Think of layers like tracing paper. The main white sheet is your background. Click on the other layer For the foreground) and sketch till you get the picture you want then ink and erase the sketch, color, and there you go. Paint BBS only has two layers (that I know) Shi and Lascaux you can add layer upon layer. The good thing about that is you can use one layer to skecth your picture then use another (new) layer to ink and color without losing your initial sketch. That's where the similarity to tracing paper comes in. Try it. It's so much easier with layers, believe me. Have fun, practice and do more. Hope this helps.