A mask in Photoshop is one of the tools used to reversibly create a transparent area on any of the layers, except for the background. There are several ways to create masks in this graphical editor.
Necessary
- - Photoshop program;
- - image.
Instructions
Step 1
To create a layer mask in Photoshop, select one of the options in the Layer Mask group from the Layer menu. Using the Reveal All option will not visually change the image on the masked layer, but a mask icon will appear next to the layer thumbnail.
Step 2
To start editing the mask, not the image, click on the mask icon. The use of the Reveal All option is justified if the area of the layer that needs to be made transparent is much smaller than the area of the image that will remain unchanged. In order to make a part of the picture transparent, paint over the desired fragment with black color using the mask.
Step 3
The Hide All option will make the layer completely transparent, and the mask rectangle that appears in the layers palette will be filled with black. It is more convenient to use this option if the layer, except for a small area, needs to be made transparent. In order to indicate the opaque areas of the layer, paint them using the mask with white color.
Step 4
To edit the layer mask, you can use the Brush Tool, Paint Bucket Tool and Shape Tool set to Fill pixels mode.
Step 5
Adjustment layers in Photoshop are created by default with a layer mask set to Reveal All. They are designed to apply a series of filters to all visible layers in the file. To edit the mask of an adjustment layer, use the same tools and colors as for changing the mask of an image layer.
Step 6
You can apply two independently editable masks to a filter or image layer, one of which will be raster and the other will be vector. To create a vector mask, use one of the options in the Vector Mask group of the Layer menu. Like a bitmap, a vector mask can be created in Reveal All or Hide All mode.
Step 7
To edit vector masks, use the Pen Tool and the tools of the Shape Tool group in the Shape Layers mode.
Step 8
Another way to change the transparency of a portion of a layer in Photoshop is to create a clipping mask. To create a mask of this kind, place under the layer with the image, part of which you want to make transparent, a picture, along the borders of the opaque area of which this layer will be cut off. The clipping mask can be based on an opaque text box, a geometric shape, or any layer with transparent areas.
Step 9
Go to the top layer and apply the Create Clipping Mask option from the Layer menu. On the image layer, only those areas that lie above the opaque areas of the base layer will remain opaque.
