ESPR Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 There is something about masking/clipping in Affinity, that is confusing me. I know my way around in four graphics design applications (Gimp, Inkscape, PS and AI), and what they all have in common is that masking works by the principle of white reveals and black conceals. This doesnt always seem to be true in Affinity. For example when i use a vectorshape and drag it onto an image so the vertical bar appears, its displayed as a mask, but the colour doesnt matter at all. Also i can add an Adjustment Layer either as a mask or a clip to an image and it doesnt seem to make a difference, but still the position as a child layer is visually different. Plus i can paint on these Adjustment Layers and they will behave like a mask, no matter if the child layer is displayed as a mask or a clip. So sometimes clipping and masking seem to be the same thing and sometimes not. Is this inconsistent or am i just not getting it ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted October 19, 2020 Staff Share Posted October 19, 2020 Hi ESPR, The black/white "rule" is only valid for raster based masks in Affinity (which includes regular masks and adjustments/live filters/fill layers built in masks - these last two only available in Affinity Photo). With vector masks all that matters is if the object has a fill or stoke as opposed to not having them and their opacity which can be defined using a multitude of ways (layer opacity, colour opacity, or through the Transparency Tool). Regarding the Adjustments question, if you add an adjustment layer as a mask to an image layer (nest it to the mage layer) it affects the whole layer, while if you clip it to an image layer it only affects the clipped area (which usually matches the whole layer area) so in practise, visually this leads to the same result in the majority of cases. Adjustment and Live filters (last ones only available in Affinity Photo) have built-in masks - they will act as mask no matter if you nested (masked) or clipped the adjustment/live filter. ESPR 1 Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESPR Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 4 minutes ago, MEB said: Hi ESPR, The black/white "rule" is only valid for raster based masks in Affinity. With vector masks all that matters is if the object has a fill or stoke as opposed to not having them and their opacity which can be defined using a multitude of ways (layer opacity, colour opacity, or through the Transparency Tool). A-ha, so there is a difference between a rasterbased layermask and a vectormask. I was somehow expecting that all masks behave the same, but the vectormask is a mask that does the same as a clip. In Inkscape i can put a bunch of greyscale objects into a group and apply it as a mask. Thats currently not possible in AD, right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt.farrell Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 1 hour ago, ESPR said: In Inkscape i can put a bunch of greyscale objects into a group and apply it as a mask. Thats currently not possible in AD, right ? Not certain what kind of mask you're meaning, but: Group the objects and put the group above the layer you want to mask. With the Group selected, Layer > Rasterize to Mask (or right-click on it in the Layers panel, and choose Rasterize to Mask). Quote -- Walt Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases PC: Desktop: Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Laptop: Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2, 16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU iPad: iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 18.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Mac: 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESPR Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 40 minutes ago, walt.farrell said: Not certain what kind of mask you're meaning, but: Group the objects and put the group above the layer you want to mask. With the Group selected, Layer > Rasterize to Mask (or right-click on it in the Layers panel, and choose Rasterize to Mask). The white reveals, black conceals type of mask. Your example is fine, but it converts the group into a grayscale layermask. In Inkscape the group remains a group and uses the values to filter what is visible and what not. EDIT: i just tried to open an image masked in Inkscape with a group mask. Affinity Designer doesnt even recognize the mask, all i get is the image and the mask is lost. Interesting ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt.farrell Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 17 minutes ago, ESPR said: Your example is fine, but it converts the group into a grayscale layermask. In Inkscape the group remains a group and uses the values to filter what is visible and what not. In the method I suggested the values also filter what is visible. Quote -- Walt Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases PC: Desktop: Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Laptop: Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2, 16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU iPad: iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 18.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Mac: 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESPR Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 14 minutes ago, walt.farrell said: In the method I suggested the values also filter what is visible. Yes, but you cant go back and change it once the group is converted into a mask (well, at least not in AD). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted October 19, 2020 Staff Share Posted October 19, 2020 2 hours ago, ESPR said: A-ha, so there is a difference between a rasterbased layermask and a vectormask. I was somehow expecting that all masks behave the same, but the vectormask is a mask that does the same as a clip. In Inkscape i can put a bunch of greyscale objects into a group and apply it as a mask. Thats currently not possible in AD, right ? Hi ESPR, Yes, they behave differently depending on they type. By a bunch of greyscale objects do you mean vector or raster masks or both simultaneously (in Inkscape)? If you want to use some vector objects as masks, create them, group then and drag the group over the thumbnail of the image (nest it). Note the individual objects in the group will not be visible/accessible after you drag them to use as a mask, you will have to drag them out to edit them and put them back again - we could do with some improvements here... Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESPR Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 20 minutes ago, MEB said: By a bunch of greyscale objects do you mean vector or raster masks or both simultaneously (in Inkscape)? Both is possible in Inkscape, but its usually a number of vectorobjects. I always viewed masking as a filter that uses the value to determine what is visible and what not. 20 minutes ago, MEB said: If you want to use some vector objects as masks, create them, group then and drag the group over the thumbnail of the image (nest it). This does not work for me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted October 19, 2020 Staff Share Posted October 19, 2020 Check the sample below. Drag the group outside the pixel layer and expand it - you will see the two (editable) objects i used to mask the pixel layer. The rectangle uses the Transparency Tool to generate the transparency while the star uses the color opacity of the gradient stops to generate the transparency.vector_mask_sample2.afdesign ESPR 1 Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESPR Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 49 minutes ago, MEB said: Check the sample below. Drag the group outside the pixel layer and expand it - you will see the two (editable) objects i used to mask the pixel layer.vector_mask_sample2.afdesign Okay, i get it. What i did wrong (AGAIN) was expecting this would behave like a layermask. So i made a rectangle as big as the image (white), with some smaller added objects (black). And obviously it masked the whole layer, so that it looked like nothing happened, lol. Old habits are hard to kick ! So the groupmasking is a vectormask, not a white reveals/black conceals type of mask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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