Using layers for one tile only, or make a tile from a combination of layers

So I want to make a character, have each section be on one layer and then make it a tile so I can copy the tile for the next frame and edit that. I cant seem to find a way of doing that though. If I make a tile from the all the layers it only copies the selected layer. This makes drawing animations to require much more work since I cant copy all the layers to the next frame...!