What Are Layers and How To Use Them

Once you have created a new layer (or layers), you will be able to view your layers under the layers display (usually on the bottom right hand side of your screen). The layers are shown in stack order. That means that the level on the top of your display list is the top layer of the stack. The small eye icon beside each level indicates which levels are currently visible.

The level highlighted with light grey represents the level that is currently selected (any actions will affect the selected level). The opacity indicator at the top of the list allows you to change how opaque or transparent the selected layer will be. The selection that defaults to "normal" is the blending mode option. This tells the program how to blend the layers into one overall image. The best way to learn these options is to experiment with them.

Layers can be reorganized simply by clicking and dragging them to a new position. Remember that adjustment layers only affect layers beneath them in the list.