Layer
Composites any number of images as a layer stack with per-layer blend mode, opacity, visibility, lock, and transform, using the same 18 blend modes as Composite.
Each connected input is a row in the Parameters panel (top of the panel is top of the stack) with a visibility eye, a lock button, a blend mode with hover preview, an opacity slider, and an X to disconnect. Layer shares blend math with Composite, so a stack renders identically to the equivalent Composite chain. There is always one empty pin at the end; connect it to add a layer.
Drag a row’s grip to reorder; the wires snap to the new pin positions in one undo step. Reverse Order flips the whole stack, handy when you wired background first and it ended up at the bottom. Each row’s blend mode, opacity, visibility, and transform travel with it.
Per-layer transforms
Section titled “Per-layer transforms”Every row can be moved, rotated, scaled, and skewed on its own, with no Transform node in front of it. Select a row and a Transform section appears below the row list with Transform’s parameters: Translate X/Y, Rotate, Scale X/Y (with a proportional lock), Pivot X/Y, Skew X/Y, and a resampling filter. Selecting the node without picking a row selects the topmost visible layer.
The on-canvas gizmo jumps to the selected layer and works like Transform’s:
| Handle | Action |
|---|---|
| Center crosshair | Move the layer. It is drawn at the pivot, but dragging it moves the layer rather than relocating the pivot. |
| Corner | Scale both axes about the pivot. |
| Edge midpoint | Scale one axis only: top or bottom scales vertically, left or right scales horizontally. |
| Rotation ring | Rotate around the pivot. |
| Skew handle | Shear the layer along one axis. |
A transformed row shows a small badge in the row list, so a moved layer deep in a long stack is easy to spot.
The Preview keeps pace with a handle while you drag, and nodes downstream update once on release. Arrow keys nudge the selected layer one image pixel per press, ten with Shift; locked or hidden rows do not move (Arrow-key nudging).
Selecting and locking layers
Section titled “Selecting and locking layers”Hovering the preview outlines the layer under the cursor, and clicking selects its row. Only visible pixels count: a click on a transparent part of a layer passes through to what shows underneath, and a click where every layer is transparent leaves the selection alone (dragging there does not move the picture; pan with the middle button or Space+drag). A drag in progress always wins over selecting another layer.
The lock button beside a row’s eye keeps that layer from being selected or transformed, so a finished background cannot be bumped. Visibility, blend mode, opacity, stack position, and connection stay editable. A locked layer clicks through in the preview like a transparent one, and locking is an ordinary undoable edit.
Parameters
Section titled “Parameters”Pins
Output
Which layers set the canvas size.
- Deepest Visible: the lowest visible layer.
- Max W&H: the largest width and height across visible layers.
- Topmost Visible: the highest visible layer.
How upper layers are positioned on the canvas when their dimensions are smaller than the canvas size
One row per connected input pin (top of the panel is the top of the stack). Each row has a visibility eye, a blend-mode combo with hover-preview, an opacity slider, and an ✕ to disconnect. Drag the grip handle (☰) on a row to reorder the stack. Wires on the canvas snap to the new pin positions in a single undo step
- Image inputs use a variable-count pin array: connecting the trailing empty pin auto-grows the stack, disconnecting a middle pin renumbers the rest down, and there is always exactly one empty pin ready for the next layer. Pin position is stack position: Image 1 is the top of the stack (painted last), the highest-numbered Image is the base (painted first).
- Reordering rows in the Parameters panel mutates the actual connection targets, so wires snap to the new pin positions on the canvas in a single undo step. Pin labels never change. Reordering and per-layer state edits (visibility, blend mode, opacity) collapse into one undo entry alongside the wire snap.
- Layer shares blend math with Composite: every mode behaves identically across both nodes.
Usage Tips
Section titled “Usage Tips”- With three or more images, use Layer instead of chained Composite nodes: one node is easier to scan and reorder.
- Toggle a row’s eye to compare versions without disconnecting wires.
- Each row shows the connected node’s custom name beside its title (such as “Pad 1 (Background)”), so rename upstream nodes to label the stack.
- Pick Max W&H in Output Size when layers have different sizes and you want every pixel to survive.
- Lock the background row before you start moving pieces above it.
- Editing one layer’s opacity, blend mode, or transform recomposites only that layer and those above it, so scrubbing in a large stack stays responsive.