Note: this tutorial has been updated on to cover the new electricals materials that have been added to Floating Sandbox in version 1.15.
create one layer for contrast adjustments, one for color adjustments and another for sharpening.This is the first part of a multi-part post explaining how to build electrical layers in ships for Floating Sandbox. It’s a good idea to begin creating individual Adjustment Layers for the specific type of adjustments you’re going to make. Using them correctly provides you with extra control and flexibility that can help take your photo editing skills to the next level. Layers might seem scary to begin with but they are one of the most powerful features found in Luminar 4. Another big benefit is that you can adjust both the Amount (opacity) and the Layer Mask of each individual layer, making it possible to further fine-tune adjustments and apply them only to specific areas of your image. The next layer can be named ‘Colors’ and is where you apply all adjustments related to the tonality.įollowing this workflow is going to give you extra control over the individual adjustments. A good strategy is to rename each layer and use them only for specific adjustments.įor example, name one layer ‘Contrast’ and add all adjustments related to the image’s contrast to it. After all, it’s the easiest way!Ī much better and more flexible approach is to only apply a handful of adjustments to each Adjustment Layer. Yet, this is the method most of us follow in the beginning.
This is by far the easiest and quickest solution but it’s restricting your possibilities and can ultimately be damaging for the final result. It’s possible to do all of your post-processing in one single layer. However, I do believe there are some practices that you’ll benefit from learning and implementing. Some choose to apply all adjustments on a simple layer while others create a new one for each adjustment. The truth is that there isn’t one correct way to use them. Now to the final and most important question: how do you use layers in Luminar 4? Select the layer type you want to create and it will be added on top of your other layers. This opens a small dropdown list with three options: Add New Adjustment Layer, Add New Image Layer and Create New Stamped Layer.
It’s this type of layer that you’ll want to work with in 99% of your post-processing workflow. Recommended Reading: My Best Luminar 4 Post-Processing Tips It’s not until you apply an adjustment (for example AI Structure) that you’re going to see an affect on the image. Keep in mind that creating an Adjustment Layer doesn’t alter the image in any way. Even though the sharpening layer is on top, changes later made to the color layer are still visible. Let’s say that you create two adjustment layers: the bottom one is used to alter the colors and the top one for applying additional sharpness using the AI Structure Tool. This is known as a non-destructive workflow. That means changes made to layers further down on the hierarchy become visible. The main benefit is that they are transparent until you apply an adjustment to them and, depending on the adjustment, they don’t conceal adjustments made on other layers. So we know that Image Layers and Stamped Layers conceal all layers beneath them. Adjustment Layers for a Non-Destructive Workflow