Hi. I am using CS2. I have a PSA document with alot of layers. I tried to flatten it, but the image appears differentafter flattening. Some of the layer styles appear to be more intense in the flattened version, specifically the stroke. Is this normal? How do I get my document not to change after flattening?
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You both are right. When I view the image at 100% it does not appear to change. When I view the images both at a smaller screen size the images appear different. It is weird that 2 identical images appear different when viewed at 16%.
It’s not that weird, really. Any view other than 100% is a representation of an image that does not exist. If you view at more than 100%, Photoshop has to make up (invent) pixels that aren’t there. If you view at less than 100%, Photoshop has to discard information (pixels).
When Photoshop discards pixels from, say, five different layers, it will discard pixels from each layer. When you flatten the same image and view it at 16%, Photoshop is discarding pixels only from the final, flattened image. Apples and oranges.
Yeah, but if two images are identical, the only difference is that one image is flattened and the other is not and both are viewed at the same size, say 16%, shouldn’t the images appear the same? Shouldn’t photoshop discard the same pixels in each image?
But they’re not identical (that’s the point Ramón is making)
Shouldn’t photoshop discard the same pixels in each image?
The same pixels do not exit in each image. Each layer gets interpolated to whatever size you are viewing at, then gets combined with the other layers. Once flattened the resulting pixels were combined when you performed thte flatten and then get interpolated to the view size.
Kind of like putting the cart in front of the oxes vs the oxes in front of the cart.
I understand that the image gets interpolated at whatever size I am viewing it at, but if one file is a duplicate of the other, flattened after duplication, shouldn’t the two images appear the same when viewed at the same size? The viewing size is the same and one image is a flattened duplicate of the other.
The logical answer is that Photoshop downsamples pixels which are the result of layers styles and effects differently than it downsamples flattened pixels.
Some blending styles – when they interact in a counter productive way, like canceling out each other, they will yield a different end result when flattened. There have been cases with blending mode bugs in earlier versions of Photoshop that may or may not have come back in the application. Some layer styles produce different results with different blending modes. ie. The image looks one way flat and another when layered. Also, grouping styles creates havoc at times when mutiple groups are all twisted up with different blending styles.
Just cuz you can build it a certain way, does not mean you should.
To fully evaluate the issue, we would have to see what is going on in your file.
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