Intro to Layers in Luma

Intro to Layers in Luma

With Luma Layers, you can take an existing image and separate its contents into individually editable elements, layers. A poster can become a background, headline, character, logo, and graphic treatment. A product ad can become a product, shadow, CTA, text block, and backdrop.

Each extracted element receives a transparent background and becomes part of an editable layer stack. You can move it, reorder it, hide it, modify it, replace it, remix it, remake it, or take it out of the composition entirely.

Instead of treating an image as one finished object, Layers turns a flat graphic into its own creative layer modification editor.

What Layers makes possible

Layers lets you preserve the parts of an image that already work while changing only what needs to change.

You can:

• Move a product without regenerating the background.
• Replace a headline without recreating the entire ad.
• Change the subject while preserving the typography and layout.
• Separate an object and reuse it elsewhere on your board.
• Recompose an existing design for a different aspect ratio.
• Create several variations from the same layered source.
• Edit text directly, including its font, size, and color.
• Bring additional assets from your board into the composition.

This is the key difference between editing a layer and generating another image: the change is scoped to the element you selected rather than the entire composition.

How to extract layers from an image

Step 1: Select the image

Start with any image on your Luma board.

This could be:

• An image created in Luma
• An uploaded photograph
• A finished advertisement
• A poster or social graphic
• A product composition
• An illustration
• An existing campaign asset

Right-click the image, or Control-click on supported devices, to open its menu.

Step 2: Choose Extract Layers

Select Extract Layers from the menu.

The extraction window will open with a field where you can describe what you want separated.

Adding an instruction is optional. You can let Luma determine the most useful layers, or tell it exactly which elements you need.

Step 3: Describe the layers you want

Your instruction can be broad:

Separate this image into the most useful editable layers.

or

Break this image into the main visual elements I would need to rearrange or replace.

or

Identify the most important parts of this composition and place each one on its own layer.

It can describe your intended edit:

I want to replace the product and headline while preserving the rest of the design.

or

Separate the elements I would need to change the subject and update the copy without affecting the background.

or

Create layers that will let me swap the main product, change the CTA, and keep the original layout intact.

Or it can specify the exact layer structure:

Extract the headline, car, tree, house, clouds, logo, and background as separate layers.

or

Separate the title, vehicle, foreground plants, building, sky, brand mark, and background into individual layers.

or

Create separate layers for the main text, car, tree, house, cloud layer, logo, and full background.

Another useful structure is:

Extract these layers: the product, product shadow, headline, CTA, logo, foreground graphics, and background.

or

Create individual layers for the bottle, bottle shadow, title, supporting copy, call to action, logo, decorative elements, and backdrop.

or

Separate the composition into the main product, its shadow, primary text, button text, brand logo, foreground design elements, and background.

You do not need to use special syntax. Describe the result naturally, as though you were asking a designer to organize the file for you.

Broad instructions versus exact instructions

Both approaches are useful.

Use a broad instruction when:

• You are exploring an unfamiliar image.
• You are not yet sure what you want to edit.
• You want Luma to identify the main visual components.
• You want a fast starting point.

Example instructions:

Break this poster into the main elements I would need to create new variations.

or

Separate this design into the most useful layers for editing and rearranging the composition.

or

Identify the major visual and text elements in this poster and place them on individual layers.

Use an exact instruction when:

• You already know which elements will change.
• You need a specific production-ready structure.
• Certain objects should remain together.
• You want to avoid unnecessary fragmentation.

Example instructions:

Extract the headline, subheadline, bottle, bottle shadow, flowers, logo, and background. Keep the bottle label attached to the bottle.

or

Separate the title, supporting text, product, product shadow, floral elements, brand mark, and backdrop. Keep all packaging text grouped with the product.

or

Create individual layers for the headline, description, bottle, shadow, flowers, logo, and background. Treat the bottle and its printed label as one complete layer.

or

The most useful extraction is not necessarily the one with the largest number of layers. Separate the elements you need to control while keeping naturally connected elements together.

or

For example, you may want a product and its label to remain one layer, but its shadow to be separate so that the product can be repositioned more easily.

Choosing 1K or 2K extraction

Before processing, you can choose between 1K and 2K resolution.

Use 1K when:

• You are experimenting.
• You expect to create several early variations.
• The source does not contain extremely fine details.
• You are building a rough layout before finalizing it.

Use 2K when:

• You need more detail in the extracted elements.
• The asset contains fine typography or product details.
• You are working closer to final production quality.
• The composition may need to support a larger final export.

A 2K extraction costs twice as much as a 1K extraction, so 1K is often the practical choice for early iteration. Reserve 2K for work that requires more detail or is approaching final production.

What happens after extraction

Once Luma finishes processing the image, it opens the composition inside the Layers editor.

The original flat image is now represented by a stack of named layers. Each extracted image layer includes transparency around the isolated element, allowing it to sit naturally over the layers below it.

The order of the stack determines what appears in front and what appears behind:

• Layers near the top appear in front.
• Layers lower in the stack appear behind.
• The background normally sits at or near the bottom.

You can select a layer directly from the stack or click its visible content inside the editor.

Moving elements around the composition

Each layer can move freely along the horizontal and vertical axes.

Select an element and drag it to a new position. Because the element has been isolated from the rest of the image, the other layers remain in place.

This makes it possible to:

• Shift a headline without affecting the artwork.
• Move a product closer to the center.
• Create more space for copy.
• Adjust the relationship between a subject and the background.
• Rebuild the visual hierarchy of an existing design.

Think of the Layers editor as its own miniature design canvas inside your broader Luma board.

Bringing other board assets into Layers

Extraction is only the starting point.

You can drag another image from your board into the Layers editor and incorporate it into the composition. The added image becomes another layer that can be moved and positioned alongside the extracted elements.

For example, you could:

• Drag in a new product image.
• Add an alternate logo.
• Introduce another character.
• Place a texture behind the headline.
• Add a new foreground element.
• Bring an approved brand asset into an existing design.

You can also begin with an empty Layers editor and drag images or text into it manually. This allows you to construct a layered composition without first extracting a flat image.

Taking layers back onto the board

The relationship between the board and the Layers editor works in both directions.

You can drag an individual layer out of the editor and place it onto your board as its own asset. Once on the board, it behaves like a regular image asset.

You can then:

• Download it
• Crop it
• Modify it
• Use it as a reference
• Place it in another composition
• Combine it with other workflows

This is especially useful when extraction isolates an element you want to reuse, such as a product, character, logo treatment, or graphic motif.

A helpful reminder

Extraction does not require you to describe every visible detail. Focus on the elements you want to move, replace, edit, or reuse.

Complete, thorough instructions always produce complete and thorough results. Explain what should become a layer, what should remain grouped, and what you intend to change later.

When you are unsure, begin with a broad extraction at 1K. Once you understand how you want the composition organized, you can create a more specific extraction or move to 2K for higher-detail work.