Create your first asset

Last updated: October 13, 2026

Go from opening Layer to a finished image on your session board in a few minutes. Start here if this is your first time in Layer.

Before you start

  • You need a Layer account and a workspace to work in.
  • Every generation spends Creative Units (CUs) from your workspace. The cost of a run shows on its button before you start it; see pricing for plans.

Steps

  1. Open Layer. You land on Home: a box to describe what you want to the agent, and under it the Tools you can open directly. Each tool does one job; pick the one for what you want to make.

  2. Under Tools, select Create image. Layer opens a new session with the Create image form in the panel on the right.

  3. Describe the image in the prompt box: the subject, how it is framed, the style and the background. The tool starts on a model suited to the job, and Aspect ratio and Quality start on sensible defaults, so you can leave them for your first run.

  4. Select Create image at the bottom of the panel. The number beside the label is what the run costs in CUs.

  5. Watch the session board. The image appears as a tile straight away and shows its progress while it is made.

  6. When it finishes, the image fills the tile. Your first asset is done.

Result

The image sits on the session board, where you can open it full size, edit it or download it. It is also saved to your workspace's Asset Library, and the session is listed under Sessions in the sidebar so you can come back to it.

Production tips

  • Write the prompt the way you would brief an artist: who or what, the shot (full body, close-up, three-quarter view), the style, and the background. A plain background ("neutral studio plate") makes the image easier to cut out later.
  • Reach for the tool made for the job before writing a cleverer prompt. A sprite you will place in an engine wants Remove image background next; a texture wants Create PBR materials; ground tiles and buildings want Create tile. Tools in Layer lists every tool and when to use it.
  • Set how many images one run makes with the counter beside the Create image button. Several variations of one prompt is usually quicker than rewriting the prompt each time.
  • Turn on Transparent background for sprites, icons and characters you will place in an engine.
  • Add a Reference image or a Reference set to keep the result in your studio's style. See Create a reference set.
  • Change the model only when the default can't give you something you need, such as a particular look or a higher resolution: use the picker at the top of the form. Choose a model explains how to compare them.
  • Prefer to talk it through? Describe the asset in the box on Home instead, and the agent picks the tools and models for you.

If something goes wrong

  • The Create image button is greyed out. The prompt is empty. Write a description first.
  • You are told you do not have enough Creative Units. Your workspace has run out. A workspace admin can add more with Top up in the workspace menu at the bottom of the sidebar; see pricing.
  • The tile shows an error instead of an image. The generation failed. Run it again; if it keeps failing, simplify the prompt or try a different model.
  • You closed the session and cannot find the image. Open Asset Library in the sidebar; everything the workspace makes is there.

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