Separate layers for separate artboards?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
October 15, 2018
3 replies
27030 views

Is there a way to have a whole set of new layers for each artboard, so the artwork on layers for one artboard will not get mixed with the artwork on layers for another artboard? I want to create multiple puppets in AI for Character Animator and the artwork for each puppet needs to go on its own layers.

Thanks.

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Correct answer John Mensinger

You can work it that way, but there are no features to facilitate it beyond your manual input. You'd have to create all the layers and name/organize/manipulate them in ways that correspond with your artboards and your desired relative behaviors.

Illustrator lived a long and full life before the introduction of multiple artboards, and the feature still has some maturing to do. Perhaps a "shorter putt," as my engineer friends would say, would be if there were artboard locks in the Artboards panel, much like those in the Layers panel. If one could selectively lock artboards, it might solve issues like yours and many others who've posted similar wants.

A feature request covering this is already lodged. See it and vote here: Lock,hide or deactivate artboards – Adobe Illustrator Feedback

John Mensinger

Correct answer

Community Expert

You can work it that way, but there are no features to facilitate it beyond your manual input. You'd have to create all the layers and name/organize/manipulate them in ways that correspond with your artboards and your desired relative behaviors.

Illustrator lived a long and full life before the introduction of multiple artboards, and the feature still has some maturing to do. Perhaps a "shorter putt," as my engineer friends would say, would be if there were artboard locks in the Artboards panel, much like those in the Layers panel. If one could selectively lock artboards, it might solve issues like yours and many others who've posted similar wants.

A feature request covering this is already lodged. See it and vote here: Lock,hide or deactivate artboards – Adobe Illustrator Feedback

S

southwestformAuthor

Inspiring

also, I'm not seeing a layer group/folder option like Photoshop has. Is there one?

Thanks.

John Mensinger

Community Expert

No. It's probably best not to equate Illustrator Layers with Photoshop layers; they simply aren't the same thing. In Photoshop, a layer is essentially a transparent "work surface," open to free editing, whereas in Illustrator's object-based editing model, primary layers are containers for objects, with a sub-layer for each of those objects. In that sense, a primary layer is a group of sub-layers. But there again, it's best to reserve the term "group" for objects that have been grouped, seeing as there can be more than one such group of objects on a primary layer.

The screenshot below may be of help in beginning to understand Illustrator's basic object-layer hierarchy: