Photopea: Selections to Layers to Exported Files

This micro course will show you how to break an image into five different color based layers with transparency and export them as PNG files. This process is useful for creating files for augmented reality experiences and animations.

Joseph Von Stengel
40 steps
4 minutes

Photopea

Navigate to [https://www.photopea.com/](https://www.photopea.com/)

Opening an Image File

Click "Open From Computer" and navigate to the image file you want to manipulate.

Photopea can open most image file types including Photoshop .PSDs. JPGs work great.

Zoom Tool

Click the 'Zoom Tool'.

Cliick on the image using the Zoom Tool to make the image bigger.

Making a Selection

Tool tip! The Magic Wand tool will allow you to select large areas of color. The amount of a color selected is determined by the 'Tolerance' setting. The higher the number the more the range of a color will be selected. ie darkest reds to brightest reds. The smaller the number the more specific a color will be selected. Uncheck the 'Contiguous' to capture a color throughout the entire image.

Click on the 'Magic Wand'

Click on 'Tolerance' and enter a number.

Click on a color, in this case I clicked on dark orange.

This only selected a small area of the dark orange. To select more choose the 'Add to Selection' option and then click on other areas of dark orange around the canvas.

All the red orange colors has been selected.

Tip! If your goal is to select all of one color across the entire canvas, uncheck the 'Contiguous' check box before clicking on a color.

Click the "Contiguous" field to uncheck it.

Now clicking on a color will select all of that color across the canvas.

Making a layer from a Selection

Now that the color is selected, use 'Copy' and 'Paste' to move the color to a new layer.

Click Copy. Notice the hot keys on the right hand side.

Click "Paste"

The orange red colors are now on 'Layer 1' above the 'Background' layer.

Here is what it looks like if the 'visibility' (controlled by the eyeball icon on the left side of a layer) of the Background layer is turned off.

Create a Multi Layer Experience

To make a multi-layer color experience repeat the above process (magic wand color selection, copy and past to a new layer) for the various colors in the image.

Click 'Background' to select colors from this layer again. If 'Layer 1' is still selected it will only select colors from that layer.

Change the Tolerance

This time I chose the green colors.

Press [[cmd]] + [[c]]

Press [[cmd]] + [[v]]

Now the green colors are on 'Layer 2'.

Repeat the process for all the other colors. Don't forget to select the Backgound layer each time you make selections!

The image has been broken into five color layers with transparency and a background.

This is what the layers look like with the Background visibility off.

Saving your Project

Click "Save as PSD". This will save a Photoshop file to your computer.

Exporting PNG files from layers

Layers can be exported individually or as a batch. Layers with transparency need to be exported as PNG files. All other layer should be exported as JPG files.

To export a single layer, turn off the visibility of all layers except the one you want to export by clicking on the little eye icon on the left side of the layer.

Click on 'File' --> 'Export As' and select "PNG".

Click the "Name" field to name the PNG. Use a meaningful naming convention. ie.. Layer 1.png, Layer 2.png, Trigger.jpg

Change the quality to 80% and click "Save"

Exporting JPG files from layers

Since the Background layer has no transparency export is as a JPG. Click on 'File' --> 'Export As' and select "JPG".

Give it a name and change the quality to 60% and click 'Save'

Batch Layer Exporting

Layers can also be exported all at once in a batch into a folder. This is very useful if you need to export all the layers in an image as separate image files.

Make sure all the layers are visible.

Click "Export Layers..."

Uncheck the "Only layers / folders, whose name starts with "-e-"" check box. This option can be used to selectively export layers by adding "-e-" to the beginning of layer's names.

Uncheck the "Trim transparent parts" field.

Pick the image format. Chang the 'Quality' and Click "Export Layers". * these layers have transparency so I chose PNG.

Click here to turn off the Export Layers window.

The individual and batch processed image files will be in the "Downloads" folder on your computer.

Don't forget to 'Save'.

Click here to close the image.