I'll be using Photoshop CC but you can also follow along with Photoshop CS6.
In this first tutorial, we'll learn how to create smart objects in Photoshop.
This makes smart objects perfect for creating reusable templates! We'll look at different ways to use smart objects throughout this series of tutorials. We can make multiple copies of a smart object, all displaying the same content, and then edit or even replace the content and have our changes instantly appear in each and every copy. We can scale and resize the container, apply transformations, warps and distortions, and even apply Photoshop's filters to a smart object, all without any loss in quality and without making a single permanent change to the layer inside it. (See Work with Smart Objects.) Transforming a vector shape or path is always non-destructive because you’re only changing the mathematical calculations producing the object. To apply non-destructive transformations to raster images, use Smart Objects. You could resize an image as often as you desire without affecting its quality. The container protects the contents inside it from harm. Transforming affects image quality when you manipulate the pixels. Could your action open the original image, make the background layer (or all layers if a PSD) a smart object, resize the entire image to meet your pixel scale needs, then copy and paste the smart layer to your working document (Close the original without saving. Smart Objects are Photoshop layers that share all the same information about the layer as regular layers, however Smart Object layers are capable of editing images to non-destructive resolutions. And we'll even learn how to place Adobe Illustrator files directly into Photoshop as smart objects! What are smart objects?Ī smart object is a container that holds the contents of a layer. We'll also look at how to open raw files as smart objects, both from within Photoshop's Camera Raw plugin and from Adobe Lightroom. In this tutorial, I show you how to create smart objects in Photoshop! You'll learn how to open a new image into Photoshop as a smart object, how to convert an existing layer into a smart object, and how to place an image as a smart object into your Photoshop document.