Yesterday saw the launch of a much-awaited and very highly touted new iPhone painting app called Layers. I think the app has been very well received overall, and is mostly living up to some very high expectations – but there is also at least one major bug in the first version of the app, as noted in the comments on our original Layers post by SFDex.
What is very good to see is that the app’s young developer is responding quickly and effectively to reported bugs, glitches, and missing features in Version 1.0. Read on for details of a workaround for the app’s one major glitch and some updates news as well.
Our good friend David Leibowitz has been talking with Layers’ developer, Ben Gotow, about the one big bug in Version 1.0 – and there is, as suggested by SFDex, an approved workaround for it. Here’s the details on that, per an email from David:
Here’s the rub with the app, if you bring images into the app using "Layer with Picture.." (in the apps "Add layer " dialog box)
directly from the camera roll, the image comes in sideways, and severely cropped. As in bummer………Here is the work around…………process the image in Photogene, PhotoLab, Photonasis, and probably many other image editing apps out there,
save the file back to your camera roll, and now try opening the image, and positioning it into a 512 x 512 workspace of "Layers".
See………it works
Another of our commenters, Jon, has also mentioned that the Layers Replay Viewer has already been updated to Version 1.0.3, which has fixed some earlier-reported glitches in that component.
Finally, David has also pointed out that a significant missing feature in Layers 1.0 is a layer transparency slider for each layer. Ben (the developer) has said he is ‘all over it’ for inclusion in an app update, and has offered a workaround in the meantime. That workaround is:
painting with an eraser brush with a variable level of transparency.
Again, I think a few glitches, and even some missing features, are par for the course with most 1.0 versions of software – but it is always impressive to see a responsive developer pumping out workarounds, fixes, and communication on update plans. Great job Ben.
Big thanks to David Leibowitz for all his help and information gathering on this – and also to our quick and astute commenters, Jon and SFDex.
Happy layering 
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I agree that Ben is doing a great job fielding all these bugs. I had a new one pop up today, though. Some of my layers have gone missing after syncing my iPhone. Missing, as in, there were four layers in an image I was working on, and when I opened the image today, the top-most layer was gone. Just gone! I haven’t been home to sync the phone again, but I think a workaround might be to leave an empty transparent layer at the top of the layer stack to act as a sacrificial lamb. I’ll give that a test later….
I’ve filed a bug report at http://www.layersforiphone.com and I suspect the young Mr. Gotow will be “all over it” too. He seems to be quite on the ball.
Ben is one smart kid, and I urge everyone who is disappointed with the bug to use the work-around for now. Let’s all get behind him, and give the kid a chance to push an update through the App store process.
If you want to write a bad review, I urge you to use the work-around, and then use the app. Play with 5 layers just for fun. Give it a half hour of play-time, and THEN just try and write a bad review!
Not possible. I’m giving this app 5 stars and I know about the bug. It’s that good!
i love layers, the psd export wins it for me.
i wish there was an option to load a psd with the layers intact on the actual layers app, not just photoshop. would make collabs with other users of the app easy. a needed feature i think.