Masks and Channels
Do more with your images in Adobe Photoshop by using masks and channels to isolate and manipulate specific layers or parts of an image. Using lesson files, create a pattern for a podcast background and walk away knowing how to apply masks and channels to your photography.
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
LESSON OVERVIEW
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the following:
Create a mask to remove a subject from a background.
Refine a mask to include complex edges.
Create a quick mask to make changes to a selected area.
Edit a mask using the Properties panel.
Manipulate an image using Puppet Warp.
Save a selection as an alpha channel.
View a mask using the Channels panel.
Load a channel as a selection.
Create a pattern by drawing a star-shaped vector graphic with rounded corners.
This lesson will take about an hour to complete. To get the lesson files used in this chapter, download them from the web page for this book. For more information, see “Accessing the lesson files and Web Edition” in the Getting Started section at the beginning of this book.
As you work on this lesson, you’ll preserve the start files. If you need to restore the start files, download them from your Account page.
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Photography © Andrew Faulkner
PROJECT: PODCAST EPISODE GRAPHICS
Use masks to isolate and manipulate specific parts of an image. The cutout portion of a mask can be altered, but the area surrounding the cutout is protected from change. You can create a temporary mask to use once, or you can save masks for repeated use.
Working with masks and channels
When you want to edit a specific area of a layer, it can be difficult to keep edits from going past the precise edge you want. Or you might want to apply an adjustment layer or a filter to only part of a layer. Both are easier using a mask, a type of image overlay that controls which layer areas will be affected by edits.
You can also use a layer mask to mark transparent areas of a layer. Layer masks are essential for removing backgrounds, combining multiple images into a composite image, and controlling which areas are affected by adjustment layers. A layer mask is more useful than deleting unwanted areas of a layer, because it’s reversible: By painting in a layer mask, you can make hidden areas visible again.
In addition to color channels, an image can contain alpha channels, useful for saving and reusing selections and marking transparent areas for an entire document.
It can be challenging to paint or draw a mask or channel edge that precisely follows a nonsharp border of a subject, such as fuzzy hair. Photoshop provides tools that use automation to help you quickly create complicated selections and masks.