Scale Layer Styles Correctly in Photoshop
When you transform a layer in Photoshop, its layer styles (like Stroke, Shadow, etc.) don’t automatically scale, causing mismatched effects. This tutorial shows how to scale effects on a layer and how to enable scaling layer styles during document resizing so your design remains consistent.
Step-by-step instructions
Demonstrate the scaling issue
Select the styled layer (e.g., text with a 20 px Stroke).
Duplicate it: select the Move Tool (V), then Alt/Option-drag the layer.
Transform the duplicate: Edit → Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmd+T), set W to 50% in the Options bar, press Enter/Return.
Notice the smaller layer’s effects look too large (Stroke still 20 px).
Scale the layer’s effects to match the transform
Right-click the layer’s FX icon → Scale Effects… (be sure to click the FX icon).
Enable Preview and set Scale to 50% (or match your transform).
Click OK, then verify the Stroke reduced appropriately (e.g., from 20 px to 10 px).
Scale styles when resizing the entire document
Go to Image → Image Size…
Click the gear icon and enable Scale Styles.
Set the new dimensions (e.g., 50%) and click OK.
If you don’t want styles to scale with the document, uncheck Scale Styles before resizing.
