Photoshop 2021 New Features, Explained in Full
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Jump to a step in the video (14)
Click a time to play the video from there.
- 0:00 Replace Sky
- 2:07 Pattern Preview
- 4:03 Neural Filters: Smooth Skin
- 6:08 Neural Filters: Smart Portrait
- 8:49 Neural Filters: Colorize
- 10:14 Smart Object Reset Transform
- 11:00 Select and Mask New Features
- 14:37 Photoshop 2021 Plugins Panel
- 15:35 Live Shapes
- 16:36 Discover Panel
- 18:34 Photoshop 2021 Cloud Document Version History
- 21:45 MSI Laptop
- 23:11 Technology Preview
- 59:00 Final Thoughts
Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
Photoshop 2021 new features add an automatic Sky Replacement tool, three new Neural Filters, and a rebuilt Select and Mask workspace, all released together in one update.
Photoshop 2021 is here! Check out all these tutorials to learn all the new features that can improve your workflow and make it more efficient!
Key Takeaways
- Sky Replacement builds its result as a full, editable layer group, so nothing about the swap is permanent.
- The Skin Smoothing and Smart Portrait Neural Filters work best when you output to a new layer and reveal the effect through a black Layer Mask.
- Smart Portrait processes in the cloud, so a faster internet connection returns faster results.
- The Select and Mask workspace can now remember your last Global Refinements settings, or save them as a named preset.
- A Smart Object can reset every distortion you have applied with a single right-click command, instead of repeated undos.
- The Discover panel replaced the old search bar and now doubles as a shortcut finder and a built-in tutorial browser.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Photoshop 2021 New Features: Keyboard Shortcuts
- Replace Sky
- Pattern Preview
- Neural Filters: Skin Smoothing
- Neural Filters: Smart Portrait
- Neural Filters: Colorize
- Smart Object Reset Transform
- Select and Mask New Features
- Photoshop 2021 Plugins Panel
- Live Shapes
- Discover Panel
- Photoshop 2021 Cloud Document Version History
- Technology Preview
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
- Previous Photoshop Updates
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to swap a sky automatically with Sky Replacement
- How to preview a seamless pattern before you save it
- How to smooth skin and reshape a portrait with Neural Filters
- How to reset a Smart Object’s distortions with one click
- How to save your own Select and Mask presets
- How to find any tool or tutorial with the Discover panel
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2021 (version 22.0 or later) or the current version
Photoshop 2021 New Features: Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Free Transform a Smart Object | Ctrl T | Command T |
| Duplicate while dragging in Pattern Preview | Alt | Option |
| Reveal pixels through a black Layer Mask | Alt-click the Layer Mask icon | Option-click the Layer Mask icon |
| Move Tool | V | V |
| Open the Discover panel | Ctrl F | Command F |
Replace Sky
When the weather conditions aren’t perfect, you can easily retouch the sky in your image with Photoshop 2021’s new feature, the Sky Replacement.
This new feature uses Photoshop’s artificial intelligence to automatically determine the sky in the image, select it, and replace it using the Sky Replacement window’s presets.
To use this feature, choose Edit > Sky Replacement.
You can also quickly select the sky in just two clicks by choosing Select > Sky.
If you want to learn more about this amazing tool, make sure to check out our full-length tutorial on the Sky Replacement in Photoshop.
Pattern Preview
Creating a pattern and seeing its outcome has never been this easy!
A new update allows you to preview what your pattern will look like without having to create a new file and apply the pattern.
Open a file that you want to make into a pattern. Then, choose View > Pattern Preview. This view option allows you to see the pattern as a whole and zoom in/out to a greater perspective.
You can also drag-and-drop objects onto the working document and see how the whole pattern alters with every change that you apply.
To save the pattern, choose Edit > Define Pattern > and enter a name.
Now, it’s ready to be used anytime!
Click here to discover how you can generate new patterns!
Neural Filters: Skin Smoothing
Photoshop’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a new trick up its sleeve that smoothens skins without using the Blur tool.
Choose Filter > Neural Filters > click on the Skin Smoothing to toggle on.
When you apply your adjustments, set the Output to New Layer, and Photoshop will generate the changes into a layer for skin smoothing.
Tip: Create the filter’s own Layer Mask so you can choose which parts of the face get the Skin Smoothing effect.
Neural Filters: Smart Portrait
Returning to Neural Filters, you’ll find 14 others under Beta Filters.
One of them is the Smart Portrait, which allows you to change a portrait’s expressions with its Happiness, Surprise, and Anger sliders.
It allows you to change your subject’s appearance by altering the Age, Gaze, Hair Thickness, Head Direction, and Light Direction.
A true game-changer for portrait retouching!
Note: The Smart Portrait filter processes the image in the cloud, not on your computer.
The faster your internet connection, the faster you’ll see the results.
Neural Filters: Colorize
Under Beta Filters, you’ll also discover the new Colorize feature that colorizes black and white or sepia photos.
Colorize uses the same Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that studies your document and applies the appropriate colors to breathe life into it.
Colorize has since graduated out of Beta Filters. It now sits with the Featured Filters in the Neural Filters panel, alongside Skin Smoothing.
If you want to learn more about this powerful new filter, make sure to check out our full-length tutorial on the Colorize Neural Filter in Photoshop.
Smart Object Reset Transform
When you want to reset the distortions applied on your Smart Object, you will no longer need to press the undo command repetitively.
In this new update, right-click on the Smart Object > Reset Transform to remove any transformations you previously applied.
Select and Mask New Features
The Select and Mask workspace has been helpful for creatives in being able to create accurate masks of subjects with intricate details.
The first update includes Refine Hair on the Options bar that functions similarly with the Refine Edge tool but achievable with just one click.
The second update is the Refine Mode with two options: Color Aware and Object Aware.
Color Aware functions best for simple or contrasting backgrounds. Meanwhile, the Object Aware is the best choice for objects such as hair or fur against busy backgrounds.
Photoshop 2021 Plugins Panel
The Menu has a new addition in the form of Plugins.
Upon selecting Plugins panel and selecting Discover Plugins, you will discover useful plugins that can simplify or improve your workflow. They come from the vast collection of plugins available on the Creative Cloud.
Live Shapes
The shapes in Photoshop have drastically improved with the new update.
For example, the Line tool is now easier to work with. It has only two anchor points and an adjustable appearance you can change anytime, similar to the tool in Adobe Illustrator.
This option is also available for the Polygon tool, which now allows you to make rounded edges.
Discover Panel
The new Discover panel replaces the former search bar as it allows you to use it for different purposes.
First, it allows you to search for tools you can’t find.
Then, Photoshop will give you directions by highlighting the tool with an arrow.
Second, when you search for themes such as Retouching, it shows you a list of tools related to that particular workflow.
Third, you can search for tutorials to show you how to achieve a specific effect. I actually have two tutorials in this panel.
At the time of this recording I was the only none-Adobe employee or contractor who was invited to create content for this panel.
Photoshop 2021 Cloud Document Version History
A Photoshop Cloud Document allows you to work on a document with the files saved on the Cloud instead of your computer.
With the Version History update, you can see the different versions of the document done at different times, change the names, and open both versions on different tabs.
Important note: The history expires after 30 days unless you bookmark your favorite ones to keep them.
Technology Preview
One Technology Preview is the Content-Aware Tracing tool that helps define and enhance the details in your image.
This also leads to creating better Vector Masks or Vector Paths.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sky Replacement is a Photoshop 2021 tool that finds the sky in a photo, selects it, and swaps it for a preset automatically. Open it from Edit > Sky Replacement. Photoshop builds the swap as an editable layer group, so you can adjust it afterward.
Neural Filters are AI-driven filters, introduced in Photoshop 2021, that handle tasks like skin smoothing, portrait adjustments, and colorizing black-and-white photos. Find them under Filter > Neural Filters. Some sit in the Featured tab and some in the Beta Filters tab.
No. Colorize started as a Beta Filter in Photoshop 2021 but has since moved into the Featured Filters tab of the Neural Filters panel. It still colorizes a black-and-white or sepia photo with one click.
Right-click the Smart Object in the Layers panel and choose Reset Transform. This removes every distortion or transform you applied, without undoing each one individually.
Color Aware is the classic algorithm, best for simple or contrasting backgrounds. Object Aware, added in Photoshop 2021, is built for hair and fur against busy backgrounds.
The Discover panel replaced Photoshop’s old search bar. Type a tool name to jump straight to it, type a task like retouching to see related tools, or browse built-in, step-by-step tutorials.
Photoshop 2021 is version 22.0, released October 20, 2020 at Adobe MAX. Every feature in this tutorial still works the same way in the current version of Photoshop.
Conclusion
Photoshop 2021 packed a full year of updates into one release: automatic sky swaps, three new Neural Filters, a smarter Select and Mask workspace, and the new Discover panel.
None of these tools take advanced skills. Most take one click, and every one of them still works the same way today.
Watch the full video above for the complete walkthrough, and comment on the video with any questions.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Next, see what’s new in Photoshop 2022.
Previous Photoshop Updates
This post is the Photoshop 2021 entry in the series of Photoshop version write-ups. Here are the others.
- Photoshop 2025 (July Release)
- Photoshop 2025 (April Release)
- Photoshop 2025
- Photoshop 2024
- Photoshop 2023
- Photoshop 2022
- Photoshop 2021, this post
- Photoshop 2020
- Photoshop CC 2019
- Photoshop CC 2018
- Photoshop CC 2017
- Photoshop CC 2015.5
- Photoshop CC 2015
- Photoshop CC 2014
- Photoshop CC
- Photoshop CS6
