What is a layer mask?

Adobe Photoshop is a great program with countless tools and techniques. The possibilities are almost endless with Photoshop. Among all those varieties, a layer mask is one of the fundamental tools in Photoshop. It offers advanced control over image transparency and is also used to hide and reveal any portions of an image.

Layer and layer masks are two of the biggest advantages you find in Photoshop over any RAW editor.

So, if you want to become an expert in Photoshop, understanding layer and layer masks is most crucial for you to achieve your goal.

Understanding layers in photoshop

Without a doubt, layers are the single most important aspect of Photoshop. Layers are highly used in the clipping path industry to separate different elements of an image. A layer can be compared to transparency on which imaging effects or images are applied and placed over or under an image.

Without layers, nothing worth doing in Photoshop should be done. You can see their own Layers panel as well as their layer category in the Photoshop menu bar along the top of the screen. It reveals their importance in Photoshop.

So, what exactly are layers, and why are these so important to understand?

A new image has a single layer. You work with layers in the layer panel. Layer groups help to organize and manage layers in Photoshop.

Simply put, layers are images put on top of each other. When you add one layer on top of another, the top layer will be on the top of the ladder. Imagine you have a piece of paper and you paint it green. Then you take another piece of paper and paint a red circle on that and lay it over the red paper.

After that, you take a piece of cellophane, write something yellow, and lay that on top of the yellow circle. Now you have a background (green) and two layers (red and yellow). Just like in the picture below-

What is a mask?

Since the original version of photoshop, layers are probably the single most important addition in it. But you simply don’t understand the power of photoshop until you thoroughly understand how and why to use the mask?

It is a way to apply something to a very specific portion of an image. There are various types of masks available in the clipping path industry. Among them, clipping masks and layer masks are the primaries.

Because of the concept, these are closely related but very different applications. Here is the brief description of those types given below-

Clipping mask

This mask uses a layer to regulate the transparency or visibility of another layer. In other words, this technique is used to decide the transparency level of the other, where the upper layer borrows transparency from the bottom layer.

Editors paint with black on the layer mask to make its pixels invisible, but they do the reverse using a clipping mask. If the layer beneath doesn’t have pixels at all, the pixels on the layer on the top of it will be invisible.

Layer mask

Layer masking allows you to hide or reveal any portion of an image. In this case, the mask is applied onto a layer for controlling the transparency level of different sections in one image without affecting its actual background remember, if you improve the opacity using the opacity slider from the layer panel, the whole image opacity will change.

One of the best features of layer masking is, it will let you make any area entirely invisible or partly visible of an image.

Get the layer panel in photoshop

From the above discussion, we realize the importance of layer masks in photoshop. If we want to edit a simple portion of an image to adjust it with the whole photo then we must take the help of a layer mask in photoshop.

With the help of a layer mask, we can hide or reveal any part of an image, control the transparency level of different sections, and can also improve opacity. Although it is a non-destructive photo editing process.

But as a beginner, you may have to face some problems with it. So, before starting with it, you must have to introduce it with this photoshop tool. Just look at the picture-

• Represents the opacity of the selected layer. It affects the entire layer.
• It seems similar to the opacity option but it is quite a bit different among them. As opacity slider affects the whole layer when the fill slider only changes the visibility of the contents of the layer.
• The layer with a mini square in the corner means that it’s a shape layer. Though it is not so important in designing if you want to make things fast you must have to be familiarized with symbols that can keep you safe with minimal time wastage.
• There is a layer with a capital ‘T’ which means there is a layer which is a text layer in option. While working in photoshop, whenever a text is involved it will automatically create a new layer with this thumbnail.
• A layer without any shapes or symbols means that the layer is a digital artwork, it’s either a PNG, jpg, or jpeg file. The eye symbol is a mark to hide/unhide a layer.
• The vertical clipping symbol in a layer means that the layer has a mask with it

Under the layer panel, there is also another toolbar containing different settings that can be applied to a layer

• The fixed symbol drops down a list of visual effects that can be applied to a selected layer
• The symbol with a circle cutout placed in the third position on the toolbar used for applying the layer mask
• The fourth symbol of the toolbar is the shortcut for creating a clipping mask
• The fifth symbol is a shortcut for creating a new layer
• The last symbol of the trash is used for deleting a layer

From the above discussion, we now have a clear concept of what layer masking is. Layer masking is the most effective technique to work with any portion of an image.

You can turn a boring photograph into an eye-catching and interesting photo with the help of layer masking. With the help of a layer mask, you can easily isolate the desired image, create transparency, and change the background color of an image.

It will also help you to create advertisements, magazine covers, product catalogs, and information brochures. It is said that the pen is more powerful than the sword but it is also apt to say that a perfect image is worth more than thousands of words.

Make your images every part more meaningful and attractive with this Photoshop tool.