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@craigkeenephotography
@craigkeenephotography
Participant
June 18, 2019
Answered

Layer mask, brush, opacity issue

  • June 18, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 3570 views

hello. as a photographer i create image stacks in Ps CC 19.1.8. as part of my work flow i use luminosity masks to brush in elements from multiple layers. up until a few days ago, while holding down on the left mouse button to reveal the elements (lights/darks) from masks below, if i continued to brush over a certain spot, eventually that spot would be 100% revealed. now, when utilizing that same technique, the very same spot will only reveal up to a certain %, meaning, while 'painting or revealing' i have to continue  un-clicking and re-clicking the left mouse button to further advance the elements below of a particular spot. my brush settings have always been the same:

•soft round

•hardness: 0%

•opacity: 4%-6%

•flow: 100%

•smoothing: off

the other thing i've noticed is the amount of lagging has seriously increased. plus, after brushing an image, i'm now seeing very faint circular brush marks left behind.

i first thought it might be related to my recent download of Lumenzia v 1.7. however, after i did a complete wipe of that, the problems did not change. other than downloading Lumenzia, i have not made any other changes to my machine.

could it be my mouse? i thought of this. my wireless Apple Magic Mouse has quite a few miles on it. to rule out this theory, a new one is on its way.

i've attached a screen shot.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer davescm

    Hi

    Opacity sets the maximum - flow sets the amount with each pass of the brush.

    So to achieve what you are wanting to do - change opacity to 100% and flow to 4-6%. That will build up as you pass the brush over the same area without lifting.

    Dave

    2 replies

    davescm
    Community Expert
    davescmCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    June 19, 2019

    Hi

    Opacity sets the maximum - flow sets the amount with each pass of the brush.

    So to achieve what you are wanting to do - change opacity to 100% and flow to 4-6%. That will build up as you pass the brush over the same area without lifting.

    Dave

    @craigkeenephotography
    @craigkeenephotographyAuthor
    Participant
    June 27, 2019

    hey dave.

    this is correct! so strange, too. i've been editing images forever using the opposite settings with never a problem. is it possible Ps changed the positioning of where the 'Opacity' and the 'Flow' lives in my toolbar and i just wasn't noticing their names? strange.

    either way, Dave, thank you!

      Trevor.Dennis
      Community Expert
      Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 18, 2019

      Three things could cause that.

      1) The foreground colour is not full white

      2) The mask properties has the mask density set lower than 100%

      3) There is an active selection that you can't see because Extras have been hidden (Ctrl H)

      @craigkeenephotography
      @craigkeenephotographyAuthor
      Participant
      June 19, 2019

      thanks for the insight.

      1.) yes, i always check the foreground color as it sometimes gets off pure white.

      2.) by mask density, do you mean 'opacity' & 'fill'? if so, yes i always keep it at 100%.

      3.) i'm not sure what you mean by this. do you mean there has been a selection made within the image i'm not aware of?

      thanks.

      Bojan Živković11378569
      Community Expert
      Bojan Živković11378569Community Expert
      Community Expert
      June 19, 2019

      Double click mask to open Properties panel then look at Density slider, that is what Trevor is referring.

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