UNDERSTANDING LAYER MASKS

[Flora]

A beginners Tutorial for better understanding Layer Masks in Photoshop [details]

[palms]

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

[Flora]

Hi palms1,

Welcome to RP!

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!!!

[Bob Mc]

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

[DannyRaphael]

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

[Flora]

Hi Bob Mc,

Welcome to RP!

Thank you so much for your kindness.

Danny,

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

[GOLDCOIN]

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

Only pix 13 failed to open for me..?

[Flora]

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!

[vinniesworld]

Great job Flora, everything showing up fine here.

[Janet Petty]

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

[Flora]

vinniesworld, Janet,

thank you so much for your great feedback!

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

[winwintoo]

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

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

[Flora]

Hi Margaret!!!

Thank you so much for your kindness!

....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!!!

Hope you are well...

Take care...

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

[winwintoo]

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

Take care, Margaret

[Flora]

WOW Margaret!

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

Take care...

[winwintoo]

I'm far from a celebrity 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

[Flora]

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 ...

[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, ebbtide

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by 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, ebbtide

Welcome 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~

[Dave Mamet]

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

Dave.

[Flora]

Hi ebbtide,

Welcome to RP!

Originally Posted by ebbtide

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 ... 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!!

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 ....

[Flora]

Hi Dave,

If I haven't done this already,

Welcome to RP!

Thank you very much for your feedback!!!

[Marthig]

Originally Posted by Flora

A beginners Tutorial for better understanding Layer Masks in Photoshop [details]

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. !!
I just love this site so much to learn and so much fun doing it.

[Flora]

Hi Marthig,

Welcome to RP!

Thank you so much for your great feedback!!!

[palms]

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 ! ! ! ! ! !

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by palms1

...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.

[Flora]

Simply great Palms1!!!

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!!!

[Fotofill]

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

[Flora]

Hi Fotofill,

Welcome to RP!

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 ?

[discinque]

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