Masking a Group

[JokerMartini]

How can I place an black/white image as a mask onto a group. Masking is some confusing compared to what I'm used to doing in Photoshop. In this case i drug the black and white pixel layer ontop of the group thumbnail and it appears to apply it as a mask but doesn't do anything? The workflow appears very unpredictable at times like this where I spend 30 minutes trying to figure out something so trivial. I'm going to guess the solution is not as straight forward as this....

 

In this sample I should be seeing a red background however I'm still seeing the black background that's part of the original image which should be masked out. Any help please?

[R C-R]

It is hard to tell from the screen shot but it looks like the "A (Pixel)" layer you are using as a mask is either all black or just has a faint grey pattern, unlike the second (hidden) "A (Pixel)" layer farther down in the layer stack.

 

If you right-click on the upper A layer & select Edit Mask, what does it look like?

[toltec]

Try right clicking on "A" and choosing Mask to Below

 

If you want to mask the group, put the mask on top of the group and Mask to Below

 

If as R C-R says, if A has a faint grey background, it won't work. It is all about having pixels or not having pixels.

 

 

 

[RNKLN]

I believe this linked video can be of help...

 

 

[MEB]

Hi JokerMartini,

There's two issues with you file:

1. you have simply placed the pixel layer (that you intend to use as a mask) inside the group instead of nesting it, which means it is working as a regular pixel layer instead of a mask. To fix this drag the pixel (mask) layer over the thumbnail of the group in the Layers panel until a small vertical blue bar appear on the right of the thumbnail then drop it. The pixel (mask) is now nested to the group and working as a mask

 

2. The mask is not correctly created. The blue object should appear as white on the mask, while the rest should be black. See attached image below which shows a similar layer structure as your (without the hidden layers). Note how the mask attached to the group appears with a larger left indent than the RGB layer - the RGB layer is simply placed inside the group, while the mask is nested to the group. If you collapse it you should see the thumbnail of the mask on the right of the group's thumbnail.

[colindun]

I'm a bit puzzled. Once you apply a mask to a group, the group seems no longer editable. Is that right?

See attached example of a group containing three pieces of text. When I mask it with a coloured layer the group of text elements is no longer editable.

[Old Bruce]

Actually I think what you are doing is using the Group as a Mask. Not applying a Mask to a Group.

[Alfred]

2 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

Actually I think what you are doing is using the Group as a Mask. Not applying a Mask to a Group.

Exactly so. The group is being used as a mask for the coloured rectangle, cropping the rectangle to the shapes of the letters. Since the group of text layers is now a mask, you need to move it out of the masking position, edit the text and then move it back into the masking position again.

[colindun]

Thanks. I used the Group as a Mask because when I tried to use the mask on the group nothing happened. I found that dragging the icon of the group onto the mask layer icon I got the effect that I wanted.

How do you get a mask on a group to work? When I drag the mask layer icon onto the group it goes (into* the group instead of masking it.

[R C-R]

16 minutes ago, colindun said:

How do you get a mask on a group to work? When I drag the mask layer icon onto the group it goes (into* the group instead of masking it.

Doesn't that mask the group? If not, please post an example afphoto file where that is not what you get.

[Ron P.]

59 minutes ago, R C-R said:

Doesn't that mask the group?

Yes it does. Place what you want to use as a mask above the image, then just select from the menu Mask to Below. It does the exact same thing as if you drag and drop the mask into the group.

[Bynah]

I would like to know how this works too. i am having a very difficult time finding any help for what it means to "mask to below.'

In my picture below, can I take my drawn letters and make them a mask to a grouped background and "cut them out" of the background, ask a mask?

[v_kyr]

20 minutes ago, Bynah said:

In my picture below, can I take my drawn letters and make them a mask to a grouped background and "cut them out" of the background, ask a mask?

Dependent on how your text is created, when you mask down the letters, the letters will be usually filled with the background. - If I clip the background to the text I will get a similar effect ...

 

See also the latest Affinity video about ...

• Masking vs Clipping Layers (tutorial video)