Can I paint/brush on one layer while still seeing the other layers beneath it for reference?

[Simon0]

I’m using the Brush tool to draw on a layer, but when I double‑click that layer and go into the dedicated Layer panel, every other layer disappears. I need those underlying layers visible so I know where to place my strokes relative to the rest of the comp.

I just want to see the other layers underneath while I paint on a given layer.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hey Simon,

Thanks for the message. Welcome to the forum. I'm not quite sure what the technique would be, but I asked the developers and I hope they will respond soon. Sorry for the frustration.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @Simon0,

The devs said you can have a Composition Panel and Layer panel open at the same time. That would help mitigate the issue. I hope the advice helps.

Thanks,
Kevin

[thepixelsmith]

I've tried it this way. The problem that I ran into is that the preview only updates after you finish a brush stroke.

[Simon0]

Yeah, this is exactly the problem I ran into. Also, the "comp nesting" solution doesn't work for me because I want to brush the alpha channel of the topmost layer while still seeing the underlying layers for reference. When using the "comp nesting" solution, the brushing affects the alpha of the whole comp.

[thepixelsmith]

There is an add-on for AE called Paint & Stick (actually it is two addons bundled) that may do what you are looking for. It allows painting directly in the cmp window if I recall correctly (I haven't used it in years though).

https://aescripts.com/paint-and-stick/

[thepixelsmith]

If your reference is a single layer:

I just duplicate the layer and use the brush on that duplicate. I set the brush to on Transparent.

If your reference image is multiple layers, I have a hackey way of doing this

I use comp nesting.

I take the comp with my reference layers (main comp) and nest it inside a another comp (painting comp).

I double-click on the nested comp layer (main comp) with the paint brush tool and that opens it in the layer panel.

I paint on my layer and then copy/paste the paint effect back into a solid layer in the main comp.