If you’re a designer or photo editor and working on Adobe Photoshop, you may often need to change the size of a layer. Fortunately, Photoshop makes the task really easy and simple to do. You can easily resize layer photoshop when you need it.
There are some extremely easy and fruitful ways that allow you to change the size of a layer in no time. So as a designer or a photo editor, you must know how to do this.
Maybe you could do this using various common photo editing applications found on the internet. Still, photoshop comes with multiple powerful tools and options to resize a layer non-destructively that you won’t get anywhere else. Resizing layers in photoshop is fairly simple, and you just need to go through some easy steps to get the job done.
So today, in this tutorial content, we will show you how to resize layers in photoshop using some easiest tools and techniques.
So, let’s check out this knowledgeable photoshop tutorial article and figure out the process you like most to resize a layer in photoshop.
How to change the size of layers in photoshop using different methods
Basically, there are a couple of methods you can follow to change a layer size photoshop. All of them are typically non-destructive, fairly simple, and give enough control over the different elements of an image that you want to resize.
Let’s see the three easiest and most used tools to resize a layer in photoshop at a glance:
- The Move tool
- The Free Transform tool and
- The Liquify tool
However, all of these tools come with multiple advantages in their own ways. You can take advantage, particularly when you need to.
The Move tool allows you to resize layers in no time and a specific dimension. The Free Transform tool gives finer control over the different elements of the layer, and the Liquify tool allows you to pinch, bloat, push or push or pull a layer, and resize the layer.
So let’s see how the tools work in their own way in detail.
How to Resize layers in photoshop using the Move tool
If you want to know how to resize a layer in photoshop in a specific size? Luckily the move tool allows you to do this very easily. All you need to follow some easy steps in the right way that are following:
Step-1: Open the image
In the very beginning, you have to open the image on photoshop you want to edit. To do this, go to File > Open menu and select the image you want to resize.
Not only an image, but you can also select any object or text as you need to work with.
Step-2: Create a duplicate layer
After selecting the images, objects, or texts, you’ll find the image as the background layer in the layer panel. If you don’t find the layer panel, go to Window > Layers in the layer panel.
But as we said before, photoshop offers non-destructive ways to resize layers; you have to create a duplicate layer of the background layer so that the original layer can be safe from any changes you will do next.
To do this, double click or mouse right click on the background layer and select the duplicate layer option. You can give a suitable name of the duplicate layer as you want.
Step-3: Select the Move tool
Now it’s time to select the Move tool from the left toolbar on the screen. By the way, you will find the Move icon at the top of the toolbar as you can see in the picture below. So click on the icon to activate the tool.
Alternatively, you can also do this by pressing on the V key from your keyboard if you like to work on the keyboard.
Step-4: Work on the layer
Once you activate the Move tool, you will get some handles around the image. Now you can drag the corners and edges to change the original size of the image.
Moreover, you can also fix a specific size of the layer using this tool. To do that, write down the required height and width of the layer in the “H” (height) box and the “W” (width) box. You will find the boxes at the top of the photoshop interface. You should apply the sizes in pixels (px).
After that, when you get the desired size of the layer, press on the Enter key (Windows) or Return key (Mac) to finalize the editing. You can also do this by clicking on the Checkmark on the menu bar.
Step-5: Save the new layer
You can save the File by going through the File> Save As menu when you’re done.
Change layers size in photoshop using the free transform tool
Using the Free Transform tool is one of the most used techniques I’ve ever found in photoshop to resize a layer of photoshop. With this tool, you can literally change the size of a layer in a specific dimension or a private dimension, and you can work on that as long as you don’t get the desired size of the layer.
So let’s see how you can use this tool to resize layers in photoshop.
Step-1: Select the layer
First of all, select the layer you want to resize from the layer panel. Before selecting the layer, make sure that you’ve created the duplicate layer of the original layer and you’re selecting that duplicate layer you made.
Step-2: Switch to the Free Transform tool
After selecting the layer, switch to the Free Transform tool. To activate the tool, go through the Edit > Free Transform menu, as you can see in the picture we attached here.
Luckily there is another option for you. You can also do this by pressing on the command Ctrl + T (Windows) or Cmd + T (Mac) from the keyboard if you want.
Step-3: Edit the layer
After selecting the tool, you’ll find a bounding box over the image like the picture given below. Then drag any side or corner to the direction you want to adjust the layer’s size.
If you want to increase the size of the layer, drag away from the center of the box, and if you want to decrease the size drag toward the center. Hold the Shift button to maintain the proper proportions of the original image.
After that, when you get the selected size of the layer, click on the Checkmark on the menu bar or hit the Enter button from the keyboard to finalize the editing.
Step-4: Save the layer
When you’re done with your editing and fully satisfied with the layer’s size, you can save the layer for permanent. To do that, go to the File menu and select Save or Save As to save the image.
Resize a layer using the liquify tool
Sometimes resizing a layer might not be enough for your editing. You may need to pull, push, bloat or pinch the layer’s pixels along with resizing the layer. Fortunately, Adobe Photoshop allows you to do all these expectations using a single method at a time.
In photoshop, the tool is called the Liquify tool. This tool allows you to play with the pixels. You can push, pull, bloat or pinch them into your desired composition as you want by following some easy steps.
In this section of this tutorial, we will show you multiple tools from the Liquify panel. As well as, we’ll discuss their working style and benefits.
So let’s see how the Liquify tool can help us during editing on Adobe Photoshop.
Step-1: Select the layer
In the beginning, select a specific layer or multiple layers from the layer panel as usual. But remember, every layer you choose should duplicate the original layer if you want to edit in a non-destructive way.
Step-2: Choose the Liquify tool
After selecting the layer, now it is time to choose the Liquify tool. To select the tool, go to Filter > Liquify menu.
In addition, you can also take help from your keyboard as usual. For example, hit Shift + Control + X when you’re a Windows user or press Shift + Command + X if you’re a Mac user.
Step-3: Work on the Liquify panel
Once you select the Liquify tool, a Liquify panel will appear soon on the screen. Then the screen should be like the picture added below.
On the panel, there are two different parts, including different options with multiple purposes. The left part of the panel includes various essential Liquify tools, and the right part of the panel consists of the properties.
You can use these Liquify tools for various purposes, such as you can resize a layer bigger or smaller and pushing, pulling, pinching, bloating, nudge, or zooming the pixels of a layer.
So let’s get introduced to the Liquify tools that could help you.
- The Forward Warp tool
The Forward Warp tool, the first tool from the top of the toolbar, is used to nudge pixels in any direction.
- The Twirl Clockwise tool
The Twirl Clockwise tool will help you to twirl layer pixels in a clockwise motion. You can also twirl the pixels counterclockwise using the Twirl CounterClockwise tool.
You will find this tool just under the Twirl Clockwise tool. You can also hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option (Mac) to do the same thing.
- The Pucker tool
This tool is really excellent. It will help you to steer pixels towards the center of the layer.
- The Bloat tool
The Bloat tool stays just under the Pucker tool, and the way it works is just the opposite of the Pucker tool. It is used to move pixels away from the center of the layer.
- The Shift pixels tool
The shift pixels tool will move pixels from one place to another in the layer as you need.
- The Freeze Mask tool
Can you guess the purposes of this tool? Yeah. Just like the name, it can freeze specific areas of a layer and thus protect them from any distortion.
- The Thaw tool
The Thaw tool is used to unfreeze the areas which are already frozen by the Freeze tool.
- The Zoom tool
Like the identity, the Zoom tool allows the users to zoom in or out of the layer.
Final Thoughts
So that’s all there is to resize layer photoshop. Other Photoshop methods come with various advanced purposes and policies. But you should learn these basic Photoshop methods first.
Because, once you become a master of them, gradually you will be mastered in the other advanced techniques. So your progress will depend on your entire knowledge and hard work.
In the end, thank you so much for being with us, and we hope you found our tutorial helpful.
