COM 1230 Digital Imaging I Worksheet: Layer Masks Name 1. Which is the Add Layer Mask icon? B 2. When layer masking, the color black conceals and the color white reveals. 3. To disable a layer mask, Shift click on the layer mask thumbnail. A red X will appear. 4. To view the layer mask in Black and White only, Option/ALT click the mask. 5. In Example A, if this selection is active, describe what happens when you click the Add Layer Mask icon. What will be hidden and what will be revealed? The apple will be hidden and the bkgd revealed 6. In Example B, which thumbnail is active? layer thumbnail on the left Describe what would happen if you took a a black brush and painted in the image window. black would appear on the apple 7. Examine the layer mask in Example C. Describe what parts of the mask are revealing and concealing. Black is concealing the bkgd White is revealing the apple A C B 8. In Example D, if you increased the Saturation slider in the Hue and Saturation adjustment panel, what part of the image would be affected? Everything, the apple, or the yellow background? apple What keyboard shortcut would switch the mask so that the opposite areas would be affected? Command/Control + I to Invert D page 1
9. Which layer mask is the correct choice for what is happening in the image? Layer Mask 1 10. Look at Example D and examine the Layer panel very carefully. When I moved the apple image this happened. Can you figure out what created the problem? Compare this example to the examples above it. What is different about the Layers panel? The link between the layer and the mask is uncheck therefore when you move the apple the mask stays D 11. In this last example, I made a selection on the flower layer and after adding a layer mask to the flower layer, this is the result. NO flower, just the outline or shape of the flower. What happened and how can I get what I really want which is just the flower without its background? The wrong area was selected when the layer mask was added Press Command/Control + I to Invert This will reveal the flower page 2
12. One of the most important aspects of layer masking is the edge quality. After creating a selection and then using Select and Mask to create the mask, do the edges still look like they have been ripped or cut out? Did you miss areas? You must zoom in close to examine the edges. If you are examining the edges at a reduced size, you will never execute professional quality work. You can finetune the edges of the layer mask by switching (X) between black and white brush to tweak the edges. Look for areas either to conceal by painting with black or to reveal by painting with white. Be sure that the layer mask thumbnail is selected (the one on the right in the Layers Panel when you are finetuning the mask! IMPORTANT! The textbook does not display the most current info on Select and Mask. Watch the videos on how to use this dialog box. The textbook refers to it as Refine Edges. Below are three examples of edges. Unprofessional, rough, missing pixels Smoother, more refined edge Much larger Feather amount page 3
13. Look at the examples of the apple. Notice in the first example, the shadow of the apple and the perimeter is rough and edgy. A shadow should be soft and spread out and you will want the perimeter of the apple to be pretty smooth. How can you get two kinds of edges in the same mask? You would first deal with the entire perimeter using the Masks panel/select and Mask THEN use a very large and soft white brush to paint over the shadow area to create a nice soft shadow. Examine the differences in the edges of the apple and the edges of the shadow. 14. To delete a layer mask and to avoid deleting the entire layer, you must be very careful to press on the and layer mask thumbnail only drag it to the Trash icon in the Layers panel or Control click on it to delete. 15. IMPORTANT! In CC, it is not necessary to convert the Background to a layer before adding the Layer Mask. You can add the Layer Mask and Photoshop will convert the Background to a layer for you. 16. Examples 1 and 2 display the two different types of layer masks. One layer mask is part of an adjustment layer and the other is added to a pixel layer. Identify each type. Example 1 is a _ Adjustment layer and mask Example 2 is a _ Pixel layer with mask 1 2 page 4
Definitely the World s Ugliest Sport Poster. You should NEVER have so many variations of masking in one poster. Why is it here? So that you can see some of the different types of layer masks. Photo 1 A layer mask was added first and then a black brush was randomly used to hide parts of the image. Photo 2 A square selection was made to eliminate some of the undesirable parts of the image. A layer mask was added and with the layer mask thumbnail selected, the stylized edge was created by applying a filter to the layer mask using the Filter command in the Menu Bar. Photo 3 An area was selected with the Rectangular Marquee and then a layer mask added. The Rectangular has a normal edge. Photo 4 An area was selected with the Elliptical Marquee and then a layer mask added. The edge was feathered using the Masks panel. Photo 5 This photo took the longest to execute because it had to be the most accurate. I used the Quick Selection tool to first select most of the image. I added the layer mask. Then I zoomed in tight and switching (X) between black and white brush, I refined the edges of the image, revealing areas I missed and hiding other areas. TIP! DO NOT use a soft brush to do this tweaking! In particular, notice that you can see through his face mask! I had to use a very small black brush to hide that area. I then adjusted the edges with the Mask panel. Can you figure how I did the one foot? (Just like the apple shadow.) Photo 6 Titans logo The Magic Wand tool worked well selecting the unwanted area around the logo, first making a selection of the unwanted area and then choosing Select>Inverse before adding the layer mask and then using the Mask panel. 1 2 3 5 4 6 page 5
17. This is another common problem when layer masking. You make a selection, add the layer mask, and then you realize that you have left over crud. Look close, do you see the thin black scratchy outlines? Don t panic! Think about it what do you do to eliminate the crud. Make sure the layer mask thumbnail is active and paint with. black page 6