Layers Panel¶

The Layers panel lists all layers, layer groups and layer options in your artwork. Close & reopen the Layers panel from the Window menu or by tapping the F7 shortcut.

Show Wet - Show the wet parts of the actual layer. (shortcut H)

Pause Diffusion - Pause the paint diffusion. When the diffusion is paused, the button is highlighted. (shortcut D)

Wet the Layer - Wet the actual layer. (shortcut Shift + L)
Wet All Visible - Wet only the paint strokes on the layer. (shortcut Shift + V)
Dry the Layer - Dry the actual layer, the canvas is not wet. (shortcut Shift + D)

Fast Dry - Dry the actual layer, water is removed from the painting, but the canvas remains wet. (shortcut F)

Layers panel in Rebelle 7.

Note

When you switch layers, the actual layer will "fast dry" (the water is dried, but the canvas remains wet) and after that, the new layer is selected.

Use Color Pigments - Turn the Pigments on for the selected layer. Pigments enable mixing colors as if they are made of actual realistic pigments known from a traditional painting (cadmium red, phthalo blue, titanium white, ...).

Thanks to this mixing method, all simulated media look realistic and natural. The paints blend intuitively and produce vibrant secondary colors: orange, violet, or green.
This feature is available in Rebelle Pro edition.

Blending - Choose from 23 blending modes: Normal, Darken, Multiply, Color Burn, Linear Burn, Lighten, Screen, Color Dodge, Linear Dodge, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light, Pin Light, Hard Mix, Difference, Exclusion, Subtract, Hue, Saturation, Color and Luminosity.

Note

When Pigments are enabled on a layer, it is not possible to use blending modes on that layer.

Opacity - Set the opacity of the layer (0-100).

Lock Layer - Lock the selected layer or layers to protect them from unwanted changes.

Layers panel in Rebelle 7 Pro.

Both the tracing and the masking fluid layers will be locked by default. (shortcut Ctrl + / on Windows or Cmd + / on macOS)

Lock Transparency - Lock transparent pixels on the selected layer. When you paint a stroke on a layer and lock transparent pixels on this layer, every action will be applied only on this stroke, not on transparent pixels of the layer. (shortcut /)

Masking Fluid Layer - Mask certain parts of the layer. The 'Masking Fluid' layer will serve as a mask and will be marked with the letter 'M'. You can choose from the following options:

No Mask - Cancel the masking from the selected layer.
Mask Opaque - Lock opaque pixels on the selected layer. When painting on another layer in the list or within a group, all opaque pixels will be masked by the 'Masking Fluid' Layer. This is a quick and easy way of coloring sketches and images.
Mask Transparent - Lock transparent pixels on the selected layer. When painting on another layer in the list or within a group, all transparent pixels will be masked by the 'Masking Fluid' Layer. This is a quick and easy way of coloring already painted strokes with a different color.

More about how to use masking tools in Rebelle can be found in the Working with Masking Tools section.

Tracing Layer - Set the image layer as a tracing layer to trace the image and its colors to a separate layer. The tracing layer will be marked with the letter 'T'. This layer is a guide for shapes and colors as you paint - it can be an image or a photo. (shortcut Alt + Shift + T)

Metallic Material Layer - Set up the selected layer as a 'metallic material' layer. Oil & Acrylic brushes will behave as metallic brushes applying shiny strokes with reflectivity on this layer. We recommend using metallic brushes and a specific metallic color set you can find in the Color Panel Library.
This feature is available in Rebelle Pro edition.

Layer Masks - Control the transparency of different areas of the layer independently.
Add a layer mask by right-clicking the layer we want to mask and selecting 'Add Layer Mask'.
A mask will be created next to the layer's thumbnail, fully visible, and with a white background.

Note

The Layer mask uses white to represent the areas of the layer that should remain 100% visible. It uses black to represent areas that should be 100% transparent. The areas with shades of gray appear in various levels of transparency.

To disable a layer mask, right-click the layer and uncheck 'Use Layer Mask'.

To prevent any unwanted changes to the position of the layer mask, right-click the layer and select 'Lock Layer Mask Position'.
To delete a layer mask, right-click the layer and select 'Delete Layer Mask'.

To apply the mask directly to the alpha of the layer, right-click the layer and select 'Apply Layer Mask'. Visually, nothing will change on the layer, the resulting alpha of the layer will be preserved, and the mask itself will be removed.

To copy the mask from the selected layer, select the layer mask and tap Ctrl+C (on Windows) or Cmd+C (on macOS) or right-click the layer and select 'Copy Layer Mask'.

To paste the mask to another layer, select the layer and tap Ctrl+V (on Windows) or Cmd+V (on macOS) or right-click the layer and select 'Paste Layer Mask'. The mask will be added to the selected layer. If another mask had been created for this layer, the new mask will replace it. You can also paste a clipboard image using the 'Paste Layer Mask' option - a mask will be created from this image.

Clipping Masks - Control the visibility of a layer using the content and transparency of another layer. To create a clipping mask, we need two layers. Add a clipping mask by right-clicking the top layer and selecting 'Add Clipping Mask'. The bottom layer controls the visibility of the layer above it. The bottom layer becomes the mask, and the layer above it is the layer that's clipped with the mask below.

To disable a clipping mask, right-click the layer and uncheck 'Clipping Mask'.

Eye - Show or hide the layer or the layer group.
(shortcut Ctrl + . on Windows / Cmd + . on macOS)

Canvas - Choose from default canvas textures and canvas colors. By clicking on the canvas thumbnail, a 'Select Canvas' window will open where you can:

scale the texture by using the Texture Scale slider (25-400%) in Select Canvas Window.
select Use Deckled Edges - choose whether you want to apply deckled edges on selected paper (papers with deckled edges are marked with the icon ).
get more papers... - click to be redirected to our website where you can get more papers.
/ - Import or remove selected canvas texture from the list.
select Canvas Color - select a custom canvas color via the default system palette.
select from List of Canvas Colors - Select the canvas color from the list of colors. Every paper has its default color. The default color of the selected paper is first in the list and is marked as 'Default Color'.
/ - Add and remove colors from the list.

Click OK to apply the changes or Cancel if you decide not to.

Video tutorial

Learn more about Rebelle's layers and groups in this video: Rebelle Layers.

Tip

Click on the eye next to a canvas preview icon to show or hide canvas texture. When the canvas texture is hidden, you can save your artwork with a transparent background.

Find more information about canvas textures in the Art Canvases section.

Show Selection - Show the currently selected area on the canvas where further operations will be performed. The inactive area outside the selection is colored.
(shortcut Q)

Visual Settings - Open or close the Visual Settings panel.

Export to Photoshop - Export the selected layer to Photoshop to make additional changes. Learn more about how to install and use the plug-in in the Escape Motions Connect - Photoshop Plug-in section. (shortcut Ctrl + F on Windows / Cmd + F on macOS)
This feature is available in Rebelle Pro edition.

Tip

You can hide the 'Export to Photoshop' button by going to Preferences > General, where you disable the option "Add 'Export to Photoshop' button to Layers panel".

Add Layer - Add a new layer. (shortcut Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows / Cmd + Shift + N on macOS)

Create Group - Create a new layer group. You can also create a group via the Layer menu > New Group. (shortcut Ctrl + Alt + G on Windows / Cmd + Alt + G on macOS)

New Filter Layer - Add a new filter layer to use filters non-destructively as a dedicated filter layer. Choose from Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Color Balance and Desaturate filter layer. Filter layers operate as 'pass-through' layers, meaning they influence all layers positioned beneath them.

Video tutorial

Learn more about Rebelle's filter layers in this video: Filter Layers.

Remove Layer - Delete one or more selected layers, group or groups.
(shortcut Alt + Shift + D)

Tip

Drag the selected layer above any of these buttons to execute their functions on that layer.

You can rename a selected layer or layer group by double-clicking on it in the Layers list or by hitting Alt + N shortcut

You can move the layers and groups by drag & drop to sort them into the desired order.

You can duplicate the layers and groups by right-clicking and selecting Duplicate Layer in the menu. (shortcut Ctrl + Shift + D on Windows / Cmd + Shift + D on macOS)

You can merge more layers into a single layer by right-clicking and selecting Merge Layers in the menu. If only one layer is selected, it will be automatically merged with the layer underneath it. (shortcut Ctrl + E on Windows / Cmd + E on macOS)

Note

To clear the currently selected layer, use the Del shortcut on your keyboard or go from the menu Layer > Clear Layer. You can select to show the "Clear Layer" button in the Layers panel by going to Preferences > General > Panels where you select "Add Clear Layer button to the Layers panel."

Layers Panel Menu - Close the panel. You can re-open the panel from the Window menu.