Paint on only one layer?

**matt w** · 01-17-2009, 04:26 PM

I'm making slow progress finding the answer to this one simple question:
How do you select one layer in an image to be painted on, while the rest of the layers are immune to the brush?
Photoshop Elements 5.0
thanks!

**Brian07002** · 01-17-2009, 06:17 PM

If I remember correctly in photoshop, you just need to click the eye icon it hides / shows the active layer. Make sure that each image is on a seperate layer, they cannot both be on the same layer.

Bear in mind, last time I used Adobe Photoshop with that kind of detail was in Adobe Photoshop 3.0. I'd say sometime before the year 2000, late 1990's. I can't believe it's been that long.

**matt w** · 01-17-2009, 07:06 PM

Brian07002,
I tried clicking the eye icon (no rhyme intended) and making the layer invisible, but I still get "paint" on the invisible layer.

?????
thanks,
Matt

**chrishirst** · 01-17-2009, 07:14 PM

select the layer you want to "paint on" in the layer palette.

**LadynRed** · 01-17-2009, 07:17 PM

You can't paint on an INVISIBLE layer, the "eye" icon must be ON in order for you to do anything on the layer. Make sure you have SELECTED the layer you want to paint on by clicking ON the layer in the layers palette. Turn the eye icon OFF for any other layers. I'm not real familiar with PS Elements, but if you can LOCK the other layers, that works too.

Also make sure that you don't have any active selections anywhere, use CTRL+D to deselect any active selections.

**matt w** · 01-17-2009, 07:37 PM

Thanks Chris, Brian07002, and Lady,
I had to ctrl-click the layer icon to select the layer, or at least all the opaque areas in the layer, then it becomes a selection that I can paint on excluding other layers. Thanks for your help,
Matt

**Brian07002** · 01-17-2009, 07:39 PM

1. Click the eye icon on the layer you want to hide (so it's hidden)
2. Now paint on the other layer (visible)

Should be easy...

**matt w** · 01-17-2009, 08:11 PM

What I am finding is that locking layers and/or making them invisible does not exclude them from being affected by the paint brush. The paint brush marks the selected layer, and superimposes its effect on top of all the other layers below it, unless you make the layer that has the painting on it invisible. But if I ctrl-click the "layer icon" --the little image of the layer displayed in the layers palette-- then Photoshop shows the layer as selected with the familiar crawling dotted line around it, and the layer is isolated, and you can paint on it exclusively.
This is in Photoshop Elements 5.0, and it could be that I've messed up my software's configuration maybe, but that is how it's working for me.

**LadynRed** · 01-19-2009, 04:41 PM

PS Elements doesn't work exactly like the full-blown Photoshop, it DOES do many things differently.