Thinking in layers is a more common and important intellectual skill than you might imagine. When multiple layers of sounds that work together are heard at the same time, we call it harmony. Every song that is heard involves thinking in layers. An instructor mentally plans and processes layers of activities carried out by multiple students every classroom minute of the day. Image design and composition software is also set up to use this concept of layers. A paint program can only deal with one layer at a time but provides greater flexibility in dealing with that one layer. A draw program can overlap and rearrange (reorder the stack) of any number of layers from a paint program in addition to creating additional layers on its own. The collage image above was created using this concept. This same concept could be used for designing the two dimensional layout of a classroom or any architectural space.  The Paint and Draw programs that are a part of the Appleworks application will be used below as examples of such software.

Images that do not appear to be in layers, often were composed in layers. If the elements of the image do not overlap, it is often impossible to tell. When spread out they appear as one layer. For example,  all the elements displayed on Powerpoint slides are also objects in layers but this seldom is noticeable.

How to Create Images by Hand

As an example of how this works, these tutorials movies below will be used to make the image above. Follow them to practice creating and thinking in image layers. Review troubleshooting procedures if you have problems using these movies. Though they demonstrate features in Clarisworks which runs on both Windows and Macintosh platforms, many programs are available which operate in a very similar fashion.

Draw and Paint Functions

1. Start Draw and Open Help File.
2. Draw an Object
3. Make a Collage Using Images from Many Sources.

Paint Features

1. Learn more Paint commands and procedures

How to Prepare Images for Display on the Internet

Increasingly, computer users want an image that they have created to be displayed on web pages over the Internet. How you proceed depends on how old your computer programs are. Before they can be seen on the Internet, images need to be in one of two special formats, GIF or JPG. Not only do the files have to be in the right graphic format, but the correct extension for that format must be added to the end of the file name.

Older Software

In older version of Clarisworks (versions 4.0 and older), Adobe and Microsoft and other software programs, the files were saved in their own special graphics format. These formats were not useable by common Internet browsers such as Netscape Navigator. A special program was needed to take the file on your disk created by such older programs and convert it from Mac PICT formats or Window BMP formats. If you need them, search for and download such "graphic converter" programs at many fine shareware archive web sites.

 Though details vary, the process is very similar across many converter applications and operating systems. You can see a tutorial on how to: convert a Draw PICT file to a Web format - Using GIF or Graphics Converter.

Newer Software

In newer versions including Clarisworks 5.0 and Microsoft97 and later, the user merely has to select the necessary graphic format. This opportunity to select the right graphic format occurs during the Save As process. Next to the small box where you type the file name will be a pull-down menu to click on which in turn provides a list of graphic formats from which to select. The graphic formats of GIF, JPEG and PNG work well with most current web page browsers.