On the new canvas if I make a pencil outline and I rub the line away it shows squares. So I’ve been choosing a white paint to paint over the pencil lines and it’s been showing up on my images as a different colour when I save the image and eg put it on Facebook.
How do I erase please on a white canvas without it going back to the square transparency canvas below?
When you create a new image, the ‘Background’ layer is a paint layer that has been pre-painted white for your convenience. (This is optional and can be altered in the Content tab of the Create New document window.)
If you use an eraser on the background layer, you’ll remove the paint on it and the areas you erase will be transparent. The grey checkerboard pattern is the standard convention for what to display when the image is transparent.
This is why the Background layer is locked by default, to stop people using it.
You should make your pencil drawing (and all artwork) on a transparent paint layer(s) above the background layer. Then you can erase your artwork on its own layer without affecting the background layer, or any other paint layers you may be using with multi-layer artwork.
This is the usual practice and technique with digital painting.
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Hi AhabGreybear 
Oh my goodness I’m totally delighted with what you have told me today. I’ve messed around with layers this evening and deleting colour, I’ve locked layers below so that I’m only deleting on the layer I’m working on.
I’ve even created a new canvas and changed the colour like you said. I have a couple more questions for you please:
- Can you change the canvas colour after you have created it and have been working on it?
- If I didn’t have a background layer would I just get my drawing? eg: a cat and nothing else the rest would be invisible on an image? Is that what you mean by transparent.
- Why would I colour a raster layer, a canvas layer and a fill layer? Has this to be done at the beginning or as the artist paints on layers? I have heard of raster and vector but I’m not sure what those layers would be for, also a fill layer.
- How long have you been creating pictures? Can I see some of your work please?
Thanks, you don’t know how much you have helped me out.
Best wishes
Night
Budbin
I like the name ‘Ahab Greybear’. I do walk with a shambling stoop and often make grunting or moaning noises
I see from your other posts that you’re just starting out with digital painting applications. It’ll be a long journey with confusion and frustration along the way but it really is worth the effort, because it’s fun to play with. You can also make nice pictures if you really want to and you’re willing to put the time and effort into learning how to do it.
Trying to answer your questions:
-
Yes. You can do anything you like with any of the layers in your image. They are yours and you decided what to do with them.
When you say ‘canvas’, you probably mean the default background layer. ‘Canvas’ is the word for the entire image or working area on the screen.
The background layer is a paint layer and you can paint on it (if it’s not locked). The quickest and easiest way to make it a different colour is to use the Fill Tool (looks like a bucket with paint spilling out of it). Just choose a colour and then select the Fill Tool and click on the background layer. -
Transparency is a simple and everyday concept when you’re dealing with a sheet of glass or acetate film but it can get complicated and confusing when you’re dealing with digital images, especially if you try to post an image with transparency on a website.
Think of the layers docker as showing a stack of rectangular acetate sheets. What you see on the canvas is the view looking down through that stack of acetate sheets. If the sheets (layers) have no paint on them, what do you see? A computer monitor can’t display ‘nothing’ so the convention is that a grey checkerboard patterns is displayed to let you know that you’re looking through transparent areas. -
You have to start somewhere and a nice clean blank sheet of white ‘paper’ is a good and traditional place to start when you’re drawing or painting so krita provides you with that ‘Background’ layer as a simple and useful convenience.
You don’t have to use it and you can delete it but it is so useful, for beginners especially.
A raster layer is a technical term for a ‘painting on’ layer (or Paint Layer, in krita) and it’s technically distinct from a vector layer which uses different ‘image construction’ and internal representation methods.
Similarly, a fill layer is technically distinct in terms of what it can do and how you might use it.
I strongly suggest that you concentrate on using paint layers for now and learning how to put paint on them and manipulate and move them and group them and merge them and alpha lock them and maybe even apply alpha inhertitance to them.
There will be plenty of time later to learn about and be confused by vector layers and fill layers and filter layers and clone layers and file layers and masks … -
It was 30 years ago that I made my first ‘digital painting’ but only in the past 15 years that I’ve used modern applications like krita. If you click on anybody’s profile picture, you’ll see a button that says ‘Portfolio’. Click that and you’ll see all the images they’ve posted on the forum.
I’m not an ‘artist’. I’m an old engineer who constructs and manipulates images and plays with animations for a bit of fun and a bit of a challenge now and then.
I’m glad that I could be of help and you’ve come to the right place for help and advice and to see what can be done by people who really are artists.
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Ah ha, that was a typo, I actually like Ahab Greybear too.
Thanks ever so much for all the copious amounts of information. I’ve been quiet as I’ve been messing with my layers and merging them and resetting backgrounds and removing them. I’ve been learning some more short cut commands and trying my best to understand what you have been telling me. I’ve been filling and changing my background and making it transparent. I understand the differences now between raster and vector layers. I am good to go with alpha lock and visible eyes and locking layers. I think I am up to the point where I still need to sure up my learning on selecting and deselecting, alpha inheritance, vector; fill; filter; clone and file layers and masks. Although I have been messing with all of these I still need to practice to fully understand. I checked out your portfolio, I really like your Fantasy images, my book is a fantasy book. I’ve been learning to use my basic Wacom CTL 4100 with Krita and I feel comfortable now looking at the screen and drawing on there. At first my co-ordination was terrible and now it’s improving fast. Thanks for all your help it has made a great difference. My father is an engineer and so is my husband. Engineers have technical minds that helps a lot when you design and learn. I’d love to upload you my fourth file that I’m working on, it’s a character out of my book but I haven’t figured out how to succeed doing this yet but I will. Have a good day tomorrow and thanks again.
The fantasy images are ‘happy little accidents’ that happened as I was stirring orange paint onto a black background in an attempt to make attractive random swirls. To my surprise, a scary laughing face was there. So I did that again, from scratch, trying to make more of them. If you do it often enough then you get a few of them, or maybe it’s just me and my old computer.
There is a lot to learn and I think that slow, sure and often but not for too long in one session is the best way.
Uploading images here is quite easy. You need to Export from krita as a .png or .jpg file, i.e. a flat single layer image file. The .jpg is fine for medium to large images. For smaller images then the .png is better, especially if viewed full screen.
Above the text box you type in, there’s a row of icons. One looks like n arrow coming out of a rectangle - that’s the Upload icon. Click it to get the ‘Add an image or a file’ window, Browse from your device (computer) to find it on your computer then hit the Upload button.
The forum has an image file size upload limit of 3MB but you’re not likely to go anywhere near that with normal/ordinary images.
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Thanks Ahab Greybear
I’ve managed to upload the files that I have created since I’ve started learning from scratch with my Wacom CTL4100. I’m kind of getting more used to using the pen now although I need to really map my pen as I don’t use the buttons on it yet.
You can see an image of a boy that I was trying to draw from the 1930’s. The base image is terrible but when I colour him it looks so much better although rather basic. The book I’m creating is for ages 10 upwards. This character is supposed to be 12. I will probably end up drawing him again and again, this is a test figure to get me used to the Wacom. I am looking forward to drawing my dragon when I get to it.
Yes, definitely little and often will be king. I have also two other files on my drive these are of our dog. The image I took of her had sleep in her eye and I used the magic patch to remove it which I think is totally amazing. As it definitely worked. I will see if I can upload those images as that magic patch is pretty awesome. Thanks for your help, as always your advice is totally clear and precise. Many thanks I hope you don’t mind me calling you Ahab Greybear, I’ve kind of got used to it.
Most people call me Ahab but AhabGreybear is fine, lol.
The eye, hand and lips sketches have nice shading on them and the 1930’s boy could be developed further in the future.
(The wonderful thing about dogs is that they don’t care what they or you look like.)
You should post these in a separate topic because as replies to this topic, they won’t appear in your Portfoilio.
Also, as a general principle, once the subject of a topic has been resolved (i.e. Using the eraser on a white canvas) then a new topic should be used for other matters. This makes it easier for people to get relevant results when using the Search facility.
You’re settling down with krita and your graphics tablet so relax, work hard (but not too hard) and enjoy the journey
Thanks, best wishes and I’ve deleted the images now Ahab and clicked the solution box.
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