Core skills | Sketchbook Pro
Layers
are the
building
blocks of
a piece of
artworkGETTING STARTED
WITH LAYERSLayer 1
Layer 1
Layer 1
Layer 2
Layer 2
Layer 3
Think layers are a luxury? Find out how layers can help you take your work
in SketchBook Pro from initial sketch to finished artwork
1
Background layer
The background layer enables
you to change the colour – and therefore
the fundamental mood – of your canvas.
To do this in SketchBook Pro, you simply
click the white circle on the background
layer to open the colour wheel, and then
select a colour of your choice. Turning off
the eye icon on the background layer will
give you a transparent background, which
may be useful in some circumstances.
2
The Layers panel
All the features on the Layers
panel are shortcuts designed to help you
manage your SketchBook Pro layers. They
are as follows: Add a new layer (A); Add a
new group (B); Add an image (C); Clear
anything on the selected layer (D); Open
a menu of all the options of the Layer
Editor (E); Open a menu of all the Blend
Modes (F); and finally adjust the Opacity
of the selected layer (G). Once you get
used to them they’re really useful.
3
Your layer options
Here are all the features on a layer
that you can manipulate in SketchBook
Pro: Hide/View a layer (A); Colour label
the layer (B); Lock the Transparency (C);
Change the Opacity of the layer (D); Drag
a layer to change the stacking order (E);
Click and hold down to access the layer
options (F), then click any of these icons:
Add Layer, Delete Layer, Rename Layer,
Merge All, Merge with Below, Lock Layer,
Hide, Duplicate Layer.
image element. For example, if I draw
or paint a clear blue sky on one piece of
glass (a layer), add another piece of glass
(a new layer) on top, and then paint a
forest scene on the top layer, I’ll still be
able to see the blue sky on the layer below,
peeking through the unpainted parts of
my forest layer. That’s the power of layers.
Okay, let’s see how SketchBook Pro
helps you manage your layers.L
ayers are an integral part of
SketchBook Pro’s flexibility. If
you’ve used other software such
as Photoshop you’ll be familiar
with the concept, but if not, imagine a
layer as a sheet of glass which can be
stacked on top of others. Layers are the
building blocks of a piece of artwork.
The key is that each layer is normally
transparent except where it contains an
TAP INTO THE
POWER OF LAYERS
A. Blueprint sketch
I prefer to start by sketching loosely on
layer 1, scribbling out a blueprint to design
my artwork. In this phase I can experiment,
enjoy making mistakes and trying to solve
them. At this stage I don’t stress over
details or getting any of the lines perfect,
but instead focus on the forms, shapes,
gestures and overall composition.B. Creating the line art
I reduce the Opacity of the sketch layer to
about 50 per cent and create a new layer
above this layer. This is the clean-up stage
where I’ll carefully draw the clean lines over
the rough sketch with a black pencil using a
feathering technique. I’m careful to observe
the blueprint below and concentrate on the
thickness and value of my line art.C. Colouring the artwork
Now that I have the clean line art, I turn off
the rough sketch layer and create a new
layer between the line art layer and the
rough sketch layer. The new layer will be
my colour layer, and I use the Round brush
and the Airbrush to colour my artwork.
Once I’ve finished my artwork, I merge all
the layers together and save the image.AAEEBBCCF GFDDSKETCHBOOK PRO