How to delete and make transparent the inside of a shape created with the pen tool in Affinity Photo 2

[webuxer]

Hi, 

I have a photo and would like to make part of it transparent to add something in the background. I added a square with the pen tool but I don't know how to delete the inside of the square and make that section transparent. Can someone assist me with this?

 

Thank you

[Hangman]

Hi @webuxer,

1. Make sure your photo is Rasterised so it is a pixel rather than an image layer. If unsure right-click the photo in the Layers panel and select Rasterise
2. Give the shape you created using the pen tool a colour fill if it doesn't already have one
3. Cmd-Click (Mac) Ctrl-click (Windows) the shape icon in the Layers panel and you should see marching ants around your shape
4. Toggle the shape layer visibility off in the Layers panel
5. Select the photo layer below the shape layer in the Layers panel
6. Hit the backspace key
7. Delete the shape layer unless needed for something else

Note: if your shape is literally a square you could create the square using the Rectangular Marquee Tool directly on the Photo layer and then hit the backspace key, again ensuring your photo is rasterised first...

[lepr]

1. Ensure the "square" has an opaque fill and set its blend mode to Erase.
2. Clip-nest the "square" inside the "photo" to prevent things behind the "photo" from being erased.