<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Layers are used in digital image editing to separate different elements of an image . A layer can be compared to a transparency on which imaging effects or images are applied and placed over or under an image . Today they are an integral feature of image editors . </P> <P> Layers were first commercially available in Fauve Matisse (later Macromedia xRes), and then available in Adobe Photoshop 3.0, in 1994, but today a wide range of other programs, such as Photo - Paint, Paint Shop Pro, GIMP, Paint.NET, StylePix, and even batch processing tools also include this feature . In vector images editors which support animation, layers are used to further enable manipulation along a common timeline for the animation; in SVG images, the equivalent to layers are "groups". </P>

What is the purpose of layers in photoshop