Working with Layer Styles - understanding Bevel and Emboss

November 10th, 2008 by tommy in Basic

We continue our tour around the Layer Styles window, we go down to the Bevel and Emboss section.

This versatile effect help create a feeling of depth by adding highlight and shadow to layer shapes. Depending on where these highlights and shadows are placed, a 3D effect can be quickly generated.

The bevel effects make an object look as though it has been chiselled away, and is great for giving hard, sharp edges. The emboss options are a bit softer and make objects seem to rise out of the document or look as though they have been stamped into the page. In addition to deciding on a bevel or emboss, you also have control over the size of the effect, the direction of light and shadows and the shape of the edges. The option to apply a texture is also worth investigating and opens up even more options.

With the Layer Style window open and the Bevel and Emboss checkbox checked, go to the Style drop-down menu in the middle section to pick whether you go for a bevel or an emboss.

Bevel and Emboss options:

Style - this is where you choose the type of beveling that you want to apply.Outer Bevel adds a bevel outside the layer boundary, giving the impression of the layer being raised from its background.
Inner Bevel adds the bevel inside the layer boundary instead, making the layer itself look beveled and 3D.
Emboss adds a bevel across the layer boundary, giving the impression of the layer being stamped on the underlying layers.
Pillow Emboss adds shading to both the inside and outside of the layer boundary to make the layer look like it’s embedded in the underlying layers.
Stroke Emboss adds embossing to the layer’s Stroke effect only.

Technique - this option lets you tweak the method that Photoshop uses when forming the beveling effect.

Smooth applies a small amount of blur to the effect to produce a softer result.

Chisel Hard hugs the contours of the layer boundary much more accurately, preserving features from the layer contents, making it great for type layers.

Chisel Soft is a compromise between Chisel Hard and Smooth. It usually doesn’t follow the contours as accurately as Chisel Hard, but it produces a gentler effect.

Depth - this option specifies the contrast of the shading used for the effect.

A high value results in a high level of contrast, producing a pronounced, or deep, bevel. A low value produces low-contrast shading, giving the impression of a shallow bevel.

Direction - this option controls whether the beveling effect makes the layer appear raised (Up) or indented (Down). It’s the equivalent of rotating the Angle setting by 180 degrees.

Size - use this option to control the size of the bevel in pixels. Click and drag the slider to change the size, or type a value in the box to the right of the slider.

Soften - this option is great for smoothing over artifacts caused by using either of the Chisel techniques. It adds a touch of blurring to the effect to help smooth things out.

Angle and Altitude - use the Angle option to adjust the direction of the light source used for the bevel effect. Click and drag the little crosshair in the circle, or type a value in the Angle box to the right. You can also adjust the altitude of the light source. Drag the crosshair toward the center to move the light source directly overhead and high up. Drag it toward the edge to move the source more toward the horizon. You can also type a value for the light source altitude, in degrees, in the Altitude box, 0 degrees - puts the light source on the horizon, while 90 degrees - puts it directly overhead.

Use Global Light - this option locks the effect’s Angle and Altitude settings to the Global Light settings. This means that this effect, and all other effects in your document that have Use Global Light selected, use the exact same lighting settings, thereby guaranteeing a consistent look to the effects. If you change the effect’s Angle and Altitude settings with Use Global Light selected, the Global Light angle and altitude also are changed.

Gloss Contour - this option controls how the highlights and shadows that make up the effect are mapped across the range of the effect. Choose a preset contour by clicking the downward-pointing arrow next to the box, or create your own contour by clicking the graph in the box. The Input values along the bottom of the graph represent the areas in shadow in the effect (on the left) to the areas in the light (on the right). The Output values up the side of the graph represent the amount of shadow (at the bottom) or highlight (at the top) to apply. So the default Linear gradient exactly maps shadowed areas to shadows, and lit areas to highlights. By varying the curve within the graph, you control how the “dark” and “light” areas of the bevel are shaded.

Anti-Aliased - if you use a fairly complex Gloss Contour graph, with lots of spikes, then you’ll probably notice that the glossy effects appear jagged in the image, particularly if your original layer is quite small or detailed. By selecting the Anti-Aliased option, you can smooth out these transitions, resulting in a less jagged effect.

Highlight Mode, Color box and Opacity - these settings control the blending mode, color, and opacity to use for the Highlight shading in the effect. To create the bevel, Photoshop applies a Highlight and a Shadow. These are usually applied to the “light” and “dark” areas of the effect, respectively, but you can change this mapping using the Gloss Contour option. Use the Highlight Mode menu to select a different blend mode. Click the Color box to pick a different color to use for the highlight. Click and drag the Opacity slider to control how opaque or transparent the highlight is.

Shadow Mode, Color box and Opacity - these controls apply to the Shadow shading used for the effect and behave much like their Highlight counterparts described previously.