The LayerGrab blog is the place where we publish what we learn splitting images into layers: tool comparisons run on the same test files, guides to the workflows designers ask about, and notes on what the models do well and badly.
Every comparison names its sources and says what was run and what was only read. Every guide ends with when not to use the method. Results shown are real splits, saved as the tool returned them.
Guide · 7 min read
Turn a flat poster, illustration or photo into a layered PSD for After Effects: every element on its own layer, the background filled in, ready to animate.
November 13, 2026
Read the postCase study · 6 min read
We asked ChatGPT to turn a poster into a PSD, separate PNGs and a text layer. What it did well, where its cut-outs left holes, and when to use a splitter.
November 13, 2026
Read the postGuide · 5 min read
Only have the banner JPG? Change the price, swap the product, translate the headline or replace the logo without rebuilding the design. Real examples.
November 13, 2026
Read the postGuide · 6 min read
Split a character illustration into hair, face, eyes, clothes and limbs on separate layers for Live2D, Spine or After Effects, with hidden parts drawn in.
November 13, 2026
Read the postGuide · 5 min read
Rebuild a post, ad, thumbnail or slide you made as an editable template in Canva, Figma or Photoshop when the source file is gone. Steps and real examples.
November 13, 2026
Read the postGuide · 5 min read
Pull every illustration out of one image as its own transparent PNG for stickers or a sticker sheet, with real print sizes and the limits worth knowing.
November 13, 2026
Read the postGuide · 6 min read
Six free ways to separate an image into layers: Photopea, GIMP and Krita by hand, or the free allowances of AI tools, and what each one costs you in time.
November 13, 2026
Read the postGuide · 7 min read
AI images often garble text. Split the image, hide the text layer over a filled background, and retype the words in a real font—without regenerating.
October 26, 2026
Read the postUpdate · 3 min read
AI image models now split a flat JPG into separate, named layers with the background filled in, in about 100 seconds. The Pen tool afternoon is over.
October 6, 2026
Read the postGuide · 5 min read
Cutting an object out of a photo leaves a hole. How to remove it, keep it as a layer you can move, and get a filled background in one step.
October 6, 2026
Read the postGuide · 6 min read
AI image generators hand you one flat picture. How to turn a ChatGPT, Midjourney or Gemini image into editable layers for Photoshop, Figma or print.
October 6, 2026
Read the postGuide · 5 min read
Converting a JPG to PSD gives you one layer, because a JPG stores none. Three ways to get a PSD with a layer per element, and what each one costs you.
October 6, 2026 · updated November 13, 2026
Read the postComparison · 8 min read
Canva Magic Layers only works inside Canva. The alternatives that hand you the layers as files or inside Photoshop and Figma, with prices and limits from their own pages.
September 28, 2026 · updated September 30, 2026
Read the postGuide · 6 min read
Four ways to get layers back from a flattened image, even after saving and closing it, and what an AI rebuild can and cannot recover.
September 29, 2026 · updated October 6, 2026
Read the postGuide · 7 min read
What the open Qwen-Image-Layered model does, what its prompt controls, how to run it, and how it compares with a hosted image-to-layers tool.
September 29, 2026 · updated September 30, 2026
Read the postComparison · 19 min read
The three best image to layers AI tools for a layered PSD or editable layers, each for a different job (LayerGrab, LayerPSD, Canva Magic Layers), and seven more compared on layers, exports and price.
September 29, 2026 · updated November 13, 2026
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