Layer Forge Studio

Getting Started

Layer Forge Studio is a powerful image editing tool built directly inside Unity. It allows you to create, edit, and finalize textures without leaving the editor.

You can open Layer Forge Studio in two ways:

From the top menu

Tools → Tier Studios → Layer Forge Studio

Direct texture editing

Right-click any PNG/JPG in the Project window
Select: "Edit in Layer Forge Studio"
Make your changes
Click "Apply" to save instantly

This workflow allows seamless editing directly inside your project. Right-click any texture and start creating!

Project Files (.lfs)

Layer Forge Studio saves your projects as .lfs binary files.

Saving

File → Save or Ctrl+S · Save current project
File → Save As or Ctrl+Shift+S · Save to a new location

Project & Export Relationship

When you export images from a project, each exported image stores a lightweight .lfmeta reference file linking back to the project.

If the .lfs project exists, "Edit in Layer Forge Studio" opens it directly.
If the .lfs project was not yet saved at export time, the full project state is embedded in the .lfmeta as a snapshot for recovery.
Once you save the .lfs file, all related .lfmeta files are automatically upgraded to reference the project by ID.
You can safely rename or move .lfs files · the system uses internal project IDs, not file names or paths.

Apply Button

The "Apply" button overwrites the specific image you opened for editing. Apply is disabled when opening a .lfs project directly. It is only active when opened via "Edit in Layer Forge Studio" on an image.

Settings Panel

The Settings panel allows you to customize workflow, limits, and performance. All settings are automatically saved.

Default Paths

Export Path
Project Save Path

Tools

Max Brush / Eraser Size
Default Brush Size

Text

Max Font Size
Max Line Spacing
Text Arch Range (Min / Max)

Shape

Max Corner Radius
Max Stroke Width

Performance

Max Undo Steps
Auto-Save Enabled
Auto-Save Interval (minutes)
Auto-Save Slots

Appearance

Zoom Sensitivity
Checker Light / Dark colors
Snap Threshold (px)

Reset all settings anytime using: "Reset All to Defaults"

Interface Overview

Left Panel – Tool Options

Displays settings for the selected tool.

Position (X, Y)
Rotation
Scale (Width / Height)
Lock Aspect Ratio
Reset Transform

Center – Canvas

Main workspace for editing.

Real-time visual feedback
Supports zooming, panning and guides

Right Panel – Layers

Visibility toggle
Lock state
Blend mode
Opacity
Effects (FX)

Top Menu

File / Edit / Layer / Settings

Bottom Bar

Displays zoom level, active layer and quick info.

Canvas Controls

Ctrl + +Zoom In

Ctrl + -Zoom Out

Scroll WheelZoom

Middle MousePan

Ctrl + 0Fit to screen

Ctrl + 1100% zoom

Ctrl + RToggle ruler

ShiftSnap movement

Layer System

Layer Forge Studio uses a non-destructive layer system.

Layer Types

Raster Layer

Pixel-based drawing layer

Shape Layer Smart

Vector shapes · editable anytime

Text Layer Smart

Editable text · font, size, color, arch

Folder

Group and organize layers

Adjustment Layer

Non-destructive color corrections

Image Layer

Imported images

Smart Layers: Shape and Text layers remain fully editable. Change colors, size, text content, shape type at any time without losing quality. If you need to paint on them, you will be prompted to rasterize first.

Each layer supports:

Blend Modes
Opacity control
Layer Mask (non-destructive hide/reveal)
Layer Effects (FX)
Clipping Mask (clip content to layer below)

Layer Effects (FX)

Layer effects are applied non-destructively and can be stacked.

Drop Shadow

Inner Shadow

Outer Glow

Inner Glow

Bevel & Emboss

Stroke

Color Overlay

Gradient Overlay

Gaussian Blur

Blur

Background Blur

Each effect has detailed settings:

Color, opacity, angle, distance, spread, size
Gradient colors and types
Stroke position and size
Highlight / shadow controls for Bevel & Emboss
Add multiple effects to a single layer
Enable / disable each effect independently
Edit anytime without losing data

Blend Modes

Blend modes define how layers interact with each other.

Built-in Blend Modes

Normal
Multiply
Screen
Overlay
Soft Light
Hard Light
Darken
Lighten
Color Dodge
Color Burn
Difference
Exclusion

Custom Blend Modes

Create your own blend modes
Right click Project window → Layer Forge Studio → Add Custom Blend Mode
Implement custom shaders
They appear automatically in the blend mode dropdown

Tools & Shortcuts

General Shortcuts

Ctrl+SSave

Ctrl+Shift+SSave As

Ctrl+ZUndo

Ctrl+Shift+ZRedo

Ctrl+EExport

Ctrl+JDuplicate Layer

Ctrl+GGroup Layers into Folder

Ctrl+TFree Transform

Ctrl+C / X / VCopy / Cut / Paste

Ctrl+DDeselect

Ctrl+Shift+IInvert Selection

DeleteClear selected area

Tool Reference

V

Move Tool

Drag to reposition. Arrow keys for 1px nudge. Shift+drag for axis-constrained. Snaps to canvas edges, centers, and other layers.

B

Brush Tool

Adjustable size, opacity, hardness, spacing. Custom brush support (PNG textures). Pressure-sensitive drawing.

E

Eraser Tool

Same controls as brush. Erases to transparency.

G

Fill Tool

Flood fill with tolerance control. Fill with current color.

U

Shape Tool

Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Line, Polygon. Solid color or gradient fill. Stroke with color/gradient. Shift+drag for constrained proportions.

P

Pen Tool

Bezier path creation. Add, move, delete anchor points. Convert between smooth and corner points. Fill and stroke with color or gradient.

M

Marquee Tool

Rectangular / Elliptical selection. Shift for square/circle constraint.

L

Lasso Tool

Freehand selection.

W

Quick Selection Tool

Automatic edge-based selection. Adjustable tolerance.

T

Text Tool

Uses project fonts (.ttf / .otf). Font size, color, bold, italic, alignment. Line spacing. Text arch (curved text). Gradient text fill.

S

Clone Stamp Tool

Alt+click to set source. Paint to clone pixels from source area.

I

Eye Dropper

Click to pick color from canvas.

C

Crop Tool

Drag handles to define crop area. Rule of thirds guide. Enter to apply, Escape to cancel.

Transform System

`Ctrl+T` Free Transform

Move, rotate, scale any layer
Corner handles for proportional resize
Rotation by dragging outside bounding box
Enter to apply, Escape to cancel

Perspective Transform

Activate from Move Tool options
Drag corners independently for perspective distortion
Enter to apply, Escape to cancel

Mesh Warp

Activate from Move Tool options
Grid-based mesh deformation
Drag control points to warp the image
Enter to apply, Escape to cancel

Flip

Flip Horizontal
Flip Vertical

Layer Masks

Layer masks allow non-destructive hide/reveal of layer content.

Add a mask: Layer menu → Add Layer Mask
White = visible, Black = hidden, Gray = partial
Paint on mask with Brush / Eraser tools
Enable / Disable mask without deleting
Apply mask to permanently merge it
Delete mask to remove it

Layer Actions

Rename Layer
Duplicate Layer Ctrl+J
Add / Delete / Apply Layer Mask
Toggle Mask Enabled
Copy / Paste / Clear Layer Effects
Create Clipping Mask
Merge Down
Flatten Image
Group Layers Ctrl+G
Delete Layer
Drag and drop to reorder layers

Export System

Export your work as PNG or JPEG via File → Export Ctrl+E

Export Settings

File Name
Format: PNG / JPEG
JPEG Quality (1–100)
Output Path (folder picker)

Texture Import Settings (auto-applied)

Texture Type: Default, Sprite 2D, Normal Map, etc.
Sprite Mode: Single / Multiple
Pixels Per Unit
Compression Quality
Generate Mip Maps
Max Texture Size

Texture import settings are applied automatically to the exported image in Unity's texture importer · no manual configuration needed.

Adjustment Layers

Non-destructive color corrections applied to all layers below.

Brightness / Contrast

Brightness: Lighten or darken
Contrast: Increase or decrease

Hue / Saturation

Hue: Shift color spectrum
Saturation: Increase or decrease color intensity

Adjustment layers have their own opacity and blend mode controls.

Custom Extensions (Plugin System)

Custom Brushes

Right click Project window
Layer Forge Studio → Add Custom Brush
Supports PNG images, Grayscale textures, Transparent textures

Custom Blend Modes

Right click Project window
Layer Forge Studio → Add Custom Blend Mode
Write custom shader code
Automatically integrated into the blend mode list

Auto-Save & Recovery

Auto-save runs at configurable intervals (default: 5 minutes)
Creates recovery snapshots without overwriting your file
On next open, if a newer auto-save exists, you are prompted to recover
Configure slots and interval in Settings → Performance

Also supports Rulers & Guides: Ctrl+R to toggle rulers, drag from ruler to create guides, layers snap to guides when snapping is enabled.

Keyboard Shortcut Reference

File

Ctrl+SSave

Ctrl+Shift+SSave As

Ctrl+EExport

Edit

Ctrl+ZUndo

Ctrl+Shift+ZRedo

Ctrl+TFree Transform

Ctrl+JDuplicate Layer

Ctrl+GGroup Layers

DeleteClear Selection

Tools

VMove

BBrush

EEraser

GFill

UShape

MMarquee

LLasso

WQuick Selection

TText

PPen

SClone Stamp

IEye Dropper

CCrop

Canvas

Ctrl+0Fit to Screen

Ctrl+1100% Zoom

Ctrl++Zoom In

Ctrl+-Zoom Out

Ctrl+RToggle Rulers

Middle MousePan

Scroll WheelZoom

Platform Compatibility

All file paths use Unity's cross-platform APIs
Compute shaders work on DirectX, Metal, and Vulkan
Hidden .lfmeta files use dot-prefix convention (native on macOS)
No platform-specific dependencies
Minimum Unity version: 2020.2+
Fully compatible with Unity 6 (6000.x)