Difference between Clipping Paths and Masks

[paul knight]

Hi,

Can I ask what the difference is between a clip-path and a mask and does Ai call a clip-path a clipping mask?  I've just heard someone try and explain this but they kept referring to clip-paths as clipping mask and masks as masks.  It almost gave me a nose-bleed it was so confusing.

In this instance if anyone done does provide some advice, please do feel free to explain it as though you are speaking to someone who has never encountered either before.

Any advice / pointers hugely welcome.

Thanks

[CHMprepress]

I think it is 2 words for the same thing.

Both are masks:=)

[Doug A Roberts]

anything that 'masks' part of an image is a mask. you draw a clipping path to create a clipping mask.

the other type of mask in illustrator is an opacity mask. this is a mask with transparency based on an object's colour values.

illustrator refers to 'Clipping Masks' and Photoshop to 'Clipping Paths', but they're talking about the same thing.

[Monika Gause]

There are two types of masks in Illustrator:

Opacity masks (which behave like Photoshop's layer masks)

and clipping masks. Clipping masks come in 2 flavours: object based and layer based. The former creates a group.

The clipping path is the path that is used to mask the image, alternatively you might call it a clipping mask. The whole object is called a clip group (in the layers panel). A layer based clipping mask doesn't generate a specific type of object.

In order to create an opacity mask, you can even use a pixel image as a mask.

Create a basic clipping mask |

[PicaGrove]

Paul,

Yeah, clipping paths, clipping masks - I've even heard someone say compound masks. I think clipping mask and clipping path might be a connection because clipping mask & compound paths are stacked right next to each other in the object menu. I can see someone bastardizing that into a new term using the two.

I also see new users creating clipping masks to fill shapes with solid colors, or trim gradient fills, basically use them in real sloppy ways. Over using clipping masks makes for messy files and sometimes printer RIP's can have issues with them. Use them only when needed.

[Doug A Roberts]

if someone said 'compound mask', i would assume they were talking about a clipping mask made from a compound path.

[Monika Gause]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Doug+A+Roberts  schrieb

if someone said 'compound mask', i would assume they were talking about a clipping mask made from a compound path.

... because that's what Illustrator calls it in the layers panel.

[Doug A Roberts]

it says 'Compound Clipping Path' in English version.

[PicaGrove]

Doug,

Ha! They just need to add "mask" in there and we've got everything covered.

[Monika Gause]

erico99195194  schrieb

Doug,

Ha! They just need to add "mask" in there and we've got everything covered.

You don't understand in which instances you need to create compound clipping paths? It's a requirement, not fancyness.

[PicaGrove]

Yeah, I get it

[q3player]

IMHO

Clipping Path always is meant to be with hard edges.

Clipping Mask can have soft edges.

If you refer to Photoshop and use a path it's only inside or outside the path, binary spoken "1" or "0".

A mask can be painted with a soft brush.

Like in the old days we had to cut these red foils (=Path) or use red paint and a brush (=Mask) to clip images.

This is a simple screenshot from an AI file:

the upper sample is a clipping path,

the lower sample is the same oval with soft edge effect used as a cliping mask

[Monika Gause]

q3player  schrieb

the lower sample is the same oval with soft edge effect used as a cliping mask

The lower sample is an opacity mask, not a clipping mask at all.

[q3player]

you're right. maybe i should have checked translation from german to english before. i remember a useful list on "vektorgarten.de"

🙂

[Jacob Bugge]

Over here, q3player:

http://vektorgarten.de/illustrator-polyglott.html​

Edit: I just found out that the full term Opacity Mask is nowhere to be found there, only the word Opacity = Deckkraft. My quite possibly silly guess would be Deckkraftmaske.