ACE Layers and Masking Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the Fill slider in the Layers panel control that the Opacity slider does not?
- The visibility of layer effects while leaving pixel transparency unchanged (Correct answer)
- The overall transparency including layer effects
- The blending mode of the layer
- The transparency of the layer mask
Correct answer: The visibility of layer effects while leaving pixel transparency unchanged
The Fill slider reduces the opacity of the layer's pixels without affecting the opacity of applied layer styles or effects.
Question 2: When using Select and Mask, which edge refinement method works best for selecting fine hair or fur?
- Geometric mode
- Smart Radius with the Refine Edge Brush (Correct answer)
- Polygon Lasso painting
- Threshold-based color selection
Correct answer: Smart Radius with the Refine Edge Brush
Enabling Smart Radius and painting with the Refine Edge Brush allows Photoshop to intelligently detect and include fine strands of hair or fur in the selection.
Question 3: Which type of layer automatically applies nondestructive edits and can be re-edited at any time?
- Background layer
- Smart Object layer
- Adjustment layer (Correct answer)
- Fill layer
Correct answer: Adjustment layer
Adjustment layers apply tonal and color corrections nondestructively, storing settings that can be re-opened and modified at any time.
Question 4: What is the keyboard shortcut to create a new layer via copy of the current selection?
- Ctrl/Cmd+J (Correct answer)
- Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+N
- Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+E
- Ctrl/Cmd+G
Correct answer: Ctrl/Cmd+J
Ctrl+J (Cmd+J on Mac) duplicates the selected content onto a new layer, or duplicates the entire layer if no selection is active.
Question 5: In which panel section do you find Layer Comps, which save multiple arrangements of layer visibility and position?
- History panel
- Layer Comps panel (Window > Layer Comps) (Correct answer)
- Properties panel
- Layers panel options menu
Correct answer: Layer Comps panel (Window > Layer Comps)
Layer Comps are managed in the dedicated Layer Comps panel, accessed via Window > Layer Comps, allowing multiple document states to be saved and recalled.
Question 6: What effect does grouping layers into a Layer Group and setting the group's blend mode to Normal have?
- Layers inside the group blend with each other first before blending with layers below the group (Correct answer)
- The group ignores all internal blend modes and renders as a flat image
- Layer effects are automatically removed from all grouped layers
- The group blends directly with underlying layers using each layer's individual mode
Correct answer: Layers inside the group blend with each other first before blending with layers below the group
When a group's blend mode is set to Normal, the group acts as a composite — layers blend with each other first inside the group, and the result then blends with the layers below.
Question 7: How can you apply a single layer mask to an entire Layer Group?
- Add a mask to each layer individually then link them
- Select the group layer and add a mask from the Layers panel Add Mask button (Correct answer)
- Rasterize the group before masking
- Use the Clipping Mask option on the group
Correct answer: Select the group layer and add a mask from the Layers panel Add Mask button
Selecting the Layer Group in the Layers panel and clicking the Add Layer Mask button applies a single mask that controls the visibility of all layers inside the group.
ACE Layers and Masking Techniques 3
What does the Fill slider in the Layers panel control that the Opacity slider does not?