We need two layers to create a clipping mask, one to serve as the mask and one that will be clipped to the mask, so let's add a second layer. We'll add the new layer below the image. First, unlock the Background layer. In Photoshop CC, click the lock icon to unlock it. In Photoshop CS6 or earlier, press and hold the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key on your keyboard and double-click on …
May 07, 2019 · Those 2 cloud shapes are grouped, maybe that's why is not working . From the start. Ungroup and just use one shape to create the clipping mask with the yellow. or if you need both - ungroup the clouds , select both and go. Object > Compound path > make. then use that, plus the yellow to create the clipping mask.
Clips and masks give different results. A clip allows you to hide all parts of the bottom object that are outside the clip object. The colors of a mask object affect the opacity of the bottom object. The darker and the more transparent the mask, the more transparent the masked object will become. A white mask works just like a clip.
Hold down "Alt" (Win) / "Option" (Mac) and click on the layer mask's thumbnail in the Layers palette. Doing this tells Photoshop to show us the layer mask in our document, and sure enough, there it is, filled with white: The layer mask, filled with solid white, appears in …
A clipping mask is a group of layers to which a mask is applied. The bottommost layer, or base layer, defines the visible boundaries of the entire group. For example, suppose you have a shape in the base layer, a photograph in the layer above it, and text in the topmost layer. If the photograph and text appear only through the shape outline in ...
In the Layers panel, select a layer in the clipping mask, and choose Layer > Release Clipping Mask. This command removes the selected layer and any layers above it from the clipping mask.
To change the stacking order of the clipping mask relative to other layers in the image, select all layers in the group. Then drag the group’s base layer up or down in the Layers panel. (Dragging a layer without selecting all ...
Note: You can link the layers in a clipping mask so that they move together. The shape in the bottom layer of the clipping mask determines what area of the photo layer above shows through.
Opacity Masks and Clipping Paths are two of the most used tools in my workflow. They allow me to easily reveal or hide artwork without deleting any paths. As in all digital arts, it’s best to design your workflow to allow for maximum editability. It is inevitable that either myself or the client will change their mind through the process and this technique allows for easy revisions and edits, leading to less stress and happier clients.
If you visually see the gradient on the Artboard after you paste, it means you aren’t working in the Opacity Mask area. In the Transparency panel you will notice a slight outline around either the left or right square. The left square is your Artboard artwork, the right is the Mask. It’s easy to forget if you are working on the Opacity Mask or the Artboard so make sure you are working on the correct one. When you paste into the Opacity Mask you won’t see it on the Artboard, but a preview of the shape (s) will show up in the Transparency panel, as shown below.
Now that I have told Illustrator to apply an Opacity Mask to the Group of dots, I Paste in Front again (Paste in Front/Back are nice commands as they take the copied/cut paths and place them in the exact location where they came from) in this Opacity Mask area. Command + F is Paste in Front and Command + B is Paste in Back.
Clipping Paths are Binary (on or off) operations applied against all paths/objects within a layer. This can even include sub-layers with separately defined Clipping Paths. Opacity Masks are gray-scale Maps applied against individual paths/objects only. The only exception is that an Opacity Mask may be applied against a set ...
If they are unlocked (by clicking on the icon) you can move the artwork independently of the Mask. This is useful if for instance you have an Opacity Mask in the shape of a shirt, but the pattern isn’t lined up correctly, you can move the pattern and the shirt stays still.
At any point you can always grab the Path and move it around if you want. Many times your Clipping Path may not be perfectly aligned so it’s nice to have the ability to nudge stuff around. Even the shape itself isn’t permanent - you can edit the individual control points! You can release the Clipping Path by selecting the Clipping Path and clicking on the same icon that created it in the Layers panel, or to completely remove it you can drag the path into the Trashcan in the Layers panel.
The only exception is that an Opacity Mask may be applied against a set of objects if they are Grouped. It may be easier to understand with this simple example: To the left is the original art with no opacity or clipping applied.
With a clipping mask, any areas on the top layer that are sitting directly above transparent areas on the bottom layer are hidden. Since the bottom layer contains nothing but transparency, no part of the image above it is visible: With no content on the mask layer, the image on the clipped layer is hidden.
What Are Clipping Masks? Clipping masks in Photoshop are a powerful way to control the visibility of a layer. In that sense, clipping masks are similar to layer masks. But while the end result may look the same, clipping masks and layer masks are very different.
In Photoshop CS6 or earlier, press and hold the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key on your keyboard and double-click on the Background layer: Unlocking the Background layer . This unlocks the Background layer and renames it "Layer 0":
But a clipping mask uses the content and transparency of one layer to control the visibility of another. To create a clipping mask, we need two layers. The layer on the bottom controls the visibility of the layer above it.
With the top layer turned off, we see the layer we just added. By default, new layers in Photoshop are blank, meaning they have no content at all. A layer with no content is transparent and we see right through it. When there are no other layers below a transparent layer, Photoshop displays the transparency as a checkerboard pattern, as we see here:
If we look in the Layers panel, we see the photo on the Background layer, which is currently the only layer in the document:
Of course, the result might look better if our subject was centered inside the shape. With clipping masks, it's easy to move and reposition content within them. Just select the Move Tool from the Toolbar:
Clips and masks give different results. A clip allows you to hide all parts of the bottom object that are outside the clip object. The colors of a mask object affect the opacity of the bottom object.
The darker and the more transparent the mask, the more transparent the masked object will become. A white mask works just like a clip. The path for clipping (and masking) has been positioned above the head of the griffin. On the left, the griffin’s head was clipped with the circle. On the right, the circle was used as a mask.
On the left, the griffin’s head was clipped with the circle. On the right, the circle was used as a mask.
This is your layer mask thumbnail, and it's how we know that a layer mask has been added to the layer: After adding a layer mask to a layer, a layer mask thumbnail appears to the right of the layer's preview thumbnail. Notice that the layer mask thumbnail is filled with solid white.
A wise man once said, "Nothing worth doing in life should be done without layer masks". Apparently, the wise man was a big Photoshop user who may have spent a little too much time alone on top of the mountain. But enough about him.
The "getting paid by the hour" way to accomplish this would be to go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen, choose Layer Mask, and then choose Hide All (remember last time, we chose "Reveal All"). The faster and easier way though is to hold down your Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key and click on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:
"Applying" the mask basically means telling Photoshop to erase all the pixels on the layer that were hidden from view by the layer mask, as if you had erased them yourself with the Eraser Tool.
The reason layer masks are filled with white by default is because usually, you want to see everything on your layer when you first add the mask, and white in a layer mask means 100% visible. What if instead, you wanted to hide everything on the layer when you add the mask, so that as soon as the mask is added, everything on that layer disappears from view? Well, we just learned that black on a layer mask means 100% transparent, so we would need a way to tell Photoshop that instead of filling the new layer mask with white, we want it to be filled what black. You'll most likely come across situations where it makes more sense to hide everything on the layer when you add the mask rather than leaving everything visible, and fortunately, Photoshop gives us a couple of easy ways to do that. First of all, I'm going to delete my layer mask by simply clicking on its thumbnail and dragging it down onto the trash bin icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:
The reason why the thumbnail is filled with white is because the mask itself is currently filled with white, even though the mask is currently hidden from view. If you want proof that the mask really is there in your document and really is filled with white, simply hold down Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) and click directly on the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette:
Layer masks are right up there at the top of the list of things you really need to know about when working in Photoshop because without them, your work, your creativity and your flexibility all suffer. It's that simple. It's a good thing for us, then, that layer masks are so incredibly simple and easy to understand!
One of the benefits of creating our own shapes is that we can use the anchor points to edit the mask. By using the Direct Selection tool, we can move around the anchor points.
Zap Layden is a Designer and Game Developer. They are currently working as a freelance media designer and designing games at Super Retro Duck. When they aren't working, you can find them making pixel art and playing video games or just reading about birds.
In InDesign, most objects we use are within frames. Interestingly, these can be considered clipping masks in and of themselves. As the frame and the content within can be moved separately, InDesign comes with this basic form of masking built in.
Curious if you can you make clipping masks in InDesign? Masking is an essential skill to learn in many different design applications, and InDesign, of course, is no different. There are a few different ways in which we can make masks with InDesign, but one of the most convenient ways is by using custom frame shapes. We'll be looking at a number of different ways to create clipping mask InDesign effects in this tutorial.
And there you have a quick way of creating a clipping mask with a different shape. Of course, you can use this same method with all the frame shape tools, including the Rectangle and Polygon Frame Tool.
However, tracing over typography with the Pen Tool would be really time-consuming. Luckily, there is a handy tool for turning typefaces into a layer mask.
You can also copy the image if you would like! Cutting is a good idea, though, so that we don't have multiple copies of the same image on our stage.
Opacity masks permit more complex clipping paths because they don’t gradients. Instead, black hides content while white reveals it. This works the same way Layer Masks do in Photoshop, just with vector shapes. One use of opacity masks is fading a photo over a complex background, when a gradient from opaque to transparent covers too many details. Use a similar effect to create the sense of a reflective surface as well by repeating the content as a fading “shadow.” Also consider opacity masks to create a vignette effect in Illustrator without the use of Photoshop.
Additionally, the clipping mask applies evenly across the clipping path, because they ultimately ignore colors and gradients. Blending modes like Screen can mimic a gradient clipping mask, and blending mode settings like Knockout can prevent the blend mode from interfering with other styles. However, the layers and blend modes involved might complicate making clipping paths.
First, select the object you wish to clip. Then, in the Menu bar, click the text for Opacity to reveal a small panel. The panel displays two thumbnails: the active object on the left and on the right an empty gray thumbnail.
The strategic combination of clipping paths and opacity masks allows for more complex layering in your Illustrator documents. If the document requires a lot of raster graphics and even more complex masks, then try importing the vector objects from Illustrator into Photoshop as Smart Objects and work with Layer Masks in Photoshop.