Rasterizing and merging styled layers

Here’s a simple little method with broad potential for use: taking a layer with layer-styles applied and rasterizing it (merging the layer-styles down to just an editable layer).

Requirements

• Photoshop 6.0 and higher.
• Layers palette is enabled and visible. If yours isn’t, then activate it from the menu by selecting Windows then Layers.

Why rasterize and merge layers?

There’s a lot of good reasons:

• For merging drop shadows generated with layer-styles that require manual cutting.
• Using layer-styles to generate a new layer that will be used to generate a selection, examples of which include:
  • Creating a gradient selection.
  • Creating faded patterns in web-design.
  • Creating selections based on Photoshop patterns.

Below is an example in which a layer containing lots of layer-styles is erased. The first frame shows the unmodified sphere and its layer-styles. The second frame shows the sphere with layer-styles applied after part of it has been erased. The third frame shows what happens when the sphere layer is first rasterized/merged and then the portion erased.

See how when the layer is first merged and then erased that the drop-shadow itself may be erased? The layer-styles that had been applied previous to the rasterization are also graphically preserved, whereas the layer with all the actual layer-styles applied shows great distortion of the intended graphical style.

Rasterizing and merging styled layers

The steps to rasterize a layer are straightforward. Here are two methods that could be used to achieve the same effect:

Method One: directly merge layers

1. Create a new, empty layer (Ctrl+Shift+N/Cmd+Shift+N, or Layer -> New Layer).
2. Take the layer containing the layer-styles that you wished rasterized and drag it so that it is the layer exactly above the empty layer you just created.
3. Make sure the layer you have the styled layer selected, that the empty layer is immediately beneath and that both are not in any layer-sets and press Ctrl+E/Cmd+E to merge the layers.

Method Two: merge a layer group

1. Create a new Layer Set using one of the following methods:
   • Press the New Layer Set button in your layers-palette.
   • Navigate in the menus to Layers -> New -> Layer Set.
2. Create a new, empty layer (Ctrl+Shift+N/Cmd+Shift+N, or Layer -> New Layer).
3. Drag the styled layer you wish to merge into the Layer Set you just created.
4. Drag the empty layer you created in step 3 and drag into the new Layer Set and place it immediately beneath the styled layer.
5. Select the whole layer-set by clicking on it in the layers palette and Ctrl+E/Cmd+E to merge the layers.

Examples

This technique is used a few times in some of the tutorials we already host:

• “Creating a Faded Pattern Tutorial”: – there are two examples of this technique employed:
  • Creating a rasterized pattern from a layer with the Pattern layer-style.
  • Creating a gradient selection from a rasterized gradient layer.
• Wires, Hoses, and Splines Tutorial
  • Create rasterized drop-shadows that can be easily edited using an eraser tool.