Manip Tips & Tricks: Layer Masks

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 | Filed under Lessons

If you already know me from dA, you will probably say “omg, not with the masks again!” But I do find them to be invaluable, so this is going to be my first “tutorial-post” for the still rather shiny & new blog. And who knows, maybe you’ll find something useful still?

Layer Masks Explained

What are Layer Masks for?

They are used to make parts of a layer invisible, so it looks like something has been erased. But a layer mask gives you more control over the transparency of each pixel on a layer than you can get by using the eraser. You can do numerous things on a mask: for example you can use the gradient tool on it to get a really soft transition. Or you can blur anything on the mask to make outlines smoother. Nothing gets erased permanently, it is still there, just masked. This also has the advantage that you can come back and “unerase” parts of the layer again even if the History Palette doesn’t show your “cutting” step any more.

How do you use Layer Masks?

To use a layer mask, choose your layer in the layer’s palette and click on the layer mask symbol at the bottom of the layer’s palette (dark rectangle with white circle in it). A white thumbnail will appear next to the thumbnail of the layer itself. White means you are able to see the layer – if you use black on the layer mask, those parts will be transparent on the layer. Shades of grey on the mask will be “shades of transparency”: for example, a 50% grey will be half transparent, while a 80% grey (with 80% black) will be 80% invisible.

In PS7, you will see the brush icon in front of the layer change to the mask icon – that way you can tell if you’re currently working on the mask or on the layer itself. In CS3, the thumb’s outline will show you if you’re on the mask or on the layer – you have to look closely though as it’s rather subtle. One gets used to it though.

Layer Mask Tips & Tricks

Here are a few tips that may come in handy when working with masks:

• You can click on the chain symbols that link the layer to the mask to unlock that link: this way you can move the layer and the mask independently.
• You can add masks to Groups/Sets and they will affect anything inside it – you can stick a Group into a Group and give each a mask… the possibilities are pretty much only limited by the capabilities of your PC.
• When you have an active selection and click on the “Add Layer Mask” button, it will automatically use the selection to create the mask accordingly.
• If you press the “Add Layer Mask” button twice, it’ll add a second mask. This is not a Layer Mask, but a Vector Mask: you can use paths to mask on that.

To the right you can see the thumbnail of one of my very first tutorials (still for PS7) that will show you most of the above mentioned in more detail. To get the hang of masks, there is nothing like opening Photoshop and experimenting. You will very soon ask yourself how you could ever live without them ;)

Tags: cutting, layer mask, photomanipulation, photoshop

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