A layer or properties of a layer such as its channel information, effects, or masks could be represented in other portions of the layer stack.
Justification
This makes it possible to represent a layer’s information multiple times in different locations in the stack and apply additional adjustments to it later on while not affecting the original reference.
Implementation Details
A marker could be added as part of a layer’s associated generators, effects, and masks that serves as a reference point. Other layers could select this reference point to retrieve its data as a receiving point. The receiving layer’s effects and masks could manipulate this receiving point’s information without adjusting the original reference. Changes to the original reference would propagate through the stack to automatically update its associated receiving points.