Hello everyone.

This time, for beginners or those who have never drawn digitally before, I'd like to explain and introduce the layer functions as simply and clearly as possible.

 

Layers are a vital function in digital illustration, so please be sure to learn them.

Preparation

First, a quick preparation: if you open Clip Studio Paint and can't find the 'Layer' window, you can bring it up from 'Window' > 'Layer' at the top. Please make sure it's displayed.

The following is the same content as this article, but I have also created a video.

Since some explanations are in the video, please watch it if you like.

 

▼Video

What are Layers?

First, 'What are layers?' Layers is an English word meaning 'stratum' or 'hierarchy.'

In CLIP STUDIO PAINT, layers are like transparent sheets of paper stacked on top of each other, where the top layer is closest to you, and layers further down are further back.

Selecting Layers

Clicking on any layer will change its color to light blue. A layer with changed color indicates that it is 'selected.'

When you draw on the canvas with a layer selected, it will be drawn on that layer.

 

To select multiple layers, you can range-select them by holding down the Shift key and clicking other layers (e.g., 'from here to here'), or select individual layers by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking them one by one.

You can also select multiple layers by clicking the empty checkbox on the left side of each layer.

 

When multiple layers are selected, you can move them or transform them simultaneously.

 

 

Also, when multiple layers are selected, the one with the darkest color and a pencil icon is the first layer you selected and serves as the base layer.

Even if multiple layers are selected, you can only draw on that one base layer, and when you combine layers later, they will be combined into this base layer, so always pay attention to which layer you have selected.

Adding, Deleting, and Types of Layers

Clicking the 'New Raster Layer' icon on the bottom left adds a layer.

 

Clicking the trash can icon on the right deletes the selected layer.

You can also delete a layer by dragging it and dropping it onto the trash can icon.

In addition to the 'Raster Layer' we just added, there are many other types of layers such as vector layers, tonal correction layers, layer folders, and the 'Paper' layer at the very bottom that's there from the start. However, the basic layer is this 'Raster Layer,' so initially, you can draw without any problems just by using this layer.

 

Other layers besides raster layers have icons, so you can distinguish them by those icons.

Show, Hide

Clicking the eye icon displayed on the left side of a layer will hide it.

You can drag from the top to change multiple layers at once, or hold down the Alt key (Option on Mac) and click to display only the clicked layer.

Combining Layers

There are various ways to combine layers.

In the Layer window, there are buttons to 'Merge down' a layer to the one below it and to 'Combine with layer below'.

Additionally, right-clicking on a layer reveals various combining methods such as 'Merge selected layers,' 'Merge visible layers,' 'Merge copy of visible layers,' and 'Flatten image,' so please use them according to your needs.

Duplication

To duplicate a layer, right-click on the layer you want to duplicate and select 'Duplicate Layer.'

 

Alternatively, you can drag the layer you want to duplicate to the 'New Raster Layer' icon and release it, or hold down Alt (Option on Mac) and drag the layer to move it while duplicating.

 

While I've explained it, right-clicking every time to duplicate is quite cumbersome, so I recommend using one of the latter two methods or registering a shortcut key.

Layer Folders

When you don't want to combine multiple layers but want to organize them, layer folders are convenient.

 

Clicking the 'New Layer Folder' icon above creates an empty folder.

 

Clicking the arrow on the right side of the folder allows you to close or open it.

If you select a folder, keep it open, and then add a 'New Layer,' the new layer will automatically be added inside that folder.

You can also move existing layers into a folder by dragging them over the folder.

To group existing layers into a folder, select all the layers you want to group, right-click, then click 'Create folder and insert layers.' This will place the selected layers into one folder.

 

Similar to deleting or duplicating, you can also group layers into a folder by simply dragging the layers you want to put into the folder over the 'New Layer Folder' icon.

 

Grouping layers into folders allows you to move, transform, or hide all layers within that folder at once, and it also makes your workspace look neat and organized, so please give it a try.

Clipping

From here on, the content becomes a bit more specialized, but it's a very convenient and frequently used function, so please try to master it.

 

Clipping is the icon on the far left of the top row in the Layer window, and it's a function that displays a layer by clipping it to the shape drawn on the layer below. The parts outside are not deleted, so if you release clipping, the outer parts will become visible again.

 

If you stack multiple clipped layers, all of them will be clipped based on the very bottom layer.

 

This function is useful when you want to make sure your shading or gradients don't go outside a certain area!

Opacity

You can adjust the opacity of a layer using the parameter in the upper right.

 

At 100% (far right), it's opaque, and at 0% (far left), it's transparent.

 

By adjusting a layer's opacity, you can fine-tune colors that are too dark, or if you lower the opacity when using it as a rough sketch, you can prevent accidents like 'Oops! I inked on the same layer as my rough sketch!'

Layer Lock, Lock Transparent Pixels

There are two types of lock functions for layers.

 

The first is a complete lock, which prevents anything from being drawn on that layer, and the second is 'Lock Transparent Pixels,' which allows you to draw on areas that already have pixels but prevents drawing on transparent areas.

 

With the complete lock function, in addition to not being able to draw anything, you also can't adjust other layer functions like opacity, clipping, or blending modes (which will be discussed later). Use it when you have a layer you absolutely don't want to accidentally modify.

 

The second, 'Lock Transparent Pixels,' can be used similarly to clipping. The difference from clipping is that it operates within the same layer, and you cannot draw on the outer parts that are not yet drawn on. It's useful for things like changing the color of line art, or when you don't need to go through the trouble of creating a new layer and clipping it.

Blending Modes

Layers have blending modes, which are like filters in photo editing, changing how colors appear when stacked.

 

There are modes that darken, modes that brighten and glow, and modes that drastically change colors—a whopping 28 types of blending modes in total.

 

If you understand the characteristics of each and master them, your creative world will expand considerably. However, very few people truly understand and use all blending modes perfectly, so it's perfectly fine if you don't.

Simply put, these blending modes are categorized from top to bottom by their characteristics: Normal, primarily darkening effects, primarily brightening effects, contrast/comparison, and color changes.

 

Among these, the frequently used, easy-to-use, and personally recommended blending modes are 'Multiply,' 'Linear Burn,' 'Screen,' 'Add (Glow),' and 'Overlay' – these five.

'Multiply' and 'Linear Burn' are darkening blending modes, primarily used for shadow expressions. 'Multiply' is generally more frequently used and versatile, while 'Linear Burn' darkens more strongly than Multiply.

Conversely, 'Screen' and 'Add (Glow)' are brightening blending modes, primarily used for light expressions. Similar to Multiply and Linear Burn, Screen is less aggressive, while Add (Glow) is suitable for expressing stronger highlights and glows.

Finally, 'Overlay' is a somewhat peculiar blending mode: it brightens when you use light colors and darkens when you use dark colors.

 

It's often used in photo editing and is a common blending mode in the final finishing stages, for example, when you want to add a subtle color tint or intensify the color impression.

It can be difficult to predict what color it will produce and might be challenging to master, but when used effectively, it's a blending mode that significantly enhances the visual appeal.

 

 

If you are interested in other blending modes, I have previously published an article with the same content as a full blending mode explanation video, so please refer to that if you like.

Practice

(↑It's set to play from the 'Practice' section!)

 

Finally, I will demonstrate how the layer functions introduced so far are actually used in practice.

 

Please forgive that, based on the illustrations drawn, this content has become more geared towards digital beginners who have some experience in drawing illustrations.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this far!

 

This guide focused on basic operations for beginners. How was it?

If you can use all these functions, you're no longer a beginner when it comes to layer operations, so go ahead and make full use of digital features!