# Turn Flat Images into Workable Layered Files

> Split a flat image into editable layers with AI, then flatten when done. Full PSD import and export round-trips layered Photoshop files. Free to start on Layer.

---

AI image generation produces flat pixels, but production art lives in layers. Artists expect to nudge a character without disturbing the background, restyle a prop without repainting the scene, and hand off files that other tools can actually work with. A flat PNG breaks that entire workflow—every change risks everything around it.

Split into Layers on Layer restores that structure. It separates a flat image into individual editable layers, lets you work on each element independently, and flattens the result back when you're done. Full PSD import and export round-trips layered Photoshop documents, so Layer fits into pipelines your team already runs.

## Key Capabilities

**AI Layer Separation**
Split a flat image into its component elements—characters, props, foreground, background—each on its own editable layer.

**Element-Level Editing**
Move, adjust, restyle, or replace one layer without touching the others. Pair it with prompt editing or background removal to rework a single element in place.

**Flatten When Done**
Merge your layers back into a single image for export, or to feed the result into any other editing tool on the platform.

**Full PSD Round-Trip**
Import layered Photoshop documents with their structure intact, and export layered PSDs back out—so Layer and your desktop art tools stay in sync.

**Batch and Workflow Ready**
Split whole asset sets at once, or make layer separation a step in a node-based workflow that prepares every generation for artist handoff automatically.

## How It Works

**Select your asset**
Open any flat image in Layer—an AI generation, an upload, or an imported PSD whose layers you want to extend.

**Split into layers**
Layer separates the image into editable layers. Work on each element independently—reposition, restyle, or replace—using the platform's editing tools.

**Flatten or export layered**
Flatten back to a single image when the composition is final, or export a layered PSD so artists can continue in the tools they know.

## Built for Game Production

**Artist Handoff**
Generations stop being dead ends. Split them into layers, export as PSD, and drop them into an art team's existing Photoshop pipeline as workable files.

**UA Creative Variants**
Separate a hero creative into subject, background, and overlay layers, then swap elements per variant—new backgrounds, new props, same approved composition.

**Live-Ops Reskins**
Isolate the elements that change each event—decorations, items, framing—and reskin them layer by layer while the core scene stays untouched.

**Game Art Iteration**
Apply feedback to exactly one element of a composition without regenerating or repainting the rest, keeping approved work approved.

Layer is trusted by 300+ game studios and entertainment brands, including Zynga, SciPlay, Huuuge Games, and Machine Zone. Split into Layers turns any generation into the layered, workable file your production pipeline actually needs.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What does Split into Layers do?

It separates a flat image into individual editable layers—like subject, props, and background—so you can adjust, move, or replace each element independently, then flatten the result when you're done.

### Does Layer support PSD files?

Yes. Full PSD import and export round-trips layered Photoshop documents, so files move between Layer and your existing art tools without losing their layer structure.

### Why would I split an AI generation into layers?

AI generations are flat by default. Splitting them gives you the same element-level control artists expect from hand-built files—edit the character without touching the background, or swap the background entirely.

### Can I flatten the layers back into one image?

Yes. Once your edits are done, flatten the layers back into a single image for export or for further processing with any other tool on Layer.

### Does layer splitting work in batches and workflows?

Yes. Like every editing tool on Layer, it works on single assets or in batches at scale, and it can run inside node-based workflows for repeatable pipelines.

---

Give every generation the layer structure your artists expect. Start free on Layer—no credit card required.

---

[View original](https://layer.ai/features/split-into-layers) | [All Features](https://layer.ai/features)