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orkitect
Participant
October 20, 2018
Answered

Painting beyond Canvas

  • October 20, 2018
  • 4 replies
  • 3656 views

Hi all,

I apologize if this is a duplicate but I've tried finding an answer and can't seem to find anything related to this issue more recent than 2017.

With older versions of Adobe Photoshop, I distinctly remember being able to paint beyond the canvas.  For instance, I could paint several large objects beyond the size of the canvas, and then move the layers around to get the desired balance / look I'm going for.  Here is a basic example:

Previously, I could fill the selection and then move the large box around on it's own layer.  With the current version of Photoshop, filling the selection only fills the layer within the bounds of the canvas, leaving the areas outside the canvas unfilled.  In my workflow, I would purposely fill large spaces so I could move/rotate my selection around without having cut off edges.  I can no longer seem to do that. 

Is this the way it works now, or is it a bug in the software? Is there perhaps a feature or preference I can enable/disable to get the old behavior back?  Any help would be appreciated!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer JJMack

    If you paste in a layer larger the the canvas size the layer will be larger that the canvas size.  If you add a new layer the layer it will be empty  its bounds  nothing.  If you paint in  a few  pixels the layers bounds will be a few pixels the layer will be smaller than canvas size.  If you add a new layer and do a select all the selection  will be canvas size,  If  fill the selection  the new layer will be canvas size,  If you  transform the layer larger than canvas size,  The layer will be larger than canvas size.   It would be easy to record an action that would add a layer to a document that is larger than the canvas size. You could assign a F key as a shortcut Pressint the fucuion key would add tor layer the is larger than canvas size.

    Step 1 Ctrl+sSift+Alt+N  add new layer without dialog.

    Step 2 Ctrl+A Select all

    Step 3 menu Edit>Fill 50% Gray.

    Step 4 Ctrl+D deselect

    Step 5 Ctrl+T set width  and height in tool option bar to 200% and commit the transform

    4 replies

    lambiloon
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 21, 2018

    Yes dear sir its not useable which is outside canvas

    Ali Sajjad / Graphic Design Trainer / Freelancer / Adobe Certified Professional
    JJMack
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 21, 2018

    Seems I just demenstrated I can do it in photoshop however, viewing paint in a thumbnail outside the canvas area is not that useable IMO.

    JJMack
    orkitect
    orkitectAuthor
    Participant
    October 21, 2018

    Hi JJMack​, thank you for your reply!

    This is exactly the type of behavior I'm looking for.  However, is there a way to make the layers larger than the canvas by default?  The only way I can see to make the layer bigger than the canvas is to paint a base color, resize it to stretch beyond the canvas, and then use the new dimensions moving forward.

    Any advice?

    JJMack
    Community Expert
    JJMackCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    October 21, 2018

    If you paste in a layer larger the the canvas size the layer will be larger that the canvas size.  If you add a new layer the layer it will be empty  its bounds  nothing.  If you paint in  a few  pixels the layers bounds will be a few pixels the layer will be smaller than canvas size.  If you add a new layer and do a select all the selection  will be canvas size,  If  fill the selection  the new layer will be canvas size,  If you  transform the layer larger than canvas size,  The layer will be larger than canvas size.   It would be easy to record an action that would add a layer to a document that is larger than the canvas size. You could assign a F key as a shortcut Pressint the fucuion key would add tor layer the is larger than canvas size.

    Step 1 Ctrl+sSift+Alt+N  add new layer without dialog.

    Step 2 Ctrl+A Select all

    Step 3 menu Edit>Fill 50% Gray.

    Step 4 Ctrl+D deselect

    Step 5 Ctrl+T set width  and height in tool option bar to 200% and commit the transform

    JJMack
    lambiloon
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 21, 2018

    Hi yes that is not possible as told by sir jjmack only in Adobe illustrator we such option...Thanks

    Ali Sajjad / Graphic Design Trainer / Freelancer / Adobe Certified Professional
    JJMack
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 20, 2018

    If a layer is larger then the canvas you can paint outside the canvas area. However, The only place you can see the paint is in the Layer Palette in layer thumbnail for the layer content. When the panel view is set to layer bounds . The document canvas will clip the layer in the image window.

    .

    JJMack