Use filters as editable layers
Add any of the 58 Void filters from the filter gallery as a live layer, then stack, mask and fade it. Also explains why exports look slightly sharper than the preview.
Beginner4 min readUpdated 25 September 2026Editor · Filters
On this page
Every effect from the Effects tool is also a filter in the Editor, and each one goes on as its own layer. That means you can change its settings later, fade it, paint it out of parts of the image, or stack several for a finished look, while the photo underneath stays untouched.
Open the filter gallery
Choose Filter > Filter gallery…. The window is titled Filters and adjustments. It has the adjustments at the top and the Void filters below, each with a thumbnail rendered from a small copy of your own design, so you see what the filter will do to your work rather than to a sample photo.
- Type in Search filters to find one by name or description.
- The category buttons narrow the list: All, Artistic, Stylize, Color, Distort and Enhance.
- Click a filter to add it as a layer and close the gallery.
Other routes to the same place: the Filter gallery button in the Adjustments panel, Filters and adjustments under Quick actions in Properties when an image layer is selected, and Filter gallery… in the Layers panel's New adjustment layer menu. If you already know the name, each filter is also listed in its own submenu under Filter (Artistic, Stylize, Colour, Distort, Enhance), and in the command palette (Ctrl+K; Cmd+K on a Mac).
What a filter layer does
A filter layer works like an adjustment layer. It takes everything below it in the Layers panel, runs the filter over it and shows the result. Layers above it are not affected. The layer is named after the filter, for example Halftone filter.
Select it and the Filter settings section appears in Properties with that filter's controls. The reset button at the top of the section puts every setting back to its default. Filters with a random element, such as grain or noise, get a fresh random pattern each time you add one.
Each filter and its settings are described in the Effects articles: artistic, stylise, colour, distortion and texture.
Fade, blend and mask a filter
- Fade it. Many filters have their own Opacity or Strength in Filter settings. For any filter, you can also lower the layer's Opacity (in the Layers panel, or the Layer section of Properties) to mix the filtered result with the original.
- Blend it. Change the layer's blend mode. A halftone set to Multiply keeps the colour below and adds only the dark dots; Overlay or Soft light gives a subtler texture. See Blend modes and opacity.
- Mask it. With the filter layer selected, paint with the Eraser to hide the filter where you paint and the Brush to bring it back. The Editor adds the mask for you. See Masks.
- Hide it. Click the eye in the Layers panel, or hold \ to hide every filter and adjustment at once for a before view.
Stack filters
Each filter processes the result of everything below it, including other filters, so the order changes the result. Film grain above a halftone puts grain over the dots; below it, the grain gets turned into dots. Drag layers in the Layers panel to reorder them and watch the canvas update.
To keep a filter to certain layers only, group it with them (Ctrl+G) and set the group's blend to anything other than Pass through, or lower the group's opacity. A group set up that way is worked out on its own, so the filter inside it only sees the layers inside it. On a design with boards, a filter that belongs to a board only changes that board.
Why the export looks slightly sharper than the preview
Filters are worked out at a working size of 1200 pixels on the long edge, then scaled to fit the canvas. This keeps the Editor quick, and it is the same working size the Effects tool uses, so a filter looks the same in both.
When you export, every filter runs again at the full output size. Settings that are measured in pixels, such as dot size, block size, blur radius or shift distance, are scaled up by the same amount, so the result keeps the look you saw, only sharper. Filters that work pixel by pixel with no size setting (dither, edge detect, emboss, sharpen, pencil sketch and noise) simply come out finer.
| Design size | What you see while editing | What you get on export |
|---|---|---|
| 1200 px or smaller on the long edge | The filter at full size | The same |
| Larger than 1200 px | The filter worked out at 1200 px, scaled up to fit | The filter at full size, with pixel settings scaled, so finer detail |
Common problems
- The filter changed my text and logo too. It affects everything below it. Move the filter layer down so it sits directly above the photo, with the text above it.
- Editing is slow. Each filter recalculates when something below it changes. Hide filters while you work on layers beneath them, and turn them back on to check.
- I want to bake the filter in. Merge down or Flatten image turns it into pixels. After that it cannot be edited, so save a version first.
- On a phone: open the Effects tab and tap Filters. With an image layer selected, the Select tab also has a Filters button.