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Layers

Layers are the backbone of the timeline. They let you separate characters, shadows, effects, text, and backgrounds, then keep complex artwork organized with groups, blend modes, and clipping masks.

Basic Interactions in the Layer Header​

Each layer header in the timeline usually includes some of the following:

  • An eye icon for visibility.
  • A lock icon for edit protection.
  • The layer name.
  • A group expand/collapse icon for group layers.
  • Status indicators such as tags, blend mode, clipping mask, layer effects, and thumbnails.
  • On iOS R57+ and desktop / Android v1.31.1+, layer states are grouped behind a unified status icon, reducing visual noise when several states apply at once.
Layer headers on iOS
Layer headers on iOS
Layer headers on desktop
Layer headers on desktop

Opening the Layer Menu​

  • On mobile, you can usually open the layer menu by double-tapping the layer header.
  • On desktop, right-click the layer header.
  • On desktop, double-clicking may behave more like “open properties” unless you explicitly use the menu-oriented behavior in settings.

The layer menu commonly includes actions such as:

  • Properties
  • New Layer
  • New Group
  • Delete Layer / Delete Group
  • Copy or Duplicate
  • Merge Down
  • Merge Visible
  • Flatten Group
  • Tag
  • Staticise / Unstaticise
  • Clipping Mask
Layer menu on iOS
Layer menu on iOS
Layer menu on desktop
Layer menu on desktop
note

Some commands are hidden or disabled when their prerequisites are not met. For example, not every layer can merge down, and clipping mask is not always available in every context.

Layer Properties​

The layer properties dialog usually focuses on these shared controls:

  • Name
  • Opacity
  • Blend Mode

On iOS, Android, and desktop, you can toggle Clipping Mask from either the layer menu or the layer properties dialog. Group layers on iOS may also expose an extra option related to layered export behavior.

Layer properties dialog on desktop
Layer properties dialog on desktop

Layer Styles (iOS R57+, Desktop & Android v1.31.1+)​

Layer Styles let normal layers keep certain effects live instead of immediately baking them into pixels.

  • Stroke adds a non-destructive outline around the visible layer content. When the layer content changes, the stroke updates with it.
  • Shadow adds a hard-edged pixel shadow with adjustable offset, size, and colour. It is generated from the post-stroke outline when Stroke is also enabled.
  • When you need to commit the result, rasterize the style so it becomes normal pixel content.
Stroke and Shadow layer styles on iOS
Stroke and Shadow layer styles on iOS

Reordering, Grouping, and Multi-Selection​

Reordering Layers​

  • On iOS and Android, press and hold a layer name, then drag up or down. Avoid the eye icon, which has its own long-press action.
  • On Windows and macOS, select the layer, then drag from the border of the selected range in the layer headers without holding Shift. Dragging inside the range changes the selection instead of moving it.

Use the insertion indicator at the top or bottom edge of a target row to change the order.

Select a range, then drag its border to move layers on desktop
Select a range, then drag its border to move layers on desktop

Quick Grouping​

The drop position determines whether you reorder or group layers:

  • Drop at a row's top or bottom edge to reorder the selected layers.
  • Drop inside an existing group to move the layers into it.
  • Drop in the middle of a regular layer's row to create a new group containing that layer and the moved layers.

Check the drop indicator before releasing.

Multi-Selecting Layers​

Layer multi-selection is a continuous range: it includes every layer between the two ends.

  • On mobile, open a layer's menu, choose Select, then tap the layer at the other end of the range.
  • On desktop, drag across the layer headers to select a range, or Shift-click to extend it. A normal click resets the selection to a single layer.

After checking the range, move it with the platform's gesture above. Release Shift before dragging the border on desktop. See reordering layers and frames for both workflows.

Creating a group from a continuous selection of layers
Creating a group from a continuous selection of layers

Visibility and Locking​

Visibility​

  • Click the eye icon on a layer header to show or hide that layer.
  • Click the global eye icon at the top of the timeline to affect the overall visible state.
  • On iOS R57+ and desktop / Android v1.31.1+, if multiple layers are selected, the global eye toggles only those selected surface layers and leaves unselected layers unchanged.
  • If a group is hidden, its child layers follow that visibility state.

Long-pressing the eye icon can temporarily solo the current layer or group, then restore the previous visibility state when used again. This is useful when checking a character layer, a shadow pass, or an effects layer in isolation.

Locking Layers​

Click the lock icon to prevent a layer from being edited. Group layers can also be locked, and child layers may inherit that locked state from their parent group.

Expanding and Collapsing Groups​

Group layers can be expanded or collapsed. When a file gets large, it is much easier to keep related layers inside groups and fold them when you are not actively working on that section.

Adjusting the Name Column Width​

Drag the divider on the right side of the name area at the top of the timeline to make the layer-name column wider or narrower. This is especially helpful when layer names are long or when you want more room for tags, thumbnails, and status icons.

Layer name column resize handle
Layer name column resize handle

Blend Modes​

Blend modes work on regular layers as well as layer groups. They change how the current layer interacts with the content beneath it. Common use cases include:

  • Multiply-style modes for shadows
  • Screen or glow-style modes for highlights
  • Overlay-style modes for broad colour treatment

Clipping Masks​

Clipping mask tutorial

A clipping mask uses the transparency of a base layer below it to limit the visible content of the clipping layer. Consecutive clipping layers share the base beneath the entire run; each clipping layer does not use the immediately adjacent clipping layer as a new base. Keep the base visible and place the clipping layers above it at the same level in the layer hierarchy.

This is especially useful for colouring a character, adding texture to text, or keeping highlights and shadows inside an already-painted shape.

Layer groups can participate in this structure too, which helps when an effect is split across multiple layers.

note

After you merge down, merge visible, or flatten a group, clipping masks, blend modes, and opacity relationships are baked into normal pixels. It is safer to merge only after you no longer need those layer relationships.

Staticise and Unstaticise​

Staticise and Unstaticise help you batch-switch inheritance across later frames on the current layer. They are useful when you want one layer to keep reusing the same content across frames, or when you want to break that inherited chain apart again.

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