Suggestion: Working layer color overlay

[Tufty]

I do a ton of line work on separate layers. A feature I’ve dreamt of having for years in an art program is for the selected layer to have a color overlay applied to it dynamically. A simple toggle button on the layer window would be a pretty elegant implementation I think. To the left of the select button. Long press it for color picker.

The easiest/quickest workaround I’ve used in Art Studio is dragging a solid color layer clipping mask over my working layer. Problem is when I get into the finishing touches and I’m switching between a bunch of layers it gets old fast. Another method is to enable fx color overlay on each layer and just toggle them off and on, but sometimes I’ll forget to turn one off and I end up working on the wrong layer...

A “working layer color overlay” toggle would be the most convenient, foolproof and intuitive way to always know what layer you’re on without keeping the layer window open. For line art anyway.

[Lucky Clan]

I'm afraid adding such button as one of the main buttons in Layers panel is waste of space, sorry.

I recommend using Color Overlay layer effect. After enabling it, you will see an "Fx" icon on the right of layers cell, and you can tap it to quickly remove or disable it. It is only 2-taps.

[Tufty]

I literally described doing that in my post as a workaround. Maybe I wasn’t clear that I was doing that already.

It doesn’t have to be a button on the layers menu if that’s the issue. Could be a toggle in the view menu. Which could then be added to the quick menu.

It’s actually six taps to open the layers menu, tap the fx icon, disable, tap the next fx icon, enable, then tap to close the layers menu. It’s only six if I haven’t copied the layer style to the new layer yet, then it’s even more. Six+ taps turns into thousands over the many hours I spend on a piece and switch layers. It’s SO TEDIOUS to the point of infuriation.

I’m passionate about this idea and I believe a ton of artists would make use of this to speed up their work tremendously. Not to mention PREVENT accidental destructive work when they do lineart on their sketch layer when they forget or neglect to do all that extra fx nonsense just to differentiate layers.

I’ll beg/pay for this feature if I have to. Give me a number.

[Lucky Clan]

If layers panel is hidden it makes six taps. It is 3 taps more than your solution.

Maybe i could consider adding menu item in Layers top menu (and Quick Menu action / keyboard shortcut). Do you think it would work?

[Tufty]

A toggle option in the layer menu would work just fine. You can tuck it out of the way at the bottom.

Thank you so much for considering this.

[Lucky Clan]

Ok, toggle will enable/disable the overlay layer effect. But how to change the color?

[Tufty]

Maybe have the option expand into “enable” and “pick color”?

[Lucky Clan]

Where would it pick from? From canvas? From Colors panel?

[Tufty]

I was thinking just have a color panel pop up.

[Lucky Clan]

I see. I will think about it, but i cannot promise anything.