
For The Boss to work, you need to apply a mask to the image. Depending on which portion is masked, you can make it look like elements are embossed outward or inward. For this image, I “Masked All,” then used the Mask/Shape/Reduce function, to create a uniform margin from the image border to the mask. I then inverted the mask, and applied The Boss effect. This caused the entire image to look sort of like a tray. Had I not inverted the mask, it would have appeared raised rather than sunken.
Next, I applied a mask to the text, using Mask/Create from Objects… To get a smoother effect, I then expanded that mask a few pixels, and then applied The Boss to it. This caused the text to look like it is embossed outward.
“The beanie?” Uh-h, well… only a Copterhead would design a Mother's Day graphic that looks like it was produced by inmates on the license-plate detail.