layer masks; what am i doing wrong

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
October 14, 2022
3 replies
388 views

good morning. I am trying to learn and apply layer masks but nothing seems to work. i have a 3 layer file. i am trying to apply a mask to an element in one of the layers. I make that layer active, hit create layer mask button and make sure that the layer thumbnail is active. I select brush, and brush over the element I want to mask, making sure the opacity is at 100% . nothing happens when i brush over the desired object. nothing appears in the mask thumbnail, and nothing happens to any layers in the file. They are all the same. What exactly am I doing wrong? I have check adobe and a bunch of youtube videos but nothing seems to help. Can anyone give a clue as to what I am missing? this is getting pretty frustrating. Thank you in advance

Windows

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George_F

Community Expert

Great advice already! I will add that on numerous occasions I've had an active selection that was hidden keep me from successfully painting on a mask. If I'm having trouble working on a mask, I always press Ctrl + D to clear any active selections first.

Good luck!

George F, Photographer & Forum Volunteer

jane-e

Community Expert

@George_F

I'm glad you saw that, and thanks for sharing that important detail!

I almost added: make a selection first, then add the mask. The selection will be replaced by the mask and in most cases a lot of your work will be done.

Are you the same user as the author @Ed5CC4 or are you adding on to the thread?

Jane

George_F

Community Expert

We are separate users, just weighing in with what causes me grief with masks from time to time 🙂

George F, Photographer & Forum Volunteer

jane-e

Community Expert

@Ed5CC4 wrote:

nothing appears in the mask thumbnail, and nothing happens to any layers in the file.

You might be painting with white on white or black on black.

Before you start, type "D", which is the shortcut to switch to the default colors of pure black and pure white.
Create the mask and look at it. Is it white? Then you want to start painting with black.
Select a brush and choose a hardness/softness and a size.
In the options bar, change the brush mode to "Normal" if it is something else.
Select the mask (not the image) and paint. Use Undo if you need to change the settings of the brush.
Type "X" to switch the colors.

Does this help?

If not, show a screenshot including the Brush options bar and Layers panel.

Jane

Omar.Fathy

Community Expert

Make sure that you select the mask thumbnail before drawing. Also make sure that the brush options are good.
If you can share a screenshot with us for the layer mask, it will be more helpful.

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