Layer Typography

Overview

Image models misspell words and cannot use a font file. When copy must read exactly or be set in a brand typeface, do not generate it: set it with

render_text

, then place it on the art with

compose_image

. The art and the type stay separate files, so a copy change is a re-render, not a regeneration, and the same art can carry every language (

layer-localization

Both tools are named directly rather than discovered because they are Layer's own deterministic file operations, not models: no model runs, no Creative Units are spent, and no estimate is needed for them. The art underneath is still a billed generation and goes through the usual estimate gate in the

layer

skill.

Not all lettering belongs here.

render_text

sets flat, single-colour type. Lettering that must look drawn into the scene (a carved sign, a neon tube, a painted title with texture) is a generation, and

layer-image

covers prompting for it.

If a sibling skill named here is missing from your available skills, ask the user to install it (

npx skills add layerai/skills --skill <name>

); unattended, proceed from tool schemas and flag the gap.

Quick reference

Need	Route
Exact copy, brand font, editable later	`render_text` , then `compose_image` over the art
Lettering that is part of the illustration	A generation ( `layer-image` )
Change words already baked into an image	`list_base_models` with `filter.use_case: "edit_text"`
Brand font on the user's disk	`request_file_upload_url` , then pass the `file_id` as `font_file_id`
Brand font at a public URL	`upload_file`
No font file	`font_family` : a standard font or a Google Fonts family name

Setting the type

Upload the brand font before anything else. A

font_file_id

takes precedence over

font_family

, and

font_weight

(100 to 900 in steps of 100, 400 regular, 700 bold) picks the face inside that file, with

italic

for the italic face. Without a file,

font_family

falls back to a named family, which is a different typeface from the brand's even when it looks close. Tell the user when that happens.

Size the canvas (

width

height

, at most 4096 each) to roughly the box the text will fill in the final image, so it is barely scaled when placed. Text set small and scaled up goes soft; text set huge and scaled down loses its weight.

Text that does not fit is refused with the size it needs. Read that size and decide: a bigger box, a smaller

font_size

, or shorter copy. Do not shrink the font silently until it fits, because a title that fits by being tiny has failed.

Two alignments do different jobs.

horizontal_alignment

and

vertical_alignment

place the block on the canvas;

text_align

aligns the lines of a multi-line block with each other. A newline starts a new line and long lines wrap at spaces.

line_height

only loosens spacing.

The canvas is transparent unless

background_color

is set.

#RRGGBBAA

gives a translucent plate behind the words, which is the simplest contrast fix over busy art.

Flat single-colour type has no outline or shadow. For a drop shadow, render the same text twice, once in a dark colour and once in the face colour, and stack them in

compose_image

with the dark copy offset a few pixels down and right.

Placing it

compose_image

stacks up to 16 layers into one flat PNG, bottom first. The canvas defaults to the first layer's image size, so put the art first and the canvas matches it.

Anchors are pixel offsets from the canvas edges. Set
```
left
```
and
```
right
```
together and the box spans between them. To pin text to a corner or centre it without knowing its size, anchor all four sides at the margin and set
```
horizontal_alignment
```
and
```
vertical_alignment
```
.
```
width
```
and
```
height
```
sit on the layer beside
```
anchors
```
, never inside it.
resize_strategy
:
```
fit_and_pad
```
for text and logos, so they scale into the box without distortion.
```
fit_and_crop
```
is for full-bleed backgrounds. Never
```
stretch
```
type.
Rotation turns a layer 90, 180 or 270 degrees: vertical spine text, or a card's index set upside down in the opposite corner.

Legibility

Judge the composite at the size it will be seen, not at full resolution. A store icon label or a mobile button is read at a fraction of the canvas.
Plan the space when the art is generated: ask for a calm, low-detail area where the title will sit. Text over the busiest part of the frame needs a plate, and a plate is a compromise.
Keep a safe margin from every edge. Platforms crop and overlay their own UI, and a CTA against the edge is the first thing lost.
One typeface, with weight and size for hierarchy, reads as designed. Three reads as a ransom note.

Changing text already in an image

When the words are baked into existing art, filter

list_base_models

for

use_case: "edit_text"

, take the first result, and quote the exact replacement string in the prompt. Check the output letter by letter. If it misspells twice, remove the old text to a clean plate instead (an

erase_object

inpainting

model), then letter the plate with

render_text

and

compose_image

Worked example

"Put our title 'Ember Vale' in our brand font on this key art, with 'Pre-register now' under it."

The key art came from an earlier run, so it has a
```
file_id
```
(1920 x 1080). The font is a local
```
.otf
```
:
```
request_file_upload_url
```
, complete the two-step upload, keep the
```
file_id
```
.
```
render_text
```
for the title:
```
font_file_id
```
,
```
font_weight: 700
```
,
```
font_size: 160
```
,
```
color: "#FFF4E0"
```
, a 1200 x 240 canvas. If it is refused, read the size it needs and widen the canvas.
```
render_text
```
the same title in
```
#1A0F08
```
for the shadow.

render_text

the CTA:

font_size: 56

background_color: "#000000B3"

for a translucent plate, a 640 x 112 canvas.

```
compose_image
```
with four layers, bottom first: the key art with no anchors; the shadow anchored
```
top: 124
```
,
```
left: 364
```
, width 1200, height 240; the title at
```
top: 120
```
,
```
left: 360
```
over it; the CTA anchored
```
bottom: 96
```
,
```
left: 640
```
, width 640, height 112, each text layer
```
fit_and_pad
```
.
View the result at the size the user will deliver it. No step here spent Creative Units, so no estimate was needed; say so when reporting.

Common mistakes

Rerolling a generation to fix a misspelled word instead of setting the text.
Substituting a named family for the brand font without telling the user.
A canvas far from the final text box, so the type is scaled soft or thin.
Shrinking
```
font_size
```
until refused text fits, rather than resizing the box or the copy.
Expecting an outline, gradient or glow from
```
render_text
```
; it sets flat colour only.
```
stretch
```
on a text layer, which distorts the letterforms.
Text against the frame edge or over the busiest region of the art.
Flattening text into the art when the asset will be localised later.

layer-typography

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content