Layers
18 min
in painting2d, the layer panel is the workspace where all the images that make up your canvas are managed in one place by adjusting each layer's visibility, order, opacity, blend mode, and mask , you compose the final result non destructively confirming parametric shape/text layers as pixel layers (rasterizing), grouping related layers to keep things organized the entire non destructive editing workflow happens in this panel layout top toolbar blend display toggle button header blend mode dropdown and opacity slider + value field for the selected layer layer list per row visibility , thumbnails , name , and rasterize button bottom action bar add , delete , duplicate , group , mask button blend display toggle a single icon button at the very top of the panel each click toggles the canvas preview between the final composite of all layers (blend all) and only the selected layer displayed alone (blend one) use it to flip between seeing the layer in context with the rest of the composition and viewing it in isolation blend dropdown the dropdown button in the first row of the header picks how the selected layer composites against the layers below, from every mode defined in the blendtype enum (normal, multiply, add, and more) the chosen value is applied immediately and can be reverted with `ctrl+z` opacity slider the second row of the header sets the selected layer's opacity in the 0–100 range the slider and the numeric input field are always kept in sync, and the canvas and thumbnail refresh the moment the value changes layer list each layer occupies a single row from left to right visibility, group chevron, thumbnail, mask thumbnail, name, rasterize button visibility toggle unchecking hides the layer and excludes it from canvas composition hiding a group layer hides all of its child layers together group chevron shown only on group type layers click to collapse or expand the child layers ▶ means collapsed, ▼ means expanded layer thumbnail shows a 64px preview of the layer's contents if the layer has a mask and you are currently editing the mask, clicking the thumbnail returns you to editing the layer body mask thumbnail appears only on layers that have a mask clicking it switches to mask editing mode in this state brush/eraser paint into the mask pixels (in mask mode eraser behaves like a white brush) the side you are currently editing (layer body or mask) is indicated with a highlight layer name displayed as a label by default double click turns the label into an inline text field so you can rename the layer press ' enter ' to commit, ' escape ' to cancel rasterize button appears on the row only for fill / sticker / text / shape layers clicking creates a new paint layer that bakes in the current shape, opacity, and blend mode, and removes the original parametric layer the whole operation is a single undo step selection and reordering left click single select this layer shift+click range select from the last clicked layer ctrl+click toggle multi selection drag reorder layers dropping onto a group layer moves the item inside the group delete / duplicate / opacity / blend operations all target the currently active selection bottom action bar five icon buttons are laid out side by side at the very bottom of the panel add layer instantly adds a new paint layer at the position of the current selection the name is auto generated from ' paint layer ' without collisions if the selected layer is a group, the new layer is added at the top inside the group other layer types such as fill / sticker could be created only in painting 3d editor shape / text layers are create automatically when you use shape / text tool delete deletes the currently selected layers multiple selection is supported this action prevents a state where all layers are deleted duplicate duplicates the selected layers directly above them in the same group the name is automatically suffixed with a number layers with masks are duplicated along with their mask group pressing the button opens a context menu with three items add group creates an empty new group layer placed relative to the current selection ungroup enabled only when the selected layer is a group dissolves the group and promotes its child layers up one level merge group enabled only when the selected layer is a group merges the contents of the group into a single paint layer this action respect each child's current blend/opacity mask pressing the button opens a context menu whose items are enabled/disabled based on whether the selected layer already has a mask add black mask adds a black ( fully hiding ) mask disabled if a mask already exists add white mask adds a white ( fully revealing ) mask disabled if a mask already exists remove mask removes the current mask disabled when no mask exists once a mask is added, a mask thumbnail appears on the layer's row clicking it switches to mask editing mode
