Layer Update (Sept ‘24) - FLUX ‘n Forge ⚒️

It’s getting colder, but our Layer updates are hotter than ever. 🥵

As we head into fall, we’re excited to share some big updates to some of our core models and functionality. FLUX is already proven to be THE most performant image generation model of our era, so we added custom style training support for FLUX, giving you composition control and enhanced quality.

Speaking of styles, we also updated our styles management features and added “upgrade” labels for styles which have superior base model versions available for a given style, making it easier for you to easily upgrade styles by regenerating them! 

We’ve also updated the Forge (yes, again!) based on artist feedback. The experience is now more intuitive than ever, with more options for customization and control. Finally, we’re excited to showcase our CEO Volkan Gurel taking the stage at the Mobile Finance Collective and CFO Burcu Hakgüder at Mobidictum - showcasing Layer live in front of gamedevs worldwide.

Platform Updates ⚙️

Improvements and changes to the Layer platform. 

Features

• Take FLUX to the next level with style training. FLUX training is available for Pro, Studio, and Enterprise accounts with no additional cost. Want to train custom styles? Sign up for Layer Pro to tap into better composition control and quality - the best performing model to date.
• Manage your Layer styles with style. We’ve added enhanced style creation features to make the creation and management of styles even more accessible. While not necessary to create assets in Layer (we have tons of pre-made styles), many partner game studios have seen tremendous success using custom styles built with existing artwork which stays consistent with their game styles.
• New New Forge Experience. I know, we just updated it! However, based on the huge amount of feedback from Layer artists we decided to put even more love into the Forge experience. This coming month especially will see new additions to the core forge functionality within the Layer app.

The latest from #TeamLayer 📰

News, updates, and changes to the Layer team. Basically, everything that doesn’t involve lines of code.

Artist Guide: Creating mobile UI elements w/ custom styles

The latest in our series for game artists, this guide explores our UI’s art style and how to build out UI within the Layer tool.

Layer at Mobidictum 2024 in Istanbul - Oct 15/16

Layer attended (and sponsored) the Mobidictum Conference in Turkey this month. Join us and Fortune Mine Games as we discuss the future of game art. We’ll be sharing the recording of the session in the next months update.

Layer CEO Volkan Gurel featured in Mobile Finance Collective session on AI in gaming

It’s always good to be on stage! This time with Mobile Finance Collective, showing how Layer is cutting costs for CFOs everywhere. We’re enabling studios to produce more while spending less - reducing reliance on external resources.

Layer x Shanghai Vancouver Film School: Bringing professional gen-AI to filmmakers

We’re excited to be bringing the power of gen-AI to the next generation of creators at the Shanghai Vancouver Film School - now teaching Layer in game design courses.

New Tutorial: Creating a Superhero in a Destroyed City with Layer

Join us as we go through the full process of creating a dynamic superhero style character on Layer - exploring different poses, backgrounds, and how to layer assets inside a creative workflow.

Looking Ahead 🔮

Looking into October, the team will be doubling down on the core experience - app UX, Forge, and documentation + user flow templates. While the big features like Animation and 3D are always on our plates, we’re also keen to make sure the main functionality is always being improved and optimized based on community feedback.

We know that a great tool lives and dies by great documentation, which is why we will be overhauling https://help.layer.ai/en/ to be better in all regards. Specifically, we’ll be updating the majority of docs to align with our new UX and product features, as well as add net new docs focused on use cases we’re seeing from studios using Layer.

If you want to reach out or have suggestions - join the official Discord. Happy creating!

#TeamLayer