Layers

Layers stack parts of a drawing. You might keep a character’s outline above its colour and put the scenery underneath. Select a layer to draw on it without changing the other parts.

Open Layers in Pixl Studio’s side panel. A Pixl has one to 16 layers. The same layer stack is used across the animation: each layer has its own drawing on each frame.

Add, select and arrange#

Choose New layer to insert an empty layer above the current one. It becomes selected and joins the current layer’s group, if any. The new layer is empty on every frame.

The list shows the top layer first. Select a row by clicking it, or focus the row and press Enter or Space. The thumbnail shows that layer’s drawing on the current frame, even if its opacity or visibility is different in the finished picture.

Use Move layer up and Move layer down, drag a layer onto another row, or use Move up and Move down in its menu. Moving a layer changes how it overlaps the layers below it.

Double-click a layer’s name to rename it. A focused layer row also accepts F2. Names are limited to 120 characters. Enter or leaving the field applies the name; Escape cancels the rename.

Delete layer removes the selected layer and its drawings on all frames. The last layer cannot be deleted. At 16 layers, delete one before adding another. You can undo layer changes while they remain in your history.

Show, hide and lock#

The eye beside a layer switches its visibility. Hiding it removes it from the displayed result without clearing its pixels. The lock prevents drawing tools from changing its pixels.

A hidden layer cannot be drawn on, and a layer inside a hidden group counts as hidden too. If the editor says This layer is locked or This layer is hidden, use Layers to unlock or show it before drawing.

Locks protect against drawing strokes. Whole-Pixl operations such as resizing, flipping, rotating and replacing a colour everywhere still reach locked and hidden layers.

Opacity and blend mode#

Select a layer and change Layer opacity from 0 to 100 percent. Type the value, then press Enter or leave the field. Zero makes the layer invisible in the combined image while preserving its pixels.

Blend mode offers Normal, Multiply, Screen and Overlay. Normal places the layer over those below it. The other modes combine its colours with the underlying picture: Multiply is useful for darkening, Screen for lightening and Overlay for increasing contrast. The layer’s opacity controls how strongly its contribution appears.

Groups#

New group makes a group and places the selected layer in it. Drag a layer onto a group header to join it, or use the layer menu’s Move to choice. Remove from group makes the layer independent again.

Groups have one level; they do not nest. A Pixl can hold up to 255 groups, including empty groups. A group’s eye hides or shows its layers together. Collapsing its row only folds the list, so the drawing still appears. Double-click its name or use Rename to change the group name.

Ungroup in the row controls, or Delete group in its menu, removes the group and keeps its layers. It does not delete their artwork.

Reference layers#

Reference layer (not exported) marks the current layer as a drawing aid. Its name appears in italics with not exported beside it. You can see it on the editing board, but it is left out of the saved image shown around Glob Social. Its editable pixels remain in the Pixl so you can reopen them later.

For example, put a rough sketch on a reference layer, lower its opacity and draw the finished lines on another layer. The dock’s finished preview lets you check the result without the reference.

Background colour#

The Background swatch at the top of Layers controls the colour underneath every layer and frame. Open it for a hex field and colour picker. Choose Transparent background there to clear the actual background colour.

This background is included in the finished image. The similarly named Transparent background view switch in the Pixl tab controls whether the editing board shows the checkerboard or the background. Use the finished thumbnail to check what a saved Pixl will look like.

Layer and group rows also have context menus, opened by right-click, Shift+F10 or the Menu key. They provide the same visibility, lock, naming and arrangement actions without requiring you to move to the toolbar.