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Using Layers In Photoshop for Coloring and Effects
The initial artwork
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Learning how to utilize layers in Photoshop can make a huge difference in the quality of your computer colored work. Far too many people color directly on their scanned in artwork, making revision a huge pain that can be easily avoided. Once you have a good understanding of how layers work, you'll be able to control each aspect of your picture, with much cleaner and stronger results.
After scanning in my artwork (check the Scanning tutorial if you're unsure of how to prep your work for coloring), I load it up in Photoshop. Although in this tutorial I'm using Photoshop 6.0, any version after 4 should have similar or identical features to what I'm covering here.
The Layers Window
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If the Layers window isn't already showing, go to Window>Show Layers and it will pop up for you. If you hover your mouse over each area, you'll see what each icon does. Actually, you can do that with pretty much any button in Photoshop. Just leave your arrow over top of something you don't understand, and a little text box will pop up to describe it for you. Easy stuff!
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Currently, our line artwork is called the Background layer. The little padlock icon beside it means that it's locked and is the base layer. The  means that we're currently viewing that layer. You can view as many layers simultaneously as you want. Any layers that have that the on means that you're viewing them. By left-clicking on it, you can turn on or off the viewing of that layer.
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Create New Layer and Delete Layer
When you double-click on the word Background, it'll bring up a separate window called 'New Layer'. Under Layer Name, I usually type in Line Art. Naming your layers appropriately helps keep things organized. Later on if you've got a dozen or more layers, having clear names helps to keep track of where everything is. From there, click OK and you'll have changed the locked Background layer to a floating layer called Line Art. Then, click on the Create New Layer button and you should see something like what I've got on the right. You've created a new layer, and now we can add to that layer without wrecking our original artwork. Obviously, the trash can is for deleting unnecessary layers.
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Creating a New Layer
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If it helps, think of each layer like a piece of glass laid over top of each other. We can move each layer independently and control the Properties of each layer to create different effects. You can create as many layers as you want and have different elements on each one.
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