Can't draw on layers

[winwintoo]

I started with a photo and applied a layer mask, did the white/black thing to remove background. Then I option clicked on the mask icon to show the white/black mask.

I tried to paint on the mask to clean up some places I missed. It wouldn't let me paint - painted, but nothing showed up on the layer.

Created a new layer, can't paint on it either. Used the rectangle tool and made a couple of shape layers but can't draw on any other new layers.

Finally found the fill tool and it filled the active layer, but didn't fill it all, it seemed like it only filled around something that was already there. But I couldn't see anything there - I had tried to paint on that layer, but nothing showed. I should have tried to select but didn't think of it.

I deleted all those layers and tried again to fix missed spots on the mask and now it works and a new layer allows me to paint.

Obviously I accidentally invoked some magic that wouldn't allow my paint brush to leave a mark that's visible to the naked eye, but I can't figure out what I did to make it not work, nor can I figure out what made it work again.

I did check and none of the layers were locked, all were created above the layer with the mask. The shape layers wanted to be rasterized, so I did that but I couldn't paint on them.

I feel as if I'm rambling, but I'm really mystified. I don't mind doing the heavy lifting. I will read the help files, but I haven't a clue what to look for.

Can someone please shed some light on this for me.

Thanks, Margaret

[Cameraken]

Re: Can't draw on layers

Hi Margaret

It sounds like you may have made a selection of an area.
If an area of the image if selected then you would not be able to draw anywhere except within the selected area and if the selection is made my accident then it may be a very small area.
The ‘fix’ is to goto the ‘Select menu’ and choose ‘deselect’ or ‘select all’.

Hope this helps

Ken

[winwintoo]

Re: Can't draw on layers

Hi Margaret

It sounds like you may have made a selection of an area.
If an area of the image if selected then you would not be able to draw anywhere except within the selected area and if the selection is made my accident then it may be a very small area.
The ‘fix’ is to goto the ‘Select menu’ and choose ‘deselect’ or ‘select all’.

Hope this helps

Ken

Thanks Ken, I'll try that. I remember that I had a selection at one point but I thought I dismissed it. I'm trying to recall to memory the various shortcuts. It'll come to me eventually

[daygraphics]

Re: Can't draw on layers

It may seem that you hadn't selected something or that you weren't painting in an alternate mode i.e. color, hue, saturation, lighten etc., but I can pretty much guarantee that one of those is the case here. I feel pretty confident that this is the case - as I have done this myself. Changed some sort of mode setting or brush function and "could not" get something to work as I knew it should. I sometimes have to sit back, think all things through, do a restart - and make sure that everything is as I want it - and that's when I will find something is wrong. Finally - one strange occurrence sometimes happens to me as well. I work as a designer and a retouch artist - so it is not unusual for me to have 5-6 applications open at once. Indesign, illustrator, etc.. Something funky happening in Photoshop and won't stop. Touch one of the other applications or desktop, coming out of photoshop, and then comer back in - and it works. Sometimes I've been working on file for so long and so involved that I need to Save, Shut down PS and all other apps and restart PS, open my file and it is working. Just my experiences. If you have the file that it isn't working on - you can post it at an line server, and I'm sure some here would be glad to look at it.

[winwintoo]

Re: Can't draw on layers

It may seem that you hadn't selected something or that you weren't painting in an alternate mode i.e. color, hue, saturation, lighten etc., but I can pretty much guarantee that one of those is the case here. I feel pretty confident that this is the case - as I have done this myself. Changed some sort of mode setting or brush function and "could not" get something to work as I knew it should. I sometimes have to sit back, think all things through, do a restart - and make sure that everything is as I want it - and that's when I will find something is wrong. Finally - one strange occurrence sometimes happens to me as well. I work as a designer and a retouch artist - so it is not unusual for me to have 5-6 applications open at once. Indesign, illustrator, etc.. Something funky happening in Photoshop and won't stop. Touch one of the other applications or desktop, coming out of photoshop, and then comer back in - and it works. Sometimes I've been working on file for so long and so involved that I need to Save, Shut down PS and all other apps and restart PS, open my file and it is working. Just my experiences. If you have the file that it isn't working on - you can post it at an line server, and I'm sure some here would be glad to look at it.

I know what you mean. Often I find the answer as I try to describe a problem - it didn't work this time, but you all have given me good advice and place to start looking for how I created the problem.

[OP4LIFE]

Re: Can't draw on layers

I started with a photo and applied a layer mask, did the white/black thing to remove background. Then I option clicked on the mask icon to show the white/black mask.

I tried to paint on the mask to clean up some places I missed. It wouldn't let me paint - painted, but nothing showed up on the layer.

Created a new layer, can't paint on it either. Used the rectangle tool and made a couple of shape layers but can't draw on any other new layers.

Finally found the fill tool and it filled the active layer, but didn't fill it all, it seemed like it only filled around something that was already there. But I couldn't see anything there - I had tried to paint on that layer, but nothing showed. I should have tried to select but didn't think of it.

I deleted all those layers and tried again to fix missed spots on the mask and now it works and a new layer allows me to paint.

Obviously I accidentally invoked some magic that wouldn't allow my paint brush to leave a mark that's visible to the naked eye, but I can't figure out what I did to make it not work, nor can I figure out what made it work again.

I did check and none of the layers were locked, all were created above the layer with the mask. The shape layers wanted to be rasterized, so I did that but I couldn't paint on them.

I feel as if I'm rambling, but I'm really mystified. I don't mind doing the heavy lifting. I will read the help files, but I haven't a clue what to look for.

Can someone please shed some light on this for me.

Thanks, Margaret

i had same problem, but i go into photoshop's directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe Photoshop CS6) and i delete config and data and next time i open photoshop it worked.

[Crumbly]

Re: Can't draw on layers

Hi OP4LIFE. I don't think the folks above understood the problem - I've had it, too. What happens is that there is a small irregular area, maybe only 6 -10 pixels across, on the image which you can't paint over, either on the background or on any new layer above it. You can splash paint everywhere except on that little patch. Once it happens, you'll see it on all future other images.
Your suggested fix, which no doubt worked for you, looks a bit drastic. I looked inside that file and was alarmed by the amount of set-up data which probably would be lost.
The fix which worked for me came from an Adobe FAQ page which suggested a Tool Reset. So, select the Brush tool, go to the top brush menu bar, second from the LH end is the downward arrow Tool Preset Picker, right click on that and select Tool Preset, and Voila! all mended.