

and not very sharp.

So next I'll come down and select the Smart Object layer,

the pink bird, and perform the same task.

So I'll press Command T to activate free transform

and scale the image right down,

I'll press Enter, then I'll press Command T again

and scale back up.

Now this time, there is no deterioration in quality,

compared to the example above.

So why is this?

Well our first example is a raster layer.

We learned previously in the course that a raster image

is made of physical pixels.

As we scale and image down, pixels are taken away.

We lose no superficial quality,

though the size of the image will be smaller.

When we blow up a raster image,

Photoshop is going to have to generate new pixels

to increase the image,

thus, deteriorating the quality of the image.

Just like we saw a second ago.

We can see now that the top example

is looking pretty pixelated

and not as sharp as it was originally.

This is the main issue when designing

with raster images in Photoshop.

As you design a composition,

you may change your mind frequently about raster objects

in your composition.

Constantly changing raster image sizes may lead

to going over the original image size.

If this happens, you will begin to lose the sharpness

of the image, as we see in the example here.

So the second example is a Smart Object layer.

This layer contains image data from a larger raster image.

Now let's for a second come over to the smart object layer.

Now if I carefully place my mouse cursor

over the Smart Object layer thumbnail and double-click,

all of the sudden the Smart Object image

will be opened in a new tab.

So here we are looking at the original image

in its own right.

We can see here that the image is in fact a lot larger

than in the previous document.

So if I press Command W to close this tab down,

we will come back into the original composition.

So Smart Objects are essentially links

to higher quality compositions within a Photoshop document.

So scaling this down and then back up

has no effect on quality because in theory,

we are not scaling the image,

only a representation of the image here in this composition.

So let's come over to the right

and see how we can create a Smart Object layer

in our composition.

First, I'll come into the layers panel

and toggle at the example area folder

and toggle down the exercise area and select it.

So if we look in the layers panel,

we can see that there are two layers here,

a bird and a white base.

If we look closely at the layers,

we can see that these are both simple raster image layers.

Nothing special about these.

So on this occasion, I would like to bring the bird layer

into my other document.

So I'll press V to activate the move tool,

I'll select the bird layer in the layers panel,

then I will click in the canvas area and drag

into the top panel of my previous document.

When the document appears, I'll place my mouse cursor

into the canvas area and release click.

Upon release, the raster document will drop into my document

as a new layer in the layers panel.

So as we can see, the raster image

is currently rather large in my document area.

Now if I simply activate free transform

and scale this down,

this will simply create a smaller raster image.

But I don't want to do that.

I want to maintain the highest quality of this image.

So I'll quickly undo that,

and come over into the layers panel

and place my mouse cursor over this new layer

in my layers panel.

If I right click, up will pop a menu.

From this menu, I'm going to chose "Convert to Smart Object"

Upon click we will now see the Smart Object icon applied

to this layer.

This layer is now a Smart Object.                             

So if I go ahead and press Command T

to activate free transform,

I can scale this image down in the knowledge

that this layer contains a link

to the original raster image that is very large.

So if I scale this image right down

then scale back up again,

we will not lose any quality.

Now if I come into the layers panel and double-click

on the new Smart Object,

we will then open the Smart Object in another tab.

So I'll press Command W to close this.

So why is this now opening in a new tab

when I brought this into a new document in the first place?

Well this is how Photoshop deals with Smart Object layers.

When you make a layer a Smart Object,

you separate the original from the current document.

This allows you to organize your main composition,

manipulate the size and effect of any Smart Object

in a non-destructive way.

Using Smart Object is also good if you wish

to change or edit and object.

For example, I'll come over and double-click

on the "BIRD" Smart Object thumbnail.

With it open in a new tab I'll press Command J

to duplicate the layer.

So now we have two layers in the Smart Object document.

So I'll toggle the visibility of the first layer

and I'll make a quick modification to the new layer's color.

So I'll just quickly change

the hue saturation of this layer.

I'l press Command W to close the document.

Photoshop will ask if I wish to save,

I'll click "Yes."

Upon saving we will go back to the original comp,

and now we can see the new update.

So Smart Objects can also include many layers.

Smart Objects work really well when you have lots

of complex graphics in your main composition.

If each creative object exists in your composition

as a Smart Object,

this means you can treat them as separate creative entities

and focus on them as individual parts of a bigger picture.

This can help to create a well organized document

and a smooth practical workflow.

So I'll double-click on the Smart Object layer again,

I'll toggle the visibility of the top layer,

and bring back the original.

I'll press Command W to close the tab, press "Save,"

and the Smart Object will update.

Convenient!

Now we can treat Smart Object layers

just like any other layer.

For example, we can apply layer styles to Smart Objects.

If I double-click on the smart Object Layer

to the right of the name in this space,

up will pop the layer styles menu.

And I'll just give this an outer glow, like so.

Easy.

So the last thing to mention is if you use Smart Objects,

your overall file size will be larger.

Remember, Smart Objects generally contain data

for high quality images.

As your composition grows and and contains

more and more high quality images,

the file size will begin to get larger.

So Smart Objects in Photoshop:

Great for maintaining quality and organization

in your documents,

but as a consequence

will make your document file size larger.

So that's Smart Objects in Photoshop.

It's a good habit to use them,

as you will retain high quality at all times.

Now up until this point in the course,

we have mainly been looking at various tools

that enable us to use the program,

get hands on with layers,

and create various elements in the canvas area.

In Photoshop, there are a huge range of color adjustments

that can apply various effects to your photos and graphics.

In the next Blog, we are going to learn about adjustments

and how we can make changes to color on our images.

See you in the next Blog.