Mastering the Enigmatic Empty Canvas Puzzle in Layers of Fear (2023)

In Layers of Fear (2023), each room delves deeper into the psychological struggle of the game's protagonists, unraveling secrets through scattered puzzles and notes. Players may find themselves at a loss, even with the simplest puzzles like the empty canvas puzzle in the Painter's Story.

Around midway through Chapter 1 of the Painter's Story, players are faced with a pivotal decision that will impact their playthrough: choosing between using Red or Green paint. Once a painting is selected, the fork in the hallway vanishes, forcing players to proceed to the next set of hallways. After navigating a brief tile hallway adorned with candelabras, players enter a windowed corridor adorned with plants, porcelain statues, and personal belongings of the Painter's wife. A perfume bottle can be collected from a table beneath the right-side window, accompanied by a faint whisper from the wife.

How to Solve the Empty Canvas Puzzle

Players can discover a narrative letter in an open suitcase at the end of the hallway on the right. Additionally, there is another letter down the hallway to the left, leading to a door at the end. Upon entering the door, players will be greeted by a room featuring high ceilings, two large windows, and a captivating marble sculpture.

The room is adorned with easels, but only one actual canvas can be seen towards the far end. As soon as players step inside, the door behind them will firmly shut and lock. With no visible means of escape, players must engage in the room's enigmatic puzzle and unravel its solution in order to make progress through the immersive Layers of Fear experience.

While there may be other contributing factors during the playthrough, opting for Red Paint appears to strongly influence players towards the Loop ending, whereas choosing Green Paint tends to steer them towards the Family or Gallery endings.

The Canvas Room

Players can explore the room, taking in the eerie paintings adorning the walls, but their attention will inevitably be drawn to a singular canvas. As they approach this canvas head-on, they will discover that the frame is mysteriously empty, allowing them to peer into the rest of the room. However, when they view the empty canvas from a specific angle, they will discern the presence of another canvas and frame resting on one of the vacant easels in the room.

Carefully, players will circumnavigate the empty canvas until the previously unseen canvas manifests before their eyes. They will then proceed to approach this newfound canvas and repeat the process of peering through the empty frame in search of the next hidden artwork.

Once the players have collected all the empty frames from beyond the veil, their attention should turn to the empty frame positioned beside the first canvas in the room. This particular frame faces the wall opposite the entrance door. By utilizing this frame, the players can manifest a door that leads out of the room, although it will remain locked at this stage.

Players will now want to use the empty frame directly in front of the marble sculpture, and look through the frame at the right angle to make the sculpture disappear.

Players can unlock the door and progress by picking up a key from the empty pedestal once the sculpture has vanished in the room. Layers of Fear is currently accessible on PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X.