Masks are used for a wonderful fishing touch on Photos or Graphics. They are as easy to use as putting masking tape on a window to prevent having to scrape paint off when remodeling a room. And that's just the way to think of them, to prevent paint from going where you don't want it. Of corse we can do much more with our Masks than with tape.

You can use my photos if you would like. Please don't use them for anything which brings you monetary profit, however. You will want to crop and/or resize them for use in the tutorial as they are quite large.

     
Images will open in a new window.

This example will use the Tiger. It will be resized for the sample images but the actual image I am working on is sized at 30 x 300 pixels.

Open the picture you wish to work on. In the Layer Palette, if the image will have one layer named Background, Right Click on this layer and choose Promote Background Layer. Then Right Click on the layer again and Rename it to Tiger if you are using the Tiger. Choose your own name if you are using another picture.

Next, add a new Raster Layer and name it "Background". Then move the image layer (named Tiger, in this case) to above the layer you just added.

It is not absolutely necessary to add the new Raster Layer but images on layers are much easier to move and manipulate. An image on a Background Layer, as the picture was when opened, is not able to be moved.

Now add a second Raster Layer on top of your image layer. This layer is necessary for the Mask to work as outlined in this tutorial. The sample shows the image and the layer palette as it should look now.

Make sure the last Raster Layer that you just created is highlighted (active) and go to Layers/Load-Save Mask/Load Mask from Disk. This will bring up the Palette below.

Since this is an Introduction to Masks we are going to let the settings default to what is shown in the Palette above. However, you can use the Drop-Down arrow to choose a mask that you would like to use. I have chosen Edge hex 01.

When you have chosen your mask and checked that the settings are the same as the example, click Load to be returned to your image.

When returning to your image look at the Layer Palette and you will see that two things have happened:

1. A new Layer has been added and is now Highlighted. It is named "Mask - Raster 1" and
   
   
2. Another Layer named "Group - Raster 1" has also been added. The Group now contains not only the Raster Layer you added earlier, but also contains the new Mask Layer that was just added.

Look at the Materials Palette and you will see that the Mask Layer is showing grays and blacks which means that it is a grey scale layer. This also means that you cannot paint on it as it is essentially a gray scale image. We need 16 million colors to be able to paint just as when you are opening a new image and need to set the number of colors to 16 million.

If you click now on the Raster 1 Layer under the Mask Layer, you will see the Materials Palette come back to life with it's wide range of color choices.

For our example a bright reddish color has been chosen to paint with so that the effects can readily be seen.

Step 3. Painting.

With the Raster 1 Layer still selected, choose the Flood Fill Tool and click in the Center of your graphic. This will paint with the color you have selected. Does yourimage look like the sample on the right?

If you are new to masks, it this what you expected? Not quite, I'll bet!

Step 4. Inverting the Mask.

Click on the Mask - Raster 1 to make it active. Then go to Layers/Invert Mask Adjustment. Now you should have an image with the real Tiger showing in the center and the colored areas on the outer edges.

Wasn't that easy?

One thing you will soon find out is how addicting working with Masks can become. Our first picture was not very exciting but we have a whole range of Masks to choose from. Add to that the colors, textures, gradients and patterns that can be used! We'll try a few more just to see some different results.

Step 5. A New Mask.

We will choose a new mask, but there is no reason to start over from scratch. Remember, we are working with layers, so all we need to do is turn some off.

1. Click on the eye beside the Layer named "Group - Raster 1". This will turn off the entire Mask and area that was painted but will leave the Tiger layer on.
2. With the "Group - Raster 1" highlighted, add a new Raster Layer to the top of the layer list.
3. Go to Layers/Load-Save Mask/Load Mask from Disk and choose another Mask from the drop-down list.

Mask 074 is what has been chosen this time and these are the steps:

1. Click on Layer under last Mask to activate Raster Layer
2. Foreground color chosen: Multi-Aqua
   • Settings:
     Angle: - 222
     Repeats: - 0
     Invert: - Unchecked
     Style: - Linear
3. Left Click with Flood Fill Tool to paint gradient.
4. Click Mask Layer to make active.
5. Click on Layers/Invert Mask Adjustment.
6. New Masked picture appears.

You can go back and repeat Step 5 as many times as you'd like and make new Mask Layers using Textures, Patterns, New colors and Gradients. Make sure you Save often as a .pspimage. As with any other technique, the more you practice, the more the technique will become familiar.

Hint: Each time you add a new mask rename the mask layer with the name of the Mask chosen. Then you can always go back and duplicate it.

Here are a few more examples. The Mask is identified as well as colors, gradients and patterns used. All were done by using the Flood Fill Tool with Left Click to apply paint or pattern.

Mask 033
Foreground pattern: - Rope
   Angle: 0
   Scale: 41

Mask Edge Oval
Foreground pattern: - Rippled Sand
   Angle: 0
   Scale: 24

Mask Edge Angles
Foreground Gradient: - Metallic gold 02
   Angle: 222
   Repeats: 0
   Style: Linear