How to mirror a whole layer, not just brush and eraser

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
January 28, 2023
1 reply
1400 views

Hi. I'm designing a logo and using a mix of brush, rectangle/ellipse tool, and so on, but the symmetry tool only applies to brush and eraser tools. Is there a way to somehow make a smart layer that is a copy of another layer, just mirrored/rotated? I want the symmetry to apply to all the pixels of a layer.

Windows

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c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

Convert the Layers to one Smart Object, cmd-J, Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal, apply a Layer Mask to the top one.

Edit: If transparency is relevant both instances may have to be masked or a different approach (with a knockout layer) employed.

D

default4a1g3fiil39yAuthor

Inspiring

Thanks for the answer! I'm not good with smart objects/layer masks though... Do you mean that I start with two normal layers > select both and convert to smart object > ctrl+j > transform > apply layer mask? How do I apply layer mask? When I press ctrl+j with the smart object selected it just makes a raster copy of the layer independent from the first layer.

I don't mean that I want to copy-paste the drawing and then rotate it on another layer... I want to be able to edit the pixels in one layer and have those changes also reflected on a second layer, which is a flipped copy.

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

When I press ctrl+j with the smart object selected it just makes a raster copy of the layer independent from the first layer.

Because you have an active Selection.

How do I apply layer mask?

Create a Selection and click the »Add layer mask«-button in the Layers Panel or use Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection

Could you please post screenshots with the pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Options Bar, …) visible?

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