#merged layers

If you have closed the file so you cannot undo and you have not saved an unmerged copy of the file, it might be too late.

When you merge two layers, the merged layer takes on the blending mode and opacity of the lowermost layer.

My recommendation: have a base layer set to normal blending and full opacity, merge from the “lowermost layers, moving up”.

So, if you have a structure like this, for a simple example:

highlight (normal mode)

pupil (normal mode)

bright texture (add mode, clipped to iris)

dark texture (multiply mode, clipped to iris)

iris (normal mode)

shading (multiply mode, clipped to sclera)

sclera (normal mode)

(indented layers are clipped to the unindented layer below, not sub-layers of the layer above)

Then first I would merge the dark texture layer down (to the iris layer), then the bright texture, then the shading layer, then merge the iris layer down, then the pupil layer down, then the highlight layer down.

Another (possibly better) alternative, which means you can keep all the layers and their blending modes and opacity, is to add a layer folder, then add all the layers into the folder, then you can move the entire layer folder as one unit without merging the layers.

I am assuming that is a typo for “without”.

Text will always start on a new layer. Text layers remain editable - you can go back and change the words, fix a typo, change the font and colour.

If you want to merge your text layer into another layer (below), select the text layer and use Layer menu, Convert, Convert to Color Layer. 

The text layer is now a plain image layer as if you painted the text, and you can merge the converted layer with the layer beneath - using the Merge Layer button below the layer list, or Layer menu, Merge Down, or the keyboard shortcut (default keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+E on Windows, and I assume Cmmd+E on Macs).

Assuming the character is already on the upper layer (you can drag the layers in the layer list to change their order), you can either:

1. Export as a PNG image - PNG images do not support layers, so layers are automatically “flattened” (merged) into a single image. You can save in MDP format first so you still have the layers for further editing as well as the merged PNG image.

or

2. Select the upper (character) layer, then click the Merge Layer button at the bottom of the layer list. This will merge the selected layer with the layer below.

(With the upper layer selected, you could also use the Layer menu, Merge Down.)

-Obtusity

You don’t, unless Undo will work i.e. you haven’t closed the file, so Undo might unmerge a layer you have just merged -  Edit menu, Undo or Ctrl+Z, Cmmd+Z on a Mac, or the Undo button, which looks a bit like the Back arrow on a media player.

If you have closed the file and cannot use Undo: Depending on the content, selecting areas using the selection tolls and copy and paste into separate layers might work, or perhaps duplicating layers and using the Extracting Lines filter to extract line art merged with paler colours. Neither of these operations is ideal.

Sorry, I cannot reproduce the problem here. Are you using an old version of FireAlpaca? (Help menu, About, current version 1.6.2) I think I recall something similar happening on an old version, but I thought it was fixed a while back.

Try creating a new blank layer above your shading layer, at 100% opacity but no paint, and merging that down with your shading layer. If I recall correctly, that will make your shading layer 100% opaque but with areas of semi-opaque paint rather than opaque paint on a semi-opaque layer, which will then merge fine with your colour layer.

If that does not work, try a blank layer below your shading layer, then merge your shading layer with that first. I know merging with a blank layer used to fix it, but cannot remember the exact layer order.

At the time of writing, there is no way to apply a filter simultaneously on multiple layers in FireAlpaca. The only way is to merge the layers first, so they become a single layer.

Hello Anon! That is not possible in FireAlpaca ;(

You can try clipping, selecting, or coloring separate parts a certain color in separate layers to color the drawing! This might help you find different ways of coloring that you may like :)