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Layers help you organize the content that makes up your image. Using multiple layers can be very helpful when creating complex drawings, making it easier to adjust and/or manipulate different parts of the drawing.
What are layers
Think of layers as transparent sheets that can be ordered and reordered, made invisible, blended, and adjusted. Combined the content of your layers creates the picture.
In the case of comic book artists, a panel might use four basic layers. Pencils, ink, and color layers, separated strategically from one another, as well as from the background plate. This makes it easy to change elements or add them later.
They can be used as a ‘preservation’ tool. If you’re happy with a certain aspect of your art, lock that layer and start a new layer and continue. You can choose to merge all layers afterwards, or keep them separated for future edits.
If you find yourself using lots of layers, the Layer Editor can become cluttered fast. Consider grouping layers into folders. You can group layers and group groups up to 9 levels.
Layers can be created, duplicated, merged, turned on and off, reordered, blended, and deleted using the Layer Editor. As content is added to a layer, the Layer Editor thumbnail preview updates, displaying the content and making it easier to identify a layer.
How many layers can I have?
The number of layers available is dependent on the capabilities of your device. If you have multiple apps running in the background, your device is low on memory, or your canvas is huge, this will affect the number of layers available.
We have tried to make the Layer Editor and tools as consistent as possible across platforms. However, due to the form factor of some devices, you will see some minor differences in design.
No current version of Sketchbook or Sketchbook Pro limits the layers available based on a purchase / paywall. We stopped doing that almost 10 years ago.
If you want to transfer images containing files, check out this article: Transferring images with layers
Layers in Sketchbook Pro for desktop
To access the Layer Editor and its layers, in the toolbar, tap 
.
There are three types of layers:
- Regular layers contain functionality for showing/hiding the layer content, locking the layer, changing opacity, creating a clipping mask and accessing other layer tools through the marking menu. As you add content to your canvas, the layer corresponding to it will update a thumbnail preview of the content.
- The Background layer is used for setting the color of the canvas and creating an alpha channel. It is at the bottom of the Layer Editor.
- Text layers contain the text created with the Text tool.
Layers in Sketchbook for mobile devices
Layers are found in the Layer Editor. There are two types of layers:
- Regular layers contain functionality for showing/hiding the layer content, locking the layer, changing opacity, and accessing other layer tools through the Layer Menu. As you add content to your canvas, the layer corresponding to it will update a thumbnail preview of the content.
- The Background layer is used for setting the color of the canvas and creating an alpha channel. It is at the bottom of the Layer Editor.
If you're on a tablet, the editor should always be visible along the right side of the screen. If it isn't, then your UI is hidden. See either Basic UI elements or Hiding the UI while you draw.
If you're on a handheld (phone) device, to access the Layer Editor and its layers, in the toolbar, tap . You can keep the Layer Editor open by tapping the pin icon 
in the lower left corner. The pin will automatically reset to off when the app is fully exited.
