A beginners Tutorial for better understanding Layer Masks in Photoshop [details (http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=166)]

thank you for your tutorial on layer masks, i have read through and will probably read through again, This is a subject i had very little knowledge of and very little understanding of but now can go and practice

Hi palms1,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

Thank you so much for your feedback!!!

Your post lets me hope that everything has uploaded right (images and all...)

Glad if this Tutorial can be of help and please, after you have read and, maybe, tried it, let me know if there are confusing or unclear points so I can correct them .... Layer Masks can be a very 'confusing' topic!!! :)

Thanks for the great tutorial. I'm just starting to work on masks and your work is very clear and well written

One of the BEST I've seen anywhere, Flora. Well done!

Hi Bob Mc,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

Thank you so much for your kindness. :classic:

Danny,

Thank you for your great comment .... Reading a post here, brought me back to my initial 'confusion' about Layer Masks ....

FLORA...Simply wonderful. Thank you for such a clear & detailed tutorial!

Only pix 13 failed to open for me..?

Hi GOLDCOIN,

Thank you so much for your great feedback! :)

I've just changed Image 13 (I had uploaded the wrong one....) and maybe you were reading the tutorial during the procedure ... Could you, please, check again and let me know?

Thanks in advance!

Great job Flora, everything showing up fine here.

This is an awesome tutorial. It is well written, simple yet effective. It is easy to follow and easy to understand. I just spent the better part of the semester helping students try to understand the power and control they have with layers and masks. I wish I had had your tute two weeks ago. Books written by the "pros" often don't put this complicated topic on a level for newbies. Your tute does. Thanks Flora.

Janet

vinniesworld, Janet,

thank you so much for your great feedback! :pleased:

So glad you found the tutorial 'easy to follow and easy to understand' .... This is exactly what I was aiming to ...

Good tutorial Flora - where were you when I was trying to learn :pleased:

I no longer have Photoshop, I'm using Photoshop Elements which doesn't have a layer mask like Photoshop does, so I've had to learn a new way of doing the same thing, but strangely, it's much easier.

Here's what I do.

In Photoshop Elements (PSE), create a color adjustment layer in a solid color that contrasts well with the image (I like to use bright yellow or bright blue), especially the parts you would like to select. Leave the blending mode at Normal, but set the opacitiy at something like 80% so you can just see the image through the color.

The color adjustment layer does have a layer mask and now you can paint with black to "scrape" away the color over the part you want to select. If you've "scraped" away too much, paint with white to put the color back. When you're satisfied that you've scraped away the right amount of color, hold down the Ctrl/Command key and click on the color adjustment layer in the layers palet and the part of the layer that is still colored will be selected - allowing you to switch to your image layer and get rid of everything you don't want by just hitting delete, or you can easily reverse the selection if you want to copy your selection and paste it to a new layer.

PSE doesn't have channels but you can save your selections and combine them or subtract them.

Here's a picture of it in action.

Take care, Margaret

Hi Margaret!!!

Thank you so much for your kindness! :pleased:

....And thank you VERY much for showing the way to do it with PSE ....A lot of people here will be very happy about it!!! :bigthmb:

Hope you are well...

Take care...

P.S. how about writing a PSE tutorial on this topic?

I would like to do a tutorial on that but right now I'm up to my ears writing scripts for my tv show.

We filmed the first two episodes this past week without a script - they told me I wouldn't need one - and I was very disappointed with my performance, so now I'm trying to make it more structured. I'm hoping they will scrap the first two episodes and film them again.

I keep coming here for inspiration even if I don't have time to post :thumbsup:

Take care, Margaret

WOW Margaret!

A celebrity!!! I didn't know that!!!
What is your show about??

Take care...

I'm far from a celebrity :cool: My show is about Photoshop Elements. I'm doing a series of 6 half hour shows introducing PSE on the local cable station. I don't think anybody will watch it, but it's fun for me and i'm learning a lot. Nothing like a deadline to get the creative juices flowing!

The exciting part will be the website to accompany the show where I'll be posting the images I work on and tutorials for doing them and if I get moving here there'll be some 2 minute videos too.

It's fun that's all I can say,

Take care, Margaret

Great! Just Great!

It's so nice doing what you actually like doing!!!

Please, post the website link once it's up .... I know where to send people needing help for PSE ....

All the best.

Take care ...

Hi,
In the tutorial I got lost between image 6 and 7. In 6 the mask is shown as solid black. In 7 the mask is black with a white slit cut out. How did you make the white cut out. thanks, ebbtide

Hi,
In the tutorial I got lost between image 6 and 7. In 6 the mask is shown as solid black. In 7 the mask is black with a white slit cut out. How did you make the white cut out. thanks, ebbtideWelcome to RetouchPRO and a great question...

1. Literally click on the mask thumbnail (the black one). This engages the layer mask. Note how the layer icon changes from a paint brush to a square with a circle inside it, signifying "the layer mask is active." (If you click on the image thumbnail, the icon switches back to a paint brush = the image is active.)

2. Paint with white. With the layer mask active, the paint will be applied to the mask. Where you paint white on the mask is what will reveal the layer below.

Hope this gets you moving.

~Danny~

Excellent tutorial, well written, easy to follow and understand. This is the kind of thing I joined Retouch Pro to learn about.

Dave.

Hi ebbtide,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

In the tutorial I got lost between image 6 and 7. In 6 the mask is shown as solid black. In 7 the mask is black with a white slit cut out.Right! .... Sorry about that :o: ... Danny has already cleared part of your confusion but what actually created it was the fact that I used the wrong Image 7 !!!! I've already corrected and changed it!! :dizzy:

I had thought of showing how exactly an 'Activated Layer Mask' looks like only after having worked on it .... so I took that snapshot after having changed the mask already!!!

As for painting the 'white slit' on it, follow the steps in the Tutorial from Image 7 ....

Hope this has cleared all your confusion ....

Hi Dave,

If I haven't done this already,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

Thank you very much for your feedback!!! :) :)

A beginners Tutorial for better understanding Layer Masks in Photoshop [details (http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=166)]

It is true that I had no idea about the usefulness of this PS tool, it was like unknown territory and could never get the gist of it. The tutorial is excellent and perfect for beginners like myself. Thank you. !! :pleased:
I just love this site so much to learn and so much fun doing it. :bow:

Hi Marthig,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

Thank you so much for your great feedback!!!

As i mentioned earlier in this thread i wuld have a practice and have found the tutorial excellent so i thought i would let you see a little of what i have been practicing ( no not perfect but getting there ) winnie is my cat and willling model, trouble is getting her not to be asleep ! ! ! ! ! !

...i thought i would let you see a little of what i have been practicing... WAY TO GO, Palms! I'm glad you're making progress. (Nice subject... I like kitties.)

Not to worry... you'll never achieve perfection, but there's nothing wrong with striving for excellence. Keep on growing and learning.

Simply great Palms1!!! :bigthmb:

I'm so happy you found the tutorial so helpful that you are having fun 'experimenting' with Layer Masks .... and with great results!!!

One word of warning though .... Layer Masks can be highly addictive!!! :wink:

Thank you for the excellent tutorial. I was hoping to be able to print it out and try to apply it to Print Shop Pro. However when I tried to print it none of the images printed although they showed up ok on the screen. I just got a blank box where the images shoudl be. Any ideas how I can print this out with the images so that I could work on in PSP

Thanks

Hi Fotofill,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

Thank you so much for your kindness!!! :)

I just made a test print of one page of the tutorial by clicking on the 'Print' link at the top of the page .... I did the test using Netscape first and Internet Explorer then .... both times the images came out perfectly ....

One silly question ... have you checked that in your browser's printing configuration/settings you have the 'print background and images' box checked ?

They say the best way to be a successful teacher is to have a really dense student <raises hand>.

On the discription for Image 4 the last line states to fill the layer with a color of your choice. Image 4 points to the little icon under the layers... after playing with that (and cleverly using "layer properties" to change the layer bar blue...) I finally realized I should use the Fill tool... ? is that right?

Also - for some reason - "Create Background Copy" isn't a choice when right-clicking Background. I found that if you drag the Background to the "Create a New Layer" icon it makes the Background Copy - is there another way to do it?

Thank you so much for your time and effort - glad I could help by being the Dense Student :nod:

Hi discinque,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

They say the best way to be a successful teacher is to have a really dense student <raises hand>....Thank you so much for your help in teaching me how to be a better teacher .... :wink:

On the discription for Image 4 the last line states to fill the layer with a color of your choice. Image 4 points to the little icon under the layers...Right, my mistake, what happened there is that I put the description for Image 4 on the wrong line .... the little icon under the Layers is the 'Create a New Layer' Icon, as explained in the small tip that appears if you keep your pointer on it for a couple of seconds .... Thanks for pointing it out ... I have corrected my mistake in the tutorial, replaced Image 4 and added a couple of images.

after playing with that (and cleverly using "layer properties" to change the layer bar blue...)By using the Layer Properties, you are only Color Coding layers and/or layer sets which "makes it easier to locate related layers in the Layers palette." (PS Help file).
As I'm sure you've noticed, Color Coding a Layer doesn't colour the whole Layer bar (and not only light blue since you can choose different colours for it), but only the left most part of it (where the eye icon is..) and Color coded Layers can be active or not ... What actually coloured your whole Layer bar 'deep' blue was the fact that to get to the Layer Properties Options you had to click on/activate your Layer as described in my first list point after Image 3. "Click on/activate your Background".

I finally realized I should use the Fill tool... ? is that right?Right ... The Fill Tool is one way to fill a Layer ....

Also - for some reason - "Create Background Copy" isn't a choice when right-clicking Background.... By right clicking on a Layer you don't get the "Create Background Copy" option ... you get the 'Duplicate Layer/Background' option, definition used in my first list point just before Image 3 .... which actually 'Creates a Layer (X) Copy' or a 'Background Copy' if you right click on your background .... (see attachment) I found that if you drag the Background to the "Create a New Layer" icon it makes the Background Copy - is there another way to do it?.... Right again ... The 'right-Click' and the 'Drag to the "Create a New Layer" ' methods are only two of the different ways to duplicate/make a copy of any Layer .... all methods described in the PS Help file.

Hope this helps.

What I'd like to add is that I'm sorry if my mistakes or lack of 'detailed' descriptions on some points might have misled someone, but my Tutorial was intended for helping with Layer Masks and for Layer Masks 'Beginners' .... not for helping with the basic usage of Tools, Options, Menus and Keyboard-Shortcuts in PS which are described much better than I could ever do in the Photoshop Help file available to anyone using PS. :pleased:

Thanks for one excellent tutorial, it fills in many gaps. One small suggestion though. When saving this tutorial in WinXP with Save As, the file name shows up as "tutorials" which I have to replace with something like "layer_mask_tutorial". This is a fairly common problem with saving web pages, here and elsewhere. I think it can be fixed in web design, and can benefit many downloaders.

Hi hpycmpr,

Thank you so much for your kind words!!! :pleased:

... One small suggestion though. When saving this tutorial in WinXP with Save As, the file name shows up as "tutorials" which I have to replace with something like "layer_mask_tutorial". This is a fairly common problem with saving web pages, here and elsewhere. I think it can be fixed in web design, and can benefit many downloaders. I know exactly what you mean... :o: ...and I couldn't agree more .... but I have no influence whatsoever on it ... Maybe Doug Nelson, our Administrator, could change it ....
What I do is select and copy the title of the tutorial while on its page and paste it on the 'save as' window ...

Hello Flora: As I read through the tutorial I could not help but think about the time you must have put into prepareing it. All the screen shots , the written explainations. the time to upload and all for the sake of helping people learn.

My heartfelt thanks to you for your kind and very helpful postings here. Your work is an inspiration to me and I am sure many others, your attitude shines through your posts to help people needing assistance. I am grateful to you and the many others who give of their time to help those of us wanting to learn photoshop. I also say a special thank you to Doug for making this site available to us.
Nebgranny :pleased:

hpycmpr,

I've asked 'higher up' ... :D ... there doesn't seem to be a way to control it in a satisfactory way ....

nebgranny,

*Thank you* very much for your kind words!!! :pleased:

Flora, thanks for following up. The naming for downloading is just a small inconvenience compared to what your tutorials have to offer. And I don't mean to pick on you. <g> Some sites' pages manage to get this right, so all I can say is it can be done. Let's move forward.

Many thanks for you wonderful tutorial - which is beautifully written. It really makes you want to move on.

I'm working with Elements 2 and a masking layer plug-in from

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pselements/p/layermasks.htm

In your tutorial I got up to the para under image 12, but had problems bringing back the marching ants - I suspect I can't with do this with a plug-in.

I also don't have a Selective Colours Adjustment Layer - but presume I could get round this by using an adjustment layer with hue/saturation/colourization?

:cry: I suspect I will need to get rid of the plug in, and use Margaret's helpful method instead. It would be so good to be able to work right through with your tutorial though.

I just wondered if it might be negotiable?

Either way, your exercises have helped enormously.

All best wishes, & thanks again.

Caroline

Hi Caroline,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

Thank you for your feedback!

So glad you liked the Tutorial and found it useful .... :pleased:

Since I've never worked with PSE, I can't help you with the problem you are having re-selecting from the mask itself .... :o:

Why don't you try posting your question in our Photoshop Elements Q&A Forum (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=148) ? .... I'm sure someone will be able to help you there ....

Hi Flora,

I have just got in touch with another forum about this, & think I will now be able to get on with the rest of the tutorial.

Thanks again (lots),

Caroline.

So glad you found help!! :pleased:

Take care ...

Nice tutorial on using layers Flora.

I have found, that for me, using CTRL J (CMD J on an Apple I believe it is) to duplicate layers works quickly.

Sometimes I want a selection to be on its own layer and using CTRL J on the selection will put just the selection on a new layer. Of course you, being the Guru you are, know all those tricks, but maybe someone reading this thread wasn't aware of that way of doing something and it will benefit them.

Again, thanks for a fine tutorial Flora.

Hi ken,

If I haven't done it yet,

Welcome to RP! :pleased:

Thank you so much for your feedback and kindest words ... :blush: :blush:

.... and thank you so much for your help!!! :thumbsup:

I'm sure a lot of people will be very thankful!!!