Written by Steve Patterson. In the previous tutorial, we looked briefly at what layers are and how they make working in Photoshop so much easier. But before we can start taking advantage of all that layers have to offer us, we need to learn some essential skills for working in Photoshop's Command Central for layers - the Layers panel.

The Layers panel (known as the Layers palette in earlier versions of Photoshop) is where we handle all of our layer-related tasks, from adding and deleting layers to adding layer masks and adjustment layers, changing layer blend modes, turning layers on and off in the document, renaming layers, grouping layers, and anything else that has anything to do with layers. Since it's one of the most commonly used panels in all of Photoshop, Adobe set things up so that the Layers panel opens automatically for us each time we launch the program.

By default, you'll find it in the lower right of the screen. I'm using Photoshop CS5 here but regardless of which version you're using, you'll find the Layers panel in the same general location:

If, for some reason, the Layers panel is not appearing on your screen, you can access it (along with all of Photoshop's other panels) by going up to the Window menu in the Menu Bar along the top of the screen and choosing Layers. A checkmark to the left of a panel's name means it's currently displaying on the screen. If there's no checkmark, it means it's currently hidden:

I've just opened an image in Photoshop:

Even though I've done nothing so far with the image other than open it, the Layers panel is already giving us some information. Let's take a closer look at what we're seeing:

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The Name Tab

First of all, how do we know that what we're looking at is, in fact, the Layers panel? We know because it says so in the name tab at the top of the panel:

You may have noticed that there are two other name tabs to the right of the Layers tab - Channels and Paths - both of which appear grayed out:

These are two other panels that are grouped in with the Layers panel. There's so many panels in Photoshop that fitting them all on the screen while still leaving room to work can be a challenge, so Adobe decided to group some panels together into panel groups to save space. To switch to a different panel in a group, simply click on the panel's name tab. The tab of the panel that's currently being displayed in the group appears highlighted. Don't let the fact that the Layers panel is grouped in with these two other panels confuse you, though. The Channels and Paths panels have nothing to do with the Layers panel, other than the fact that both are also commonly used in Photoshop, so we can safely ignore them while we look specifically at the Layers panel.

The Layer Row

Each time we open a new image in Photoshop, the image opens in its own document and is placed on a single layer. Photoshop represents layers in the document as rows in the Layers panel, with each layer getting its own row. Each row gives us various bits of information about the layer. I only have one layer in my document at the moment, so my Layers panel is displaying a single row, but as we add more layers, additional rows will appear:

The Layer Name

Photoshop places the new image on a layer named Background. It's named Background because it serves as the background for our document. We can see the name of each layer displayed in its row. The Background layer is actually a special type of layer in Photoshop which we cover in the next tutorial:

The Preview Thumbnail

To the left of a layer's name is a small thumbnail image known as the layer's preview thumbnail because it shows us a small preview of what's on that specific layer. In my case, the preview thumbnail is showing me that the Background layer contains my image. I probably could have guessed that on my own since my document only has the one layer, but it's nice to know that Photoshop has my back:

Adding A New Layer

To add a new layer to a document, click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

A new layer appears in the Layers panel directly above the Background layer. Photoshop automatically names new layers for us. In this case, it named the layer "Layer 1". Notice that we now have two layer rows in the Layers panel, each representing a different layer:

If we look in the new layer's preview thumbnail, we see a checkerboard pattern. The checkerboard pattern is Photoshop's way of representing transparency. Since there's nothing else being displayed in the preview thumbnail, this tells us that at the moment, the new layer is blank:

If I click again on the New Layer icon:

Photoshop adds another new layer to my document, this time naming it "Layer 2", and we now have three layer rows, each representing one of the three layers in the document:

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