How Merging Layers, without loosing the look?

Hello dears, how I can merge in Verve the layers (down / up) without loosing the look?

I did have paint a

123.jpg (47.22 KiB) Viewed 7899 times

tube, the tube did looks nice, but I merged it down, and so I need to repaint the ending of the tube .... but I love Verve so so much

Hey there The layer merge is an "experimental feature" still ...

... With some experience you could use [Shift][F9] to merge the layer you're on down to the one beneath. BUT be careful with that, because it can do unexpected things as the color and material components respond differently to what's already on the layer beneath. You could do some tests to figure it out, but it can work beautifully. Also, you may never have to do that to begin with, of course, because you can have as many layers as you like. And with [shift]+[f10] or +[f11] you can change the order of the layer, which is fantastic to work with, too.

It sometimes works when you dial down bump or change the blending on the layer you want to merge down.
But it is not a feature to rely on, just now ... Best, try to avoide it for now, or at least save your work before you try it.

Anyway, that tube sure looks very cool ... Actually, appears to me like a soft and cosy satin blanket
... Maybe, thats because im tired, though

[Taron]

Eh... uhm...and there I thought it was a Red Bull can on a train track... ...but as tube it actually looks pretty cool!
There's a bit of a logical problem with the merging as of now, if you work with different bump heights or different looks per layer, because they are only different per layer. A single layer only has one look right now.
I have created a different test app that also has shading properties in the material itself, so you can mix glossy and dull paints and so on, but I don't have it in Verve, yet.
With the bump-height it is another little logical issue, because the material amount also determines the opacity- or amount- of color. Thus, I can't just reduce the amount of material you merge down to meet the bump height setting you have set differently on another layer. My advice is just to keep the layers, where's the harm! Only merge where you know you can, but it takes a moment to digest that information and experiment with it.

What I often do is: I make a sketch in the original layer. If I like it I add another layer beneath and fill it with a background color ( [ctrl]+[shift]+[f] ). Then I merge the original layer down onto it, for example. I often do additive layers where I add some brightness gently and then merge that back down.

Eventually I will revisit all of this some more and make it less confusing, I promise!

Jim's tip to save often is a good one! Take it to heart!

I dont merge layers usually ! the simple way! ... sorry : )

@Taron
please merge visible feature
... simillar shift+ctrl+alt+E in photoshop ...
with total visible color, alpha, bump ...
not from one of layers only