Using layers
Layers enable you to create and edit each element of your composition separately, without affecting the rest of the painting. In Corel® Painter™ you can view, select, and control layers in the Layers palette.

The Layers palette
The Layers palette lets you view the hierarchy of layers and includes controls for creating, selecting, and managing layers.

• Choose Window menu > Show Layers.

Creating layers
You can create new pixel-based, Watercolor, or Liquid Ink layers directly from the Layers palette.

• Click one of the following buttons at the bottom of the Layers palette:
  • New Layer
  • New Watercolor Layer
  • New Liquid Ink Layer
    The new layer is created directly above the selected layer.

Selecting layers
Selecting a layer lets you make changes to it. If no layer is selected, any changes you make apply to the canvas.

• Click a layer on the Layers palette.

• On the Layers palette, hold down Shift and click each layer you want to select.

Moving layers
When a layer is selected, you can move its content anywhere in the document to create a new image layout.

In the following image, each circle is an independent oval shape on a separate layer.

By moving each layer, we can easily re-arrange the circles:

1. On the Layers palette, select the layer you want to move.
2. Choose the Layer Adjuster tool from the toolbox, and drag the selected layer in the document window.

Viewing layers
You can control your view of an image in the document window by changing layer visibility settings. For example, you can hide one layer to gain better visibility of the layer below it. This is helpful in compositing an image or in applying effects. Hidden layers are indicated on the Layers palette by a closed eye icon on the left of the layer name.

In this example, two of the layers are hidden (Oval 7 and Oval 8), making two of the circles in the image invisible:

In the following image, the Canvas layer is hidden and all other layers are visible:

• On the Layers palette, click the eye icon next to the layer name.
  When the eye is shut, the layer is hidden in the document window. When the eye is open, the layer is visible in the document window.

Changing layer hierarchy
The hierarchy of layers determines how the layers in a document interact. Depending on transparency and other settings, each layer will obscure or otherwise affect the underlying layers.

In this example, no layers are hidden on the Layers palette (all eye icons indicate visible layers), but due to its position in the hierarchy Layer 3 obscures the two layers below it:

Changing the hierarchy of the layers on the Layers palette can affect the original composition. In the image that follows, Layer 3 has been moved below Layer 2:

In the next example, Layer 3 has been moved to the bottom of the stack:

1. Choose the Layer Adjuster tool from the toolbox.
2. On the Layers palette, drag the layer up or down in the layer order.

Grouping layers
Grouping layers enables you to control layers as a unit. To work with individual layers in a group, you must open the group. To regain control of the group as a unit, you must close the group. You can ungroup the layers at any time, and continue working with them individually.

You cannot paint across layers in a group; to paint on all layers in a group, you must collapse the group first. Collapsing a group reduces its contents to a single layer.

1. On the Layers palette, select the layers you want to group.
2. Click the Layer Commands button, and choose Group.

In the following example, the four circles in the image have been grouped. The whole group can then be moved, flipped, and rotated.

• On the Layers palette, click the palette arrow to the left of the group.

1. On the Layers palette, select the group.
   If the group is open, click the palette arrow to close it.
2. Click the Layer Commands button, and choose Ungroup.

1. On the Layers palette, select the group.
2. Click the Layer Commands button, and choose Collapse.
   All layers in the group are merged into a single layer.

Merging layers with the canvas Dropping a layer or group merges its contents with the canvas. Once you drop a layer, you can no longer access the layer's content separately from the canvas.

1. On the Layers palette, select the layer or group you want to drop.
2. Click the Layer Commands button, and choose Drop.

Deleting layers You can delete any layers you created, but you cannot delete the canvas.

1. On the Layers palette, select the layer or group you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button at the bottom of the Layers palette.