Using Layer Comps—Creating Character Expression Sticker Variations
In many instant messaging applications, you can now create various stickers and send them directly to others instead of text. Have you ever thought about drawing and creating stickers for yourself or your original characters?
However, when drawing a large number of different expressions, the work inevitably becomes tedious and time-consuming. Here, I want to recommend a very convenient layer management feature—[Layer Comps]. You can use this feature in CSP EX version 3.0 or higher, and it's a great helper for mass-processing variant images!
In addition to applying to different versions of illustrations, such as various lighting in a scene (dawn, dusk, night, etc.) or different expressions on a character's face, this feature can also manage multi-page comics, allowing quick switching between different language versions, and more.
Personally, when encountering difficulties in choosing versions while drawing illustrations, this feature can also serve as a quick version switcher for comparison, which is very convenient!
In this article, I will:
1️⃣ Part One—A brief introduction to the Layer Comps feature;
2️⃣ Part Two—Creating character expression sticker variations, demonstrating the use of Layer Comps for management, and introducing other points to note during creation.
So, let's get started ✨
1️⃣ [Layer Comps—Usage Introduction]
✧ Introduction to the Layer Comps Panel
First, display the Layer Comps panel.
Location: [Window] → [Layer Comps]
After deciding which layers to display, click [Add Layer Comp] to create a new layer comp. You can name the comp at the time of creation.
Eye icon: Indicates the currently displayed layer comp (※Only one will be displayed at a time)
Checkmark icon: Selects the comp when you need to operate on it (※Multiple selections allowed)
Bottom right icon: Move up and down to switch between displayed comps,
Other available operations
After selecting the layer comp(s) to operate on, the available operations include:
Overwrite Comp
Delete Comp
If you need to change the order of layer comps, simply drag and drop them on the panel.
✧ Usage Demonstration
In the following demonstration, there are three layers initially: A, B, C.
Adding a Layer Comp is simple. After displaying A and C, and hiding layer B, just click the Add icon and you can change the name to A+C.
If you click to display layer B at this point, the eye icon in the Layer Comps panel will revert to the 'last layer display state'. This is because what is currently displayed is no longer the 'A+C' state.
Although 'A+C' will remain checked on the panel, you can ignore the checkmark icon if you're not performing any layer comp-related operations.
Re-clicking the eye icon for 'A+C' will quickly revert to that layer display record.
[Adding Layers]
At this point, if you add layer D, the eye icon will once again revert to the 'last layer display state'. This is because what is currently displayed is again not the 'A+C' state, but rather A, C, and D displayed simultaneously.
After adding layers, if needed, you can add another layer comp, using the same method as above.
If you want to replace A+C with it, you can use the Overwrite function.
In the demonstration, I added a '★' layer. At this point, the eye icon will still revert to the 'last layer display state', but since the next step is an 'operation', you can ignore the 'display' part.
Then, check 'A+C' and click 'Overwrite Layer Comp'. At this point, the eye icon will return to 'A+C' because 'A+C' has been overwritten and set to 'A+C+★', which is the currently displayed state. You can then decide whether to rename the layer comp as needed.
To rename a layer comp, simply double-click its name.
If you want to add a layer that will be shared across all versions (meaning, after adding this layer, it will be displayed in all layer comps), you need to click to enable 'Show added layer in all comps' before adding the layer.
[Deleting Layers]
Deleting a layer does not affect the display state of layer comps.
For example, if you originally had two layer comps: 'A+C' and 'A+C+D'. If you delete layer D, the display state (eye icon) will not change. In reality, the display content of 'A+C+D' will become the same as 'A+C', but the layer comp itself will not disappear.
[Changing Layer Order]
Changing the layer order does not affect layer comps.
[Merging Layers]
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✧ Case Two
Originally, there were 'A+C+★' and 'A+C+D' layer comps.
If I merge layers 'C' and '★' into a single layer 'C★';
Then the 'A+C+D' layer comp will now visually display '★', becoming 'A+C★+D'.
The 'A+C+★' layer comp's visual display content will not change, but the layer comp will actually now only contain two displayed layers: 'A+C★'.
Furthermore, the display content of 'A+C+★' and 'A+C+D' will become consistent.
[Adding Layer Folders]
Originally, there was an 'A+C' layer comp.
If I add a layer folder and place 'C' inside it;
Then the layer folder will be hidden; the visual display content will change to only 'A', with 'C' hidden. If you want to keep A and C displayed, you need to turn on the layer folder's visibility and then overwrite the original layer comp.
[Layer Conversion]
Converting a layer (e.g., converting a vector layer to a raster layer) without preserving the original layer will not affect layer comps.
However, if you choose to preserve the original layer, you will have the original raster layer + the new vector layer. This will be considered 'adding a new layer', and thus will not match the existing layer comp settings, so the eye icon will revert to the 'last layer display state'.
[Changing Layer Opacity]
Changing layer opacity does not affect layer comps.
Layer comps do not record layer opacity.
[Renaming Layers]
Renaming a layer does not affect layer comps.
However, please note whether you need to rename the layer comp according to the new name.
2️⃣ [Practical Application—Creating Character Expression Sticker Variations]
✏️ Starting the Drawing Process
First, draw the character's base draft. Here are some important notes:
① If the purpose is stickers for communication apps, it's recommended to leave empty space on the top, left, and right sides, and not cut off the character.
② Dimensions: Pay attention to the dimensions required by the communication app. Sometimes it's not a perfect square, but a rectangle close to a square. You can initially draw at a proportionally larger size, but when drawing, you need to zoom out to check if details are visible.
③ Resolution: If you wish to print the image later, set the DPI to 300 or higher. For online publication only, 72 DPI is sufficient.
④ Regarding layer structure:
I recommend separating layers by individual objects.
Objects related to expressions, such as the mouth, eyes, eyebrows, etc., are best placed neatly within layer folders; other parts like the body and face can be merged into a single layer.
Mouth
Eyes
Eyebrows
Hair
Makeup
Face
Body
Hair (Bottom)
Among these:
Hair is divided into a bottom layer (below the face and body) and a top layer (above the face).
The Makeup layer refers not to actual makeup, but to a general term for facial colors like blush that might change position with expressions. In the demonstration image, I used three layers to draw blush, double eyelids, and eye shadows separately.
The eyebrow layer folder is recommended to be separate from the eyes.
The order of hair and eye layers can be decided according to your preference. You can also draw in this order: [Hair (Top) > Eyes > Hair (Middle)] (meaning, including the bottom hair, there are three hair layers in total).
Here, I drew the nose within the mouth layer, but you can also create a new layer for it according to your preference.
💡 If needed, you can also add a background color layer at the very bottom.
Especially for communication app stickers, adding a white border is a common practice.
💡 Additionally, if you wish to export with a transparent background, you need to keep the 'Paper' hidden when adding layer comps.
⑤ Check if the image is complete.
Especially for stickers, a transparent hole in the middle of the image might be very noticeable when used. Here, simply add a bright colored layer below all existing layers and zoom in to check if anything needs to be redrawn. Once checked, you can delete that layer.
🧾 Using the Layer Comps Feature
First, hide layers related to expressions, including:
Eyes
Eyebrows
Makeup (such as blush, double eyelids, eye shadows, etc.)
Nose and Mouth
Note that you should hide 'layers', not 'layer folders'.
Then, add and name a new layer comp to serve as the drawing base.
Since this is a demonstration image, I have already drawn a basic smiling expression.
So here, I'll directly display the relevant layers and then add another layer comp.
In the following section, I will explain my personal naming conventions:
[Layer Comp]
Smile 1+1+1
Meaning: Expression description, eyebrow style #1, eye shape #1, mouth shape #1.
The order of the numbers can be changed according to personal preference.
[Layer Naming]
1- normal
2 - closed
Meaning: Representative number, brief description.
In addition, I also use colors to mark layer folders related to frequently used expressions to facilitate workflow.
For example, if I want to draw a poker face for the next expression, I would name the next layer comp based on the layers used, as follows:
Emotionless 1+1+3
Because in reality, the eyes and eyebrows for 'Emotionless' are the same as for 'Smile', so both start with '1+1' in the numbering part, with only the third number being different.
As for the 'Makeup' part, since it usually doesn't change much, I won't include it in the layer comp name.
Instead, I will name the makeup layers to correspond with different expressions. This will be explained further below.
📰 Using the Duplicate Layer Feature
When drawing different expressions, instead of directly adding a new layer and redrawing, it's faster to duplicate an existing layer and make slight modifications!
For example, I want to add a squinting eye expression. Therefore, I need to add a squinting eye shape to the eye shape options.
[🔨 Method]
① Duplicate the original (1 - normal) eye layer.
This can be done by dragging the layer to the 'New Raster Layer' icon;
or by right-clicking the layer and selecting [Duplicate Layer].
② Erase the eyeball portion and move the layer slightly downwards.
If necessary, use the Liquify function or other transformation tools for adjustments.
★Remember to modify the layer name to the correct description after completion.
③ According to the new eye position, adjust the eyelid position by duplicating the layer in the same way.
In reality, I simply duplicated the existing eyelid layer, moved it down slightly, and named the new layer 'Eyelid - squinting'.
Once done, you can add a new layer comp based on this new expression. This way, we already have three expressions ready for quick recall!
In addition, you can also adjust the blush highlight position before adding a new layer comp.
Since this is just a simple demonstration, this repetitive part has been omitted.
As for why a numbered naming system is not used for 'Makeup' layers, it's because parts like blush are rarely adjusted.
Furthermore, if another number were added to the layer comp name, the entire name would become too long and harder to read its structure.
Of course, this is a personal choice. If you wish to assign individual numbers to 'Makeup' layers, that is absolutely fine.
For expressions that need to be drawn next, if you don't need any of the existing expression layers, you can click on the faceless state (i.e., the 'Faceless base' saved at the beginning) in the Layer Comps panel to return to the initial state.
This way, you don't need to spend time hiding existing layers!
📁 Organizing Required Layers
If you need to draw many expressions, consider using a table to help organize the styles of each layer.
Below is a simple example; you can add styles like #4, #5, etc., as needed.
📄 Adding Character Setting Images
If you need to add some shared objects at this point, it's also very simple.
For example, I want to add a hair accessory to the character. Although it can be drawn directly on the hair layer, considering that the hair accessory might become loose if I want to draw a lifeless expression later, it's better to draw it on a separate layer.
[🔨 Method]
① On the Layer Comps panel, click to enable 'Show added layer in all comps'.
② Add a layer for drawing the hair accessory.
③ Draw normally.
④ Click again to disable 'Show added layer in all comps'.
This way, the hair accessory will appear on all layer comps!
If you finish drawing the new shared object and then realize you forgot to enable 'Show added layer in all comps', you can quickly update all layer comps using the method below:
[🔨 Method]
① (Shared object already drawn)
② On the Layer Comps panel, click to enable 'Show added layer in all comps'.
③ Duplicate the target layer.
④ Click again to disable 'Show added layer in all comps'.
If you want to keep the faceless version (i.e., Faceless base) without additional decorations, such as this hair accessory, you can refer to the following method:
① Select the Faceless base layer comp.
② Hide the hair accessory layer.
③ On the Layer Comps panel, click 'Overwrite'.
④ Done!
📝 Modifying Character Setting Images
If you want to quickly modify an existing image, for example, to quickly change eye color, you can refer to the following method:
① [New Tone Correction Layer] → [Gradient Map] (click OK first)
② Clip the tone correction layer to the entire eye's layer folder.
③ Double-click the tone correction layer.
④ Adjust the gradient colors, and you're done!
[Regarding the method for adjusting gradient colors]:
① Click below the color bar to add an anchor point.
② Double-click 'Specify Color' to change the color at the anchor point's position.
③ Add two anchor points of the same color, and by pulling different colored anchor points closer, you can reduce the gradient transition, thereby allowing you to specify colors at different positions.
💡 The greater the contrast in light and dark parts of the eye (e.g., eyeliner, iris, pupil, etc.), the simpler it is to adjust tones using gradient maps.
By changing the tones of the eyes or eyebrows, etc., expressions can be applied to different characters, thereby creating expression templates, which is very convenient!
📤 Exporting Image Files
After completing the drawing of various expressions, you can now export the image files!
[🔨 Method]
① If you currently want to export with a transparent background but didn't hide 'Paper' during preparation, you can directly delete the 'Paper' layer at this point.
② [File] → [Export (Other)] → [Export Layer Comps].
③ Set the file save location, name, etc. If a transparent background is needed, choose a PNG file.
In the export settings, you can further adjust the image file dimensions.
Therefore, if the sticker requirements for communication apps are small, making it difficult to draw smoothly, you can set a larger size when creating a new file, and then reduce the size at this stage!
💡 Although JPG export settings allow adjusting quality parameters, if you don't want quality to be compressed when scaling down the image, you can choose to export as a PNG file.
Done!
After completing the various expression variations, you can further add text for use as stickers:
For text processing methods, please refer to the following official tutorial:
[Conclusion]
Thank you very much for reading this far!
Although the demonstration images only briefly showed managing three expressions using the Layer Comps feature, in practice, this feature is incredibly convenient for managing many more variant files!
Especially for batch exporting different expression versions, it's an irreplaceable feature that greatly reduces workflow time!
Furthermore, the methods above can also be applied to creating character expression databases, managing expression variations for CGs during in-game character dialogues, and much more—it's definitely not limited to creating stickers!
What do you think of this sharing?
Feel free to leave a comment and let me know! I hope this content is helpful to you.
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