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So what is gws defanition of a layer? Im looking at their paint guides for sheer black and its a base of black wash of black ink then alayer of 2 dark grays, but what is a layer to them? Just a really heavy dry brush?

It's shorthand for using their new layer class paints. GW have now split their paint range into bases, layers, washes, etc.

no no i know that i mean what defines a layer of paint? like a heavy wash of that color? a complete coat of it?

A thinned down coat of the colour over the previous basecoat/layer, ensuring you leave some of the previous colour showing through in the recesses. Or at least that's how I understand it.

I'm a little baffled by the question; as it seems incredibly self explanatory.
Any quantity of a paint applied to a surface and allowed to dry is a layer.
If you allow it to dry and paint some more, thats two layers (maybe of the same colour), however if you wet blend two colours together thats still only one layer (a blended layer).

When painting a miniature...generally it invovles layers of primer, base coat, a series of highlights (maybe 2,3 or more layers here) washes,drybrush, glazes and varnishes varnishes.

Judging by the GW painting guides I've seen before, I'd say Ronin has it. While we might consider "layer" and "coat" interchangeable in general use (like HairySticks), I imagine the guides are talking about layering, as opposed to washing, feathering, or wet-blending, as a means of achieving a gradient. Should be quite easy to confirm by eye, unless they've stopped including pictures.