Question

What are Shape effects? And why do I see warning messages like these when I use them?

"Bevel works much better if you start with a shape in a layer or an interesting selection."

"Backlight requires a shape in a layer or a selection. The shape or selection should not take up the entire layer."

Answer

Eye Candy's shape effects are primarily used on logos and titles. These effects need to find the edge of a shape, which you provide in the form of text, layers with opacity, or with a selection.

If you do not provide a shape, the entire rectangular image is considered as the shape. Most of the time, this is not what you want and Eye Candy will show you a warning message similar to those shown above.

Before you use any of Eye Candy's Shape effects, you should create a shape in Photoshop using a text layer, a layer with opacity or by making a selection. Watch this video for more information about Eye Candy's Shape effects.