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Chapter 03 · Layers & masks
Layers are where Photopea's claim to be a real editor rather than a filter app is settled. The implementation is deep: nine distinct layer types, twenty-seven blend modes, four lock modes, both raster and vector masks with non-destructive density and feather controls, clipping chains, smart objects with linked sources and smart filters, and ten layer styles that redraw automatically when the underlying pixels change. For anyone who works with layered files, this is the chapter that determines whether Photopea is usable or not.
The nine layer types
Most editors have one kind of layer and a couple of special cases. Photopea has a proper type system, and knowing which type you are working with explains most of the behaviour that would otherwise seem inconsistent.
| Type | What it holds | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Regular raster | Pixel data | Editable with every pixel tool; the default for painting and retouching |
| Smart object | A link to a source document | Non-destructive scaling and smart filters; multiple instances share one source |
| Type layer | Live editable text | Must be rasterised before pixel tools will touch it |
| Shape layer | Vector paths with fill and stroke | Resolution-independent; editable with the vector tools indefinitely |
| Fill — solid colour | A full-canvas rectangle | Regenerates automatically when the canvas is resized |
| Fill — gradient | A full-canvas gradient | Same auto-regeneration behaviour |
| Fill — pattern | A full-canvas pattern | Same, and the pattern stays editable |
| Adjustment layer | A colour operation applied to layers beneath | Non-destructive, has its own mask, carries blend mode and opacity |
| Artboard | A top-level group with a clipping rectangle | Acts as a document inside the document; see chapter 1 |
The distinction that trips people up most is between type and shape layers on one side and raster layers on the other. A type layer will not accept a brush stroke; you get no error, the stroke simply does not appear where you expect. The fix is to rasterise, which is permanent, or to paint on a separate layer above it, which is almost always the better habit. The same logic applies to shape layers, though those can also be converted to paths and edited as vectors.
Layer controls and organisation
Each layer row carries a visibility toggle, a thumbnail, a name and an opacity control, with twenty-seven blend modes available from a dropdown. Four lock modes are provided — transparency, pixels, position and all — and they do what their names suggest, with the transparency lock being the one that matters most in practice because it lets you paint colour into existing pixels without spilling outside the shape.
Renaming is a double-click on the name, with Enter to confirm and Escape to cancel. Grouping is Ctrl+G, groups nest and collapse, and multi-selection is Ctrl+click, after which you can drag several layers at once. Reordering is drag and drop, with the bottom of the panel being the back of the image. Duplication is Ctrl+J or right-click, and there is a Duplicate Into command that copies a layer into a different open document — the practical way to move work between files given the single-window limitation. Merging down is Ctrl+E, and merging a selection of layers is available from the right-click menu.
Dragging a layer with the Move tool onto another document's tab moves it into that document. Combined with Duplicate Into, this covers most cross-file assembly work, even though you cannot see both documents at once. If you are assembling a composite from several files, do it by building the layer stack in one document rather than by switching tabs repeatedly.
Raster masks
A raster mask is a greyscale image attached to a layer where black hides, white reveals and grey produces partial transparency. It is the single most useful non-destructive tool in the application, because it lets you remove parts of an image without deleting pixels. Masks are added and deleted from Layer > Raster Mask, and a layer can carry at most one.
Three behaviours are worth knowing precisely. First, a mask can be disabled and re-enabled by Shift+clicking its thumbnail or using the right-click menu, which is the fastest way to check what a mask is actually doing. Second, the chain icon between the layer and mask thumbnails links and unlinks them, so you can move the layer without moving its mask or vice versa. Third, and most useful, the mask has its own properties: Density controls how strongly the mask applies from zero to one hundred per cent, and Feather blurs its edge. Both are applied non-destructively, so the underlying mask content is untouched and you can dial the effect back later.
Masks are editable with any pixel tool — brush, eraser, smudge, gradient, fill — and folders can carry masks too, which is how you mask a whole group of layers at once. If you have ever painted twenty layers individually to hide an edge, a folder mask is the answer.
Vector masks
A vector mask is a Bézier path that is converted internally to greyscale and applied to the layer. Because the source is a path rather than pixels, it can be resized indefinitely without quality loss, which makes it the correct choice for anything that will be scaled: logos, product cut-outs destined for multiple sizes, and interface elements. They are added from Layer > Vector Mask, and there is a Current Path command that converts the active path into a mask in one step. As with raster masks, a layer can carry only one.
Clipping masks
A clipping mask restricts a layer to the transparency of the layer beneath it. The upper layer is clipped by the lower layer's alpha, so a texture placed above a shape appears only inside that shape. Chains of multiple clipped layers are supported, which lets you stack several effects inside a single boundary. The toggle is Alt+Ctrl+G, or right-click > Clipping Mask, or Layer > Clipping Mask.
The practical difference between a clipping mask and a layer mask is that clipping follows the base layer automatically. If you move or reshape the base, everything clipped to it follows. That makes clipping the better choice for type treatments and mockups where the boundary is likely to change.
Smart objects
Converting a layer or a group to a smart object wraps it in a container that references a source document. The consequences are significant. Scaling up recovers original detail, because the transform is applied to the container rather than baked into pixels. Multiple instances of the same smart object share one source, so editing the source updates every instance while position, transform, opacity and layer style remain independent. And smart filters can be applied to the container, which is what makes non-destructive filter work possible at all.
Rasterising a smart object removes the link to the source and flattens it back to pixels, which is irreversible. The most common mistake with smart objects is rasterising early to use a pixel tool, then discovering that the source link is gone. If you need to paint on a smart object, paint on a layer above it instead.
Layer styles
Layer styles are opened by double-clicking a layer or choosing Blending Options. Ten are available, and they are applied as live effects that redraw whenever the layer changes rather than being baked into pixels.
| Style | Key parameters | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Drop Shadow | Distance, spread, size, angle, opacity, colour | Lifting type or objects off a background |
| Inner Shadow | Same as drop shadow, applied inward | Recessed panels and inset type |
| Outer Glow | Colour or gradient, spread, size, opacity | Neon effects and focus halos |
| Inner Glow | As above, inward | Soft interior light on shapes |
| Bevel and Emboss | Depth, direction, size, soften | Buttons, badges, dimensional type |
| Satin | Contour and blend controls | Fabric-like sheen and metallic surfaces |
| Colour Overlay | Colour, blend mode, opacity | Recolouring artwork non-destructively |
| Gradient Overlay | Gradient, angle, scale, blend mode | Metallic and duotone treatments |
| Stroke | Width, colour/gradient/pattern, inside/centre/outside | Outlines and sticker borders |
| 3D (Bevel) | Depth and lighting controls | Simple extruded looks |
Styles appear nested under their layer in the Layers panel, and each one has its own eye icon so it can be toggled independently without opening the dialog. That toggling behaviour is the reason styles are worth using instead of baking effects: you can audition a drop shadow on and off in a second. Styles can be saved and loaded as ASL files and defined into a gallery, so a house style can be reused across projects.
What this chapter means in practice
The layer system is the strongest argument for Photopea as a Photoshop replacement. A layered PSD opened here behaves the way it should: masks stay masks, smart objects stay smart, styles stay live, and clipping chains stay intact. If your work is built on layers, you can move to Photopea with very little loss. The losses are elsewhere — in colour management, in RAW, in plugins, in collaboration — and chapter 19 sets out which of those should change your decision.