Using Clipping Masks


When you clip two layers together you create a clipping mask. Clipping masks enable you to perform some interesting graphic tricks such as literally tattooing one image onto the other. With the help of layer masks, layer opacity, and blending modes, you can mold and model the image into superbly realistic forms.

To join two layers into a clipping mask, the image on the bottom layer must be surrounded by transparency. The layer to be clipped will appear one step higher in the stack. When a layer is clipped, it fills the shape of the image on the layer below it; in other words, the bottom layer acts as a mask to clip the layer immediately above it.

To see how clipping masks operate , you ll clip two layers together to create an electric telephone, and then use blending modes and a layer mask to enhance the effect:

  1. Open the electric_telephone.psd file in the h05 folder on the CD. The image is separated into three layers: the topmost is the Lightning layer, the middle is the Telephone, and the bottom is the black Background (see Figure 22.8).

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    Figure 22.8: The beginning electric telephone image is composed of three layers.

  2. To create a clipping mask, press Option/Alt and click between the Lightning and Telephone layers (see Figure 22.9). Or target the top layer and choose Layer Create Clipping Mask.

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    Figure 22.9: After Option/Alt-clicking between layers, the Lightning layer is shown as a clipping group to the Telephone layer.

  3. Experiment with blending modes to enhance the effect. Target the Lightning layer and choose Hard Light from the pop-up list at the top of the Layers palette. The lightning becomes more saturated . Try Pin Light and Linear Light, too. Adjust the Opacity slider to modify the effect.

  4. You can also add a layer mask to subtly model the telephone. With the Lightning layer targeted , choose Layer Add Layer Mask Reveal All.

  5. Be sure that the layer mask is targeted. Choose black as a foreground color . Choose the Paintbrush and set its opacity in the Options bar to 20%. Choose a Soft brush from the Brush panel. Paint on the telephone in various places to diminish the effect of the lightning and to enhance the phone s three-dimensionality. If necessary, paint multiple passes to achieve the effect shown in Figure 22.10. Look at the telephone in the color section (Figure C32) to see what happens to your telephone when a bolt of lightning hits a power line!

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Figure 22.10: The final image altered with a layer mask



Photoshop CS Savvy
Photoshop CS Savvy
ISBN: 078214280X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 355

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