Very novice question

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Subeta Forums > Art Discussion

#1 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 11:50 AM

Blabbermouth

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I'm not really sure how layers in art programs work.

I know that people will use them so they can do a basic form, then lines, then shading, etc, and if something needs scrapped they can scrap just the one layer instead of their entire work. However, I've never quite had the practice to understand how to use the programs and all of that, so there's one burning question still in my mind: when you get the finished product, all shaded, colored, and pretty, do you dump the lower layers and use the top one(s) or not?

I'm asking because I'm not sure if the bottom layers--your guide lines and things like that, would show through in the finished layer or not.

idk, I went to a class where I saw students flicking through layers like pros and just had no idea what was going on or how to do it, never got any real direction there.

Thanks for helping the digital art noob. ^^;

Last Edit by: CommanderShepard 3/31/12 - 12:00:43 pm

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#2 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 12:14 PM

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The wonderful thing about layers is that you can turn them on, or off, or make them mostly transparent, or whatever to achieve the look you want.

I usually keep my starting lines/etc around until a piece is done or headed well on the way, and then just turn them off once they're no longer useful or becoming a distraction while I'm working.

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#3 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 12:16 PM

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Usually there should be different options to save the file. One gives you the option to keep all layers, i think its .psd in photoshop and .xcf in gimp. (not sure on ps..) If you save it like that, you can open it with all its layers again if you wish to change something on them.

But if, for example, you are finished and want to save the picture as it is right now, you can go ahead and save it as .png or .jpg for example and all the layers will be combined and turned to one piece. Usually everything you are able to see will be combined to one layer on this way.

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#4 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 12:19 PM

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Thanks for the help. It definitely made the layers make more sense. :3 I'm going to try to make something this week, probably a CW or a tattoo, and see how I fare with your guidance.

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#5 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 12:25 PM

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That really depends on how you like to draw. If your drawings aren't super neat and they're nearly always kind of sketchy looking, it might even look nicer if you leave all the layers on. If you like finishing your pictures and making them really neat then you'll probably remove all the sketchy layers. The layers on the bottom won't show if you've drawn over them on other layers, unless the top layers are slightly transparent. (:

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#6 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 3:44 PM

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@Mechanic
Quote:

The layers on the bottom won't show if you've drawn over them on other layers, unless the top layers are slightly transparent. (:

Okay neat! I actually watched Bean's tutorial a bit after I posted this thread, and while she was doing the base color for the wig, she was actually drawing OVER her black outlines without breaking them. I suppose that was because the top layer, the layer that she was using to add the brown, was a transparent one?

Last Edit by: CommanderShepard 3/31/12 - 3:45:13 pm

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#7 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 3:55 PM

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Actually, I think she either had the line layer over the color layer, or the color layer was on multiply. What multiply basically does is it's not transparent, but it still lets things under it to show through, which is why it's great to use when you have line art and you're coloring it.
If a layer is even slightly transparent, the color will also be lighter than normal. Layers are a bit confusing at first because there are so many options, but it's not very hard to get used to them.

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#8 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 3:59 PM

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Maybe to make it more visual..
Layers are pretty much like a bunch of papers or foils laying on top of each other. So if there is a paper on the bottom and you layer a foil on top, you can see everything thats on the paper and can trace it on the foil or put the color on it like did. Also, you can change the opacity of each layer individually.

I for example use a sold white layer for the bottom and a lot of transparent layers on top. Like said, you can easily turn them on and off, move them or even delete them.
There is really not much you could do wrong, you just need to make sure you are using the layers you intend to use. If you are in a drawing "flow" it might happen that you forget to change the layers and start using the same one for everything. ^^ That would pretty much destroy the purpose of layers..

Last Edit by: Squishy 3/31/12 - 4:01:53 pm

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#9 :: March 31st, 2012 @ 4:31 PM

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Yeah, I had to imagine someone with pieces of tracing paper, and other kinds of paper of various transparancies, layered on top of one another, before I was even able to fathom the nature of layering.

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