Digital Drawing on a Tablet: Layers for Sketch, Ink, Flats, and Effects

Layers as a Non-Destructive Workflow Foundation

Layers let you separate parts of your drawing so you can edit one piece without damaging the others. Think of them as transparent sheets stacked on top of each other: you can redraw the sketch without touching the ink, recolor flats without repainting shadows, and adjust lighting without redoing line art. A clean layer workflow is the fastest way to stay flexible and avoid “painting yourself into a corner.”

What “Non-Destructive” Means in Practice

• Editability: You can change line thickness, recolor, or adjust shading later because each element lives on its own layer.
• Revisions are cheap: If a client/friend asks for a different shirt color, you change the flats layer (or a clipped color layer) instead of repainting everything.
• Safer experimentation: You can try stronger shadows or glow effects on separate layers and delete them if they don’t work.

Core Layer Roles (A Standard Stack)

Below is a beginner-friendly layer stack that works for most character or object drawings. The exact names can vary, but the roles stay consistent.

Why This Order Works

• Line art above colors keeps lines crisp and editable without repainting fills.
• Flats beneath act like a “map” for where shadows/highlights are allowed to appear.
• Shadows/highlights above flats lets you adjust lighting independently of base color.
• Background at the bottom prevents accidental painting behind your subject.

Opacity: The Simplest Control for Layer Strength

Opacity controls how see-through a layer is. Lower opacity makes a layer fainter; higher opacity makes it stronger. Use opacity to keep guides subtle and effects adjustable.

• Sketch layer: drop opacity to 10–30% so it becomes a faint guide for inking.
• Shadow layer: start around 25–40% opacity so you can build depth gradually.
• Highlight layer: start around 10–25% opacity; increase only if you need a stronger shine.

Tip: If your shadows look “dirty,” reduce opacity first before changing color. If your highlights look harsh, reduce opacity or switch from Add to Screen.

Blending Modes (Beginner-Relevant)

Blending modes change how a layer mixes with layers below it. You don’t need dozens of modes to start; learn two for lighting and keep everything else on Normal.

Continue in our app.

• Listen to the audio with the screen off.
• Earn a certificate upon completion.
• Over 5000 courses for you to explore!

Or continue reading below...

Download the app

Multiply for Shadows

Multiply darkens what’s underneath. It’s ideal for shadows because it preserves the base color while making it darker. For example, a red shirt stays red, just darker in the shadow.

• How to use: Put a “Shadows” layer above Flats, set it to Multiply, then paint with a neutral shadow color (often a cool gray or desaturated purple).
• Beginner rule: Use one shadow color first; vary shadow strength with brush pressure or layer opacity.

Screen or Add for Light

Screen lightens gently and is forgiving. Add (sometimes called Linear Dodge/Add) brightens more intensely and can look like glow.

• Screen: good for soft highlights on skin, fabric, or matte surfaces.
• Add: good for bright specular hits (metal, glossy eyes) or glow effects.
• Beginner rule: Start with Screen; switch to Add only for small, bright accents.

Clipping Layers: Controlled Painting Without Mess

A clipping layer (often “Clipping Mask”) restricts paint to the opaque pixels of the layer below. This is one of the most useful non-destructive tools for clean coloring.

Common Uses

• Shadows clipped to Flats: shadows won’t spill outside the character/object.
• Highlights clipped to Flats: shine stays inside the colored areas.
• Color variation clipped to Flats: add blush, gradients, or texture without repainting edges.

Practical Setup

Keep your Flats as a solid, clean silhouette for each region. Then create a new layer above it, enable clipping, and paint freely—your edges remain perfect because the flats define the boundary.

Naming Conventions, Grouping, and Color Labels (Staying Organized)

Layer confusion wastes time. Use a system that makes it obvious what each layer does.

Simple Naming Pattern

• SK_Character (sketch)
• INK_Character (line art)
• FLATS_Skin, FLATS_Hair, FLATS_Shirt
• SHD_All (or SHD_Skin if separated)
• HL_All
• BG_Base

Grouping

Create groups/folders so you can collapse complexity:

• Group: Character (contains sketch, ink, flats, shadows, highlights)
• Group: Background (contains background layers)
• Group: FX (optional effects like glow, rim light, particles)

Color Labels

If your app supports layer color tags, assign consistent colors:

• Blue: Sketch/Guides
• Black: Ink/Line art
• Green: Flats
• Purple: Shadows
• Yellow: Highlights
• Orange/Red: Effects

This makes it easier to find the right layer at a glance, especially when you have 30+ layers.

Structured Exercise: Build a Clean Layer Stack for a Simple Character/Object

Goal: Create a small drawing (a simple character bust, a cartoon cat, or a mug with a face) using a non-destructive layer stack. You will convert the sketch into a faint guide, ink on a new layer, then add flats and shading while keeping line art editable.

Exercise Setup (Layer Stack)

1. Create a group named Character.

2. Inside it, create these layers in this order (top to bottom):

   • HL_All (set to Screen; keep empty for now)
   • SHD_All (set to Multiply; keep empty for now)
   • FLATS (Normal; will hold base colors)
   • INK_Character (Normal; empty for now)
   • SK_Character (Normal; for sketch)

3. Create a separate layer at the bottom of the file: BG_Base.

Step 1: Sketch on Its Own Layer

1. Select SK_Character and draw a rough sketch of your subject. Keep it simple: clear silhouette, big shapes, minimal details.

2. If you add construction lines, keep them on the same sketch layer for this exercise (one sketch layer is enough).

Step 2: Convert the Sketch into a Faint Guide

1. Lower the opacity of SK_Character to about 15–25%.

2. Move SK_Character below INK_Character if it isn’t already, so your ink stays visually on top.

3. Lock the sketch layer (or disable drawing on it) to avoid accidentally sketching while inking.

Step 3: Ink on a New Layer (Keep It Editable)

1. Select INK_Character and draw clean line art following the faint sketch.

2. Keep line art separate from color. Do not paint shadows or fills on the ink layer.

3. Fixes stay easy: erase and redraw lines without affecting any color layers.

Step 4: Add Flats Under the Line Art

1. Select FLATS and place it below INK_Character.

2. Fill each major region with a solid color (skin, hair, shirt; or mug body, handle, face). Aim for clean edges.

3. Optional but helpful: if your subject has multiple materials, you can split flats into multiple layers (e.g., FLATS_Skin, FLATS_Hair). For this exercise, one flats layer is fine.

Step 5: Clip Shadows to Flats (Multiply)

1. Set SHD_All to Multiply.

2. Enable Clipping on SHD_All so it only appears where FLATS has paint.

3. Choose one shadow color (try a cool gray-purple) and paint simple shadow shapes: under the chin, under hair, inside folds, on the side away from the light.

4. Adjust shadow strength with layer opacity (start around 30–50%).

Step 6: Clip Highlights to Flats (Screen/Add)

1. Set HL_All to Screen (use Add only for tiny bright accents).

2. Enable Clipping on HL_All.

3. Paint highlights where light hits: top planes of hair, cheek/forehead, shoulder, rim of a mug, etc.

4. Keep highlights smaller than shadows. Reduce layer opacity if they overpower the drawing.

Step 7: Keep Line Art Editable While You Shade

Test your non-destructive setup:

• Hide INK_Character: your colors and shading should still look coherent.
• Change ink color: lock transparency on INK_Character (if available) and recolor lines without touching flats or shading.
• Adjust lighting: lower SHD_All opacity or repaint shadow shapes without repainting flats.

Optional Refinements (Still Non-Destructive)

• Separate shadows: create SHD_Soft and SHD_Hard as two Multiply clipped layers for better control.
• Rim light: add a clipped highlight layer set to Add at low opacity for a thin edge light.
• Background contrast: on BG_Base, paint a simple gradient that makes the character silhouette readable.