Adobe Photoshop 101 - Layer Masks

Alright, so part 2 of my Adobe Photoshop 101 video series is up and it's all about Masks. They keep getting longer, maybe I should speak faster but I just have so much to say. I want to make sure, especially for those of you just starting out that everything is clear. With a strong foundation your skills will quickly rise.

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Ok, let's begin...Masks to me, and I'm sure a lot of other people, are the most important part of Photoshop. You can get rid of many of the features and no problemo, you get rid of Masks and I QUIT!

With masks you have the ability to show or hide certain parts of a layer. This is extremely important, I use it to show only the areas that I want to show, for example sharpening, changing color, softening skin...you name it, there is a mask on it.

When you are first starting masks can be a little confusing, even though they aren't. The basics are extremely basic. They are a stencil that sits on top of a layer. By painting on the mask with the gray scale you choose how much of that layer is visible. You paint with White on the Mask to show or REVEAL the layer and you paint with Black on the Mask to hide or Conceal the layer! The grays in between the white and black are going to graduate your opacity. If you paint with 50% gray, the Mask will be 50% transparent and so on! It really is that basic..

One of the best realizations of my Photoshopic life was when I realized how to use Masks and how versatile they can be. You really need to open your mind and it will all fall into place. A mask is just a black and white layer, the lighter I paint the more of the layer it's on shows through!
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