Copy Objects with Their Masks One by One to Another Image

[Anıl31715923r7st]

Hello,

I am very novice in Photoshop. I have an image of dices. I removed its background and halo effects (two masks in total - first photo). Now, I need to bring the dices along with their two masks one by one to the project that is made of grids (second photo) and then place them inside grids. So that I could create a sprite sheet for the game. When I copy & paste a dice, its masks don't come along. If I copy & paste the masks, I couldn't bring the dice. I managed to duplicate the whole group, but when I remove a dice, its masks are still there. I am confused. How could I bring the dices into the second project one by one with both masks?

My second question, I realized that the original dice image is 24 bit. When I imported the image to Photoshop, it was somehow created for 8 bit. When I attempt to duplicate it into a project that has higher bit; the image becomes distorted. Even though this is a black and white image for now, I would add patterns onto the dices. Do you think that 8 bit decision decreases the image quality in the game? Is it too late to change it?

Thanks

[Stephen Marsh]

@Anıl31715923r7st – I'm not sure if I am understanding 100%, however, you can select the dice group and use the Layer > Duplicate Group command to copy the parent layer group+mask and the child layers+masks to another document.

[Anıl31715923r7st]

Hello,

Let's say that I choose the first dice with Rectangle Selection Tool and then CTRL + C & CTRL + V to a new layer. If you look at the second photo, the selection doesn't come with the two applied masks. Likewise, If I pick the object with Rectangle Selection Tool and then try to move it, I get the same issue in the video, even though the masks are linked. How am I supposed to freely move those dices one by one along with their masks?

Thanks

[Anıl31715923r7st]

I found a solution for this. The trick is that after you select your image with Rectangle Select Tool or any other tools, go to Edit -> Copy Merged. By doing so, you copy the image that is under effect of multiple masks.  You can always add it new masks, after you paste it elsewhere.

[Conrad_C]

Let's say that I choose the first dice with Rectangle Selection Tool and then CTRL + C & CTRL + V to a new layer. If you look at the second photo, the selection doesn't come with the two applied masks. Likewise, If I pick the object with Rectangle Selection Tool and then try to move it, I get the same issue in the video, even though the masks are linked. How am I supposed to freely move those dices one by one along with their masks?

By @Anıl31715923r7st

It sounds like you want to use a different type of selection.

If you select with any of the selection tools, it selects only the pixels on one layer. Not anything else, not any of its masks or effects. You could use Copy Merged, but because it merges, you lose the ability to edit applied masks separately.

Instead of using selection tools, select one or more items by clicking in the Layers panel. For example, if you select a layer and then use Edit > Copy (or its keyboard shortcut), everything belonging to that layer is copied: Masks, effects, etc. If you Shift-select 5 layers, all 5 layers are copied, with their masks and effects. If you paste that into another Photoshop document, they paste with all components still separate and completely editable, because they were not merged.

Your screen shots show you are using layer groups (folders). If you select a layer group in the Layers panel, you can copy the group and everything in it. You can also select multiple layer groups in the Layers panel, and copy those. This is a quick way to copy a large number of items at once, and they all remain editable.

[Stephen Marsh]

I probably didn't understand... These are not "objects" as they would be in Illustrator or InDesign, they are just a whole lot of pixels on a single layer, inside a layer group, with masks on the layer and the layer group. You need to create a layer for each individual die if you require independent control of each "object".