Apple Shake 4 - Manual (Page 478)

478 Chapter 17 Layered Photoshop Files and the MultiLayer Node
To select an individual layer:
1 Load the Photoshop file’s FileIn parameters (click the right side of the node).
2 In the Source subtree, disable readMerged.
3 In the whichLayer parameter, select the layer you want to display.
In the following example, the third layer of the Photoshop file is selected.
When Shake imports a multilayer Photoshop file, the first layer in the file is numbered 0
in the whichLayer parameter. In the following image, the whichLayer parameter is set
to 2—the third layer of the Photoshop file (since the first layer is imported as 0, the
second layer imported as 1, and so on).
Using the MultiLayer Node
The MultiLayer node is a multi-function layering node that distinguishes itself from
most of the other layering nodes in two respects—it accepts an unlimited number of
input images, and each input image has independent settings interior to the MultiLayer
node that let you control that layer’s compositing mode, opacity, and channels. In a
way, the MultiLayer node is its own small compositing environment inside of Shake.
When its parameters are opened, you can rearrange the layers via drag and drop
directly in the Parameters tab, which allows you to work using a layer-based, rather
than node-based logic. This can clean up your tree if you’re compositing many different
images together in a fairly straightforward way.
Selected Photoshop layer