If you're new to Affinity Photo (or even if you’ve been using it for a while), it doesn’t take long to notice there are lots of different layer types. Some of them behave very differently from others. If you try to use the wrong tool, you might end up confused or frustrated.
In this post, we’ll look at eight of the most commonly used layer types. We'll explain what you can and can’t do with them, and share a few tips. Hopefully, you don’t get stuck wondering why a tool isn’t working.
Pixel Layers
A Pixel Layer is the foundation of most image editing in Affinity Photo. This is where all your pixel-based work happens — painting, erasing, cloning, retouching, and more. If you're working with a scanned image or painting with brushes, you're likely using a Pixel Layer.
You can apply filters, blend modes, and effects directly on this layer. However, because includes raster data, scaling it up too much can reduce the image quality and introduce pixelation. If you're looking for clean, scalable graphics, you'd need to switch to a vector layer instead.
Image Layers
When you use the Place command to insert an image into your document, Affinity Photo adds it as an Image Layer. At first glance, it might look just like a regular Pixel Layer — but it works a little differently.
You can move, scale, and rotate an Image Layer without any loss of quality, which makes it great for flexibility. However, you won’t be able to paint on it, erase parts, or use tools like the clone stamp until you rasterize it. This can be confusing because the layer appears editable, but none of the pixel-based tools will work.
If you find that your tools aren’t responding, just right-click on the layer in the Layers panel and choose “Rasterize.” That will convert it into a Pixel Layer so you can edit it freely.
Shape Layers
Shape Layers are created using Affinity Photo’s built-in shape tools. — like the rectangle, ellipse, or triangle tools. These layers are vector-based, which means they are made of mathematical paths, not pixels. That allows you to scaled them up or down infinitely without losing sharpness.
Each shape has its own fill and stroke. You can easily adjust properties like corner radius, stroke thickness, and color. However, Shape Layers don’t support painting or pixel-based editing unless you rasterize them first. If you want to go beyond the standard shapes and create custom paths, you’ll need to convert the shape to a Curve Layer.
Curve Layers
Curve Layers are vector paths that you create using the Pen Tool or by converting an existing shape. They offer complete control over each point and curve in the shape, allowing you to draw anything from simple lines to complex illustrations.
Like Shape Layers, Curve Layers are fully scalable and can have strokes and fills. However, they’re purely vector, so you can’t painted on them or edit them using pixel tools — at least not until they’re rasterized. These layers are perfect for custom cutouts, outlines, or stylized illustrations where precision is key.
Adjustment Layers
Adjustment Layers let you apply edits like brightness, contrast, hue/saturation, levels, and more — without making permanent changes to your image. These layers don’t contain any pixel data themselves; instead, they sit on top of your content and apply an effect to everything beneath them in the layer stack.
What makes them especially powerful is that you can adjust the settings at any time, mask parts of the adjustment, or even clip the adjustment to a single layer. They’re fully non-destructive, so they’re ideal for experimenting with different looks without committing to a change.
Text Layers
Text Layers are exactly what they sound like — layers that contain editable text. You can create Artistic Text for short phrases, headlines, or titles, or use Frame Text when you want your text to wrap within a bounding box, like in a paragraph.
Text Layers allow you to change fonts, colors, alignment, spacing, and more. You can apply layer effects (like shadows or strokes), and you can even convert text to curves for custom shaping. However, like many other special layer types, you can’t paint directly on a Text Layer unless you rasterize it — which will turn it into a regular Pixel Layer and remove its editability as text.
Mask Layers
Mask Layers are one of the most useful tools for non-destructive editing. A mask doesn’t show up visually on your document, but it controls what part of another layer is visible. Anywhere the mask is white, the layer will be visible. Anywhere it’s black, the layer is hidden. Shades of gray will make the layer partially visible.
You can paint on a mask using any brush, apply gradients, or even paste selections into it. Masks are ideal for soft transitions, creative blends, or hiding parts of an image without deleting anything. Since they’re linked to other layers, they don’t function on their own but are incredibly powerful when used alongside other layer types.
Group Layers
Group Layers are containers that help you keep your project organized. You can group several layers together so you can move, resize, or apply effects to them all at once. This is especially helpful when you're working with multiple layers that make up a single element — like a title made from several text pieces, or a cluster of decorative items.
You can also apply an adjustment, a filter, or a mask to the group itself, and it will affect everything inside. Grouping layers this way helps keep your layer panel tidy and lets you manage related elements more easily.
These eight layers are the ones you’ll encounter most often in your projects — and understanding how each of them behaves will save you time and headaches.
Knowing when to rasterize, when to clip, and when to group will all become second nature once you’re familiar with the possibilities — and limitations — of each type.
