How many layers do you use?

[2DLenzy]

Oh, I don't feel so bad now...

[llobucervallince]

Me, half way rendering my latest episode:

[kyupol]

Depending on complexity of panel.

Minimum assuming it's just a simple headshot with no bg

• sketch
• line
• color flat
• color shadow

So 4 layers Minimum

[GodbreakerComic]

Depends on the page. On average a page has anywhere between 20-30.

The only layer that covers the entire page is the sketch layer. The rest are by panel.

[morganicfoods]

About 13/14 (at the end)
* One for Lineart
* One for colouring
* Two for shading
* Two or three for backgrounds
* One for watermarks
* Three for speech bubbles (lines, white, + text)
* One for borders
* One hidden layer for the sketch, in case I need it again for some reason

[user9.7]

HOW​ I gotta check out your art cuz 50 is crazy!

[user9.7]

Ive noticed that users with csp tend to have a lot more layers haha

[user9.7]

WHAT!!?? Wow I'm speechless, makes me feel like a stick man artist​

[llobucervallince]

Is not about how much you draw is about how you organize.
I have 10 layers for each page sketch.
then the line art is separated by each panel (bewteen 2~3 panels per page = 20~30)
THEN I make the other line art layer for the shadows, adding another 3 per page plus one for a small blue coloring. (+40)
That leaves the line art version with about 70~80 layers without counting shapes and text (panels and speech bubbles).

The fun begins when coloring, I am about to start my last page of the day at layer 534.
That's because I usually separate layers differently depending on if I'm doing characters, background, or lightning.
The last image is from page 2.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Lol. It's usually the pages that have a lot of lighting effects or there are several different elements. Like if the background is separated into several parts and characters are always shaded separately from the background.

[dan_thepainter]

I feel like I don't use enough reading these replies lmao I use around 5-7 layers. I try to keep it small so I don't get confused and I know where everything is.

I have one layer for drafting, lineart, bubbles and about two or three layers for coloring.

[thepenmonster]

It depends upon what I'm making but...

Layouts, figure construction, background construction, figure inks, background inks are always in there. Then it depends if it's colour or B&W.

Extra layers past that depend if I have something that needs special attention will get its own layers just to work with. ex- A realistic motorcycle or sound effects.

Text happens when I bring the art aspects together and prep them for internet sizes. But at that point I save it as a different file and make it its own thing.

[ArtGremlin]

If it’s a comic page, I’ve got at least three for every panel. Otherwise 2-6. I am a minimalist when it comes to layers. MERGE THEM ALL!L!!!

[KevinReijnders]

Depends on the work I do. If we're going with a comic page, I wanna say 40-ish, having done a rough mental count. It really depends the complexity of the page though.

I do tend to work as non-destructive as I can, with lots of editability build in. So the layer count can quickly balloon haha.

I don't have a "per panel" workflow though, so that minimizes the amount of layers drastically. Also keeps it from getting too chaotic

[RedLenai]

Mine are:
Sketch, Lineart, Base color, Shadow, Lights, Light 2.

6 in total.At least for most of drawings

[BoomerZ]

My stack looks like this: top to bottom
1:dialogue folder: This has all the dialogue in it. This is so it's on top of all art work. This also allows me to turn it off and on as needed with one click. You can also see what you don't have to draw as it will be covered.
2: Highlights: glares or eye highlights so it's on top of shadows and all color. Also reflective glare off shiny stuff.
3: Blacks: This is just the fill of space between panels
4: For scenes in the dark or nighttime this is the darkness layer, usually filled with dark blue, adjusted opacity, and subtracted for light. This give the true color of stuff in shadows.
5: This starts the stack of folders for each panel. Clip can create these very easy. All line work are done in this folder stack for each panel. Each panel gets it's own folder.
6: Sketch layer: all layouts and rough pencils are done here first then drawn over with inks in each panel folder. This is the first layer to be worked on and just turned off after its use is done with.
7: Color folder: this is the place all colors are done. Being it's at the bottom, you can use the fill tool for 90% of the colors as the over fill will be under the line art. This gets rid of the problem of a ghost line created if you just fill on the layer with the linework. At the top of this color stack is the shadow layer. This, just like the darkness layer, is a fill of dark blue then adjusted with opacity to make shadows. This creates true shadow colors and not just greyed out based colors.

[ThunderChicken]

I use lots of layers, but don't really keep track of them. Some are temporary (the sketch, which I always throw away afterward for some reason), some exist only for a single effect on a single item (which will then get merged into that item's layer). The final image will be saved in anywhere between 3 and, say, seven layers.

My layer discipline is lacking.

[allenthomas]

I usually have about 8-12 layers. 12 is still pretty bad for me as I like to keep things as organized (and NAMED) as possible. If I have more than that, the page I'm working on is probably an unorganized disaster and it'll take longer to complete.

[XiuLyn_12]

Me too, damn!

[theyrebothakilogram]

I normally have three sketch layers (boxes, words, actual drawing) four/five background layers (block, color, shade, lines, overlay) three foreground layers (color, shade, lines) then a borders layer and a speech bubble layer. So about thirteen, but that's only for panels where I'm not doing any lighting effects