Looking for a Mask Tutorial

[Skippyherron]

Hey ladies,

I'm totally a newbie to Photoshop and i don't know what i'm doing at the best of times......can anyone point me in the right direction to a tutorial that i can use to incorporate those pretty mask's that come in some of the kits.
I've looked a bit on the web and come up with using brushes and kind of erasing some bits of a layer - LOL - total newbie.....but how to use these black mask things with the pretty patterns around the outside - - - i'm not sure about.
thanks
xx
kel

[heathert]

You can use masks several ways.

1) Clip a photo or paper to it: this means that the photo or paper will take on the shape of the mask. To do this, put the photo or paper above the layer of the mask. Click on the photo/paper layer, then press ctrl+alt+g in CS, or ctrl+g in PSE. That will cause the top layer to be indented with a little arrow pointing to the lower layer: anything on that top layer will disappear unless it's in the shape of the bottom layer.

2. You can use a mask as a brush. Just place the mask whereever you want it to look pretty, then choose a blending mode in the layers palette window. Overlay, soft light, screen work well if the mask is a lighter color than the background (to change the color of the mask/brush, pick the color you want, click on the mask layer, and press alt+shit+backspace; the mask should now be the color you chose). Overlay, multiply, color burn, and linear burn work nicely if the mask is darker than your background. Basically, experiment!

[fruitysuet]

One tip I read somewhere (heaven knows where!) was to clip a colour to the mask first before clipping a photo to it, then any 'stray' bits of mask which your photo doesn't cover will match in to your page.

I'm still a learner at using them myself and I agree with Heather that the best way is to play - especially with those blending modes and opacity sliders.

[Skippyherron]

This is perfect - thank you so much Heather and Suzanne for your information - i'll give it a go soon....xx kel

[mum2gnt]

Quick clip tip.........I am the quick key queen!!...........hover between the layers and click the alt key - so between your mask and photo and click - done!

[jennyf92]

Another thing: When clipping a photo to a mask, if there are parts of the mask that aren't opaque and leave "holes" or "marks" over faces in your photo, just use a black brush and paint on the mask layer to fill them in!

[France]

If you want to use masks as brushes, this tutorial by Heather opened my eyes big time!
http://www.mscraps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5646

:biggrin8: