Photoshop Masking Method and Techniques

Photoshop mask principle:

Photoshop masking is to convert different grayscale color values ​​into different transparency and apply to the layer it is in, so that the transparency of the different parts of the layer changes accordingly. Black is completely transparent and white is completely opaque.

Photoshop mask advantages:

1. It is easy to modify, it will not cause unreturnable regret due to the use of eraser or cut delete;
2. Can use different filters to produce some unexpected special effects;
3. Any grayscale can be used as a mask.

The main role of Photoshop mask:

1. The map;
2. Make the edge fade effect of the graph;
3. The fusion between layers.

In this article we introduce how to use Photoshop masks. See Video Demo: Using Layer Masks.

1. Open a picture in Photoshop

2. First select the part that needs to be sent out. Because of the time, I use a simpler vehicle and check with the pen (path) tool.

3. Press ctrl+Enter (or in the Paths panel, press ctrl+ to click on the path; or click on the "dotted circle" button below the panel) to convert the path to a constituency, properly feathered (I Feather 1 pixel);

4. Double-click on the background layer and confirm (or press Alt + double-click) to change it to a normal layer.

In the previous steps, the feathering is to make the edges of the drawing more smooth and the size of the drawing to grasp, can not be too large, generally below the 3 chart, depending on the size of your map. The background layer is converted to a normal layer because the background layer cannot apply a mask. Then, the key step is:

5. Keep the selection floating. Click the "Add layer mask" button in the layer palette.

The general outline will pop out. It is now found that some parts have not yet been fully settled. Nothing matters. The advantages of the template can now be reflected.

Point mask (note that when the mask is selected, the symbol in front of the layer is different from the selected layer, so be sure to confirm that you are not working on the mask before the modification) and select unnecessary places. Filled with black in the mask, this part was trapped;

Now we find that the windshield of the car is not transparent (it will be very unrealistic when you collapse the chart and merge with other map houses). According to the mask principle, the different gray levels of the mask affect the transparency of layers, we can Use a brush or other tool to draw different levels of gray on the mask to adjust.

Complete as follows:

For more complex drawings, when comparing people's hair, foliage of plants, etc., the pictures can be changed to different color modes such as CMYK or LAB to find a channel with the strongest contrast and the sharpest edge profile, adjust its color gradation, and then Apply to the mask, and further trimming.

Source: HC Network Printing Industry Channel