How To Use The Mask In Photoshop

How To Apply Layer Masks In Photoshop

Layer masks are one of the most useful tools bachelor in Photoshop. Without them, it'd be nigh impossible to edit not-destructively. Although relatively elementary, they can experience pretty intimidating at first. Luckily, you can larn how to use layer masks in Photoshop, quickly, with a solid understanding of the basics.

In brusk, a layer mask is used to hide parts of a layer, without permanently erasing its information. The advantage of this is a reversible means to cut out images, alter layers, or blend images together. A layer mask gives you far more flexibility when adjusting a layer.

To highlight all the incredible uses of layer masks, allow's go over some examples and situations where layer masks are useful.

How Does A Layer Mask Work?

Before you tin can practise anything with a layer mask, y'all need to sympathise the basic function of them. In the world of layer masks, everything is black and white. This is crucial to remember going forwards.

On a layer mask, anything that is 100% white will be 100% visible.

Meanwhile, anything that'southward 100% black will be 100% transparent or invisible.

If you lot pigment any shade of grey between white and black on your layer mask, you'll get varying levels of transparency. For example, fifty% grey would exist l% transparent on your mask.

By default, a new layer mask volition be completely white. You tin think of this similar a blank sail that's prepare to be edited. When you lot desire to hide a certain part of your layer, you can paint black over your layer mask to make parts transparent. This is perfect for when you demand to alloy something into your photograph.

To requite you lot a clear example, of a layer mask in action, I've created two solid colored layers. The blue layer is on top and the red layer is below. Permit'due south say I want to go rid of part of the blue layer, to reveal the carmine layer beneath.

Your get-go reaction might be to use the eraser tool to get this done, however, this is a permanent change. Past erasing part of the blue layer, that data is gone for good. There's no way to become it dorsum. If you lot wanted to suit this deleted surface area, you wouldn't exist able to.

Using the eraser tool makes permanent changes to the layer. This is not what you lot want.

Instead, a layer mask becomes the improve choice so you tin can edit non-destructively. By starting over and adding a layer mask to the bluish layer, I'll paint black onto the layer mask to mask out (aka hide) part of that layer.

Aforementioned result every bit with the eraser tool, this fourth dimension, done not-destructively with a layer mask.

Now the terminal consequence looks the aforementioned, but the information from the blueish layer isn't deleted, it's just hidden.

By painting white back onto the layer mask, I can easily add dorsum any of the hidden areas of the layer.

This is the nigh bones instance of how a layer mask works in Photoshop. They're an amazing tool that offers a reversible manner to "delete" part of your layer.

How To Apply Layer Masks – Step Past Step

Now that you have a general understanding of how a layer mask functions, here is the pace by stride process to apply a layer mask.

Step 1: Create Your Layer Mask

Before y'all do anything, make certain that the layer you lot want to apply your mask to is selected. You can do this by clicking on the layer and making sure it'due south highlighted.

With your layer selected, click on the layer mask icon at the lesser of your layers console to create a new mask. In this case, I'll be applying a layer mask to my sky layer so I can add it to my landscape prototype.

A white box will announced beside your layer thumbnail. This is your layer mask.

Step 2: Select The Mask And Grab Your Brush Tool

Brand certain your layer mask is selected past taking note of the white box surrounding it. If yous don't see this box, click on your layer mask to select it. This mode you can tell Photoshop what you desire to paint on.

Next, grab your Brush Tool by pressing B or clicking on it in your toolbar.

Since I want to hide parts of the heaven layer, I'll set my foreground colour to black. This way black (100% transparency) will be applied to the layer mask.

Stride 3: Paint On Your Layer Mask To Hide Parts Of Your Layer

With the Brush Tool active and blackness as my foreground color, I'll begin painting on my image to hide parts of my selected layer.

Since the layer mask is selected, these black brush strokes are applied to the layer mask and not the layer. That's why none of the black brush strokes appear in the photo.

I'll continue to mask out parts of the sky layer until I'1000 happy with the result.

Pace 4: Refine Your Mask As Needed

In many cases, you'll demand to apply further adjustments to your mask. Take a moment to go through and touch upwardly the mask until it perfectly suits your needs.

If you accidentally masked out too much of your layer, switch your foreground colour to white by pressing X . Now you volition reveal sections of the layer as you pigment on the mask.

Step five: Accommodate The Positioning (Optional)

You might realize that the positioning of your layer or layer mask isn't what you lot wanted. Rather than starting all over, y'all tin can motility your layer and layer mask wherever you need.

To move your layer and layer mask together, only select the Motion Tool by pressing V and select the layer. Click and drag the layer across your canvas to reposition them both at the same time.

If you only want to arrange the positioning of your image, without moving your layer mask, click the chainlink icon. This will unlink the layer from the mask allowing them to move independently.

Click on your layer thumbnail and ensure it'south selected by noting the white boxes effectually it. Grab your Move Tool by pressing 5 and drag to reposition your layer. This time, only the image will move while the mask stays put.

Knowing both of these options volition save you a lot of time when refining a layer mask. Sometimes all you need to do is reposition your epitome, rather than altering the layer mask completely!

Why Is Your Layer Mask White?

Any time you create a new layer mask, it will be completely white (100% visible) by default. This makes it far more user-friendly to immediately begin painting black to mask out parts of your layer.

You could consider these new white layer masks, like a blank canvas. Since Photoshop doesn't know what you'll want to suit, it sets y'all up with a clean slate to work from. That mode, all you lot need to do is start painting.

What Can You Utilize Layer Masks With?

Layer masks tin can exist used with any blazon of layer in Photoshop. No matter which layer blazon they're paired up with, they still function exactly the same. However, sure layer types might have different reasons behind why a layer mask is useful.

– Adjustment Layers

The first type of layer that uses layer masks is adjustment layers. When you create a new adjustment layer, you'll notice that a new layer mask is created alongside it. This makes it easy to commencement fine-tuning where your adjustments have place.

Dissimilar other photo editing programs, Photoshop doesn't really take a "spot aligning brush" like in Lightroom or Luminar . Instead, layer masks can exist used to get specific with where you target an adjustment.

For example, let's say you want to create a Curves adjustment to burnish the exposure, just merely desire information technology to impact the subject of your photo. Past painting black on your layer mask, you can hibernate this curve adjustment in every role of your photo except around the subject.

This can be used with any type of adjustment layer making it simple to target sections of your picture.

– Regular Layers

Whatever type of regular layer you lot create tin employ a layer mask. Whether you fill this layer with color, text, or an image, information technology'southward all fair game. By default, new layers practise non come up with a layer mask. Luckily all you need to practise is select the layer and hit the new layer mask icon to create one.

In most cases, layer masks are used with regular layers to hide sections you lot don't want to see. They could be used to blend two images together or only make a section of your layer visible.

– Text Layers

Layer masks can be used with text layers also to refine what sections of the text are visible. If you desire to fade parts of your text, for example, this can be hands done with a layer mask and a slope aligning. More on this later.

– Groups

Rather than applying the same layer mask to a handful of layers, y'all can utilise a single layer mask to an entire grouping.

With your group created, simply highlight the grouping and click the layer mask icon to create a new mask.

Any of your mask adjustments fabricated hither will affect all of the layers within your group at the same time. This is super efficient when you lot need to mask out the aforementioned areas of multiple layers.

How To Create A Layer Mask

To create a white layer mask, only printing the layer mask icon and a new mask will exist created on your selected layer. This is the method we've covered so far in this tutorial but is also the well-nigh mutual mode you'll create a mask.

With that said, there may exist occasions when the more efficient way to practise things is with a black (100% invisible) layer mask. If you know that you merely want a very small-scale portion of your layer to be visible, this is ideal.

To create a new black (invisible) layer mask, hold the Alt (PC) or Option (Mac) primal while clicking the layer mask icon. This volition create a new fully transparent mask that renders your entire layer invisible. From here you tin can pigment white onto this mask to reveal the sections of your layer yous desire to go on.

Yous'll find yourself using both of these methods all the fourth dimension as you lot practice with layer masks. At beginning, information technology can be easier but to create a regular white layer mask and mask out the sections you don't want. It's more than straightforward and there's slightly less to remember. All the same, once yous go more comfortable with layer masks in Photoshop, you'll become a lot of use out of these inverted layer masks.

How To Paint On A Layer Mask

To pigment on a layer mask, all you need to do is select the layer masks and grab your Brush Tool This is the most basic style to accommodate a layer mask and all that we've covered and then far. It's worth noting that there are a few other means you can paint on and adjust a layer mask as well.

Before experimenting with the tools below, always make sure that your layer mask is selected. Otherwise, none of this volition work.

– Castor Tool

The Castor Tool is 1 of the easiest and more than versatile means to adjust a layer mask. By adjusting your castor settings, y'all tin create a variety of unique layer mask adjustments.

To edit your Brush Tool, click on the castor settings panel in your settings bar while the Castor Tool is active. Alternatively, when the Brush Tool is selected yous tin can right-click on your canvas to bring upwards your brush settings.

Past irresolute the size and hardness of your brush, you can go a variety of different effects on your layer masks. From a hard border, soft edge, to varied transparency, the sky's the limit with this tool.

You tin can even alter the brush tip to get more unique results on your layer mask.

For general use, there is no meliorate layer mask adjuster than the Castor Tool.

– Gradient Tool

If you lot don't need to be super specific, the Gradient Tool is a fast manner to apply a soft transition to your layer mask. These work exceptionally well when working with aligning layers. For example, you could brighten a part of your heaven with a slope on a layer mask to add together a soft and realistic effect.

To apply a gradient to a layer mask, first select your Gradient Tool by pressing G or selecting it in your toolbar.

Adjacent, brand certain your gradient is set up as "foreground to transparent" for the best results.

Choose whichever gradient type best suits your needs. For now, I'll leave my gradient gear up to linear.

The gradient colour will always be based on your active foreground colour. Remembering that layer masks work in blackness and white, and so pick one of these colors to conform your layer mask with. In this example, I'll select white to utilize to my inverted layer mask.

With the layer mask selected, click and drag out on your canvas to create your gradient. The gradient will be practical to your layer mask and add together a soft transition to your adjustment.

Gradients aren't useful if yous need to be specific nigh where your layer mask is visible. Still, they're perfect for hiding harsh edges or blending adjustment layers into an epitome.

– Applying Selections

The third way you tin pigment onto a layer mask is by filling your active selections with color. Although this technique doesn't require yous to "paint" annihilation at all, it still works as an effective way to edit layer masks.

After using any method to create a selection, all that's left is to fill your active selection.

Commencement, click on your layer mask to ensure it's selected. You tin can brand sure of this by noting the white boxes around the mask thumbnail.

To then hibernate or reveal the contents of your selection, y'all need to fill it with white or black. Luckily, when you click on your layer mask your foreground and background colors volition automatically switch to black and white. All that's left is to fill the selection!

To fill your agile selection with the foreground color, press Choice + Delete (Mac) or Alt + Delete (PC).

To fill the option with your groundwork color, press Command + Delete (Mac) or Control + Delete (PC).

With this method, yous can quickly adjust parts of your layer mask by using a option. If yous need to remove backgrounds or cutting out an image, this is incredibly useful to retrieve!

If you're new to cutting out images in Photoshop, don't miss these 5 best tools for the job.

Using A Layer Mask To Remove Backgrounds In Photoshop

At this point, you know how layer masks work, their basic purpose in Photoshop, and why they're useful. Now let'due south walk through a scenario that you'll find yourself in constantly. Let'due south use a layer mask to help remove the background from a photo.

For this case, I desire to remove the groundwork behind this coffee cup. Afterwards making my initial selection with the Pen Tool (click to learn how), I now am prepare to remove the background.

With the choice active, all I need to do is select my coffee cup layer and add a layer mask.

Since there is an active selection, Photoshop will utilize this direct onto the new layer mask. Rather than having to manually paint on the mask or fill the selection, this significantly streamlines the procedure.

Now the selection is practical, yous can conform or add to the layer mask as needed with the Brush or Gradient Tools. Using a mask to remove backgrounds is the best mode to practice things non-destructively. Even if yous don't think you'll need to make adjustments, it's keen to accept the option later on. That's what's so not bad virtually using layer masks with selections!

10 Layer Mask Shortcuts And Additional Tips

To brand layer masks fifty-fifty easier, endeavour some of these handy keyboard shortcuts to streamline the procedure!

1. Create New Layer Mask Shortcut

There isn't whatever born shortcut to create a new layer mask in Photoshop. However, yous can create your own!

To exercise this, first, go up to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

Scroll through the options and click the tabs Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All.

Since "reveal all" is the action y'all want to make a shortcut for, make certain it's selected and type in your desired keyboard shortcut. If the shortcut you employ is already taken, an fault will appear. I don't recommend overriding preset shortcuts unless you're absolutely certain.

If yous're not sure which shortcut to use, yous tin can copy my keyboard shortcut of Command + Shift + . (Mac) or Control + Shift + . (PC).

At present y'all can create a new layer mask with this keyboard shortcut instead of clicking the mask icon!

ii. Capsize Layer Mask

When yous already have an thought of what you lot want to mask out, sometimes the most effective manner to get-go is with a black (transparent) layer mask.

To create invert a new layer mask, hold Alt or Option (PC/Mac) and click on your layer mask icon. This will create a new black layer mask.

Alternatively, yous can invert a layer mask yous're already using by clicking on the layer mask and pressing Command + I (Mac) or Control + I (PC).

Be sure to check out this post most inverting layer masks to learn more than about why and when this is useful.

three. Disable/Enable Layer Masks

Especially when you lot're cutting out an image, you might want to see what the layer looked like before the mask. You can easily disable or enable a layer mask by holding Shift and clicking on your layer mask.

When your layer mask is disabled, a large cerise X will appear over the mask. This means information technology's not active. To reactivate the mask, agree Shift, and click on your mask in one case once again.

4. View Layer Mask

By holding Alt or Pick (PC/Mac) and clicking on your layer mask, you'll see your layer mask displayed on your sheet. This style you lot can more easily adjust your layer mask and see what areas are being afflicted.

In scenarios that you're using a very specific layer mask, being able to come across what your layer mask is affecting tin can exist useful. Especially when using a pick method such every bit channels, you may demand to manually adjust your layer mask to suit the selection. By viewing your layer mask straight this is much easier.

5. Deleting Layer Mask

To delete a layer mask, all you need to do is right-click on the mask and choose "Delete Layer Mask." This will get rid of your layer mask completely while leaving your layer unaffected.

Alternatively, yous can delete your mask from the backdrop panel. With your layer mask selected, open up the properties panel, click the layer mask icon, then the trash tin can at the bottom of the console.

If you lot're already working in the backdrop panel this might serve equally a more efficient option.

6. Duplicate Layer Masks

Rather than trying to brand the same mask for multiple layers, yous can indistinguishable any mask with one elementary click. Just agree Alt or Option (PC/Mac) and click and drag your layer mask from one layer to another.

At present you'll have an exact re-create of your initial layer mask on the new layer!

You can acquire more almost the different means to motility and copy layer masks in this postal service.

seven. Turn Layer Masks Into Selections

When yous use a mask to cut out an paradigm, yous might demand to reactivate your initial selection. By property Control (Mac) or Control (PC) and clicking on your layer mask, Photoshop will plow the white areas of the layer mask into a option.

For things like removing objects or getting more specific with an adjustment layer, this will come up in handy!

8. Unlink Layer Masks

To move your layer and layer mask independently you'll need to unlink them. By clicking the concatenation icon betwixt your layer and layer mask thumbnails, you disconnect the 2.

To move either your layer or layer mask, you'll demand to use your Move Tool (Five). Afterwards clicking on one of them, you tin can then move one or the other and reposition accordingly.

9. Target Layer Mask

While working with layer masks you'll have to deal with a lot of clicking dorsum and along between your layer and the mask. To streamline the process, you tin can utilize the keyboard shortcut Command + \ (Mac) or Control + \ (PC) to toggle from your regular layer to the layer mask.

To toggle dorsum from your mask to the regular layer, printing Command + 2 (Mac) or Control + two (PC).

ten. Quick Mask

If you're ever unsure about where your layer mask is affecting, you lot tin can bring up a quick mask to preview the affected area. With your desired layer selected, press \ to toggle the quick mask.

The quick mask will turn the expanse around your selection into a slightly transparent cherry to help see where your mask is visible.

Learning how to apply layer masks in Photoshop are a crucial part of learning how to edit photos not-destructively. With masks, whatsoever alter you lot make is easily reversible. Since you're only hiding sections of a layer, all the information is however there to work with.

At the about basic level, layer masks just consist of white (100% visible) and black (100% transparent). By remembering this, all yous need is to practice using layer masks for yourself to fully understand their values. Now it'southward fourth dimension to hop into Photoshop and get working!

Happy Editing,

Brendan 🙂

Source: https://www.bwillcreative.com/how-to-use-layer-masks-in-photoshop/

Posted by: staffordannow1956.blogspot.com