How to Fill Colors Inside a Subject Border After Painting Outside?

[shawn_4302]

I'm trying to recreate the steps involved in a video of a flower where you are able to add several colors outside the border of the subject and then press something so the colors are only inside the border.

[BrettN · Accepted solution]

This in not enough information to go on, but it has to be some sort of masking that you are talking about. Masks choose which area are hidden or revealed of a layer. There are different types of masks though, so there are several options. What you describe sounds like it might be a clipping mask, which uses the contents of another layer to determine what is visible in the layer you are working with. But you can't reverse it, like you mention, so that sounds more like a traditional pixel mask, which can be inverted to reveal what was once hidden. This document has a lot of information on the subject: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/masking-layers.html 

[shawn_4302]

Thank you!

[Conrad_C]

It is possible to post the link to the video so that we can see what they did? If it’s a YouTube video, you can embed it into a post in this thread: As you edit the post, click the filmstrip icon in the toolbar above the text editing area. 

[shawn_4302]

Unfortunately, I can't find the video!  Thank you for your help...I finally got a live person at Adobe who is helping me! 

[Trevor.Dennis]

Taking your description literally, I have painted these flowers around the ouline of your graphic.  

Note that I have cut it out from the black around it use Remove Background.

If I right click the layer and choose Create Clipping Mask

It only affects the layer below it.  i.e. It has used that layer as a mask, which is what we call a Clipping Mask.

Another way is to use a Blend Mode which in this case only affects the coloured areas below, but not the black.

Any of these will affect the lighter tones.  If you take Darken then because the flower layer is _lighter_ than the black areas, then it has no effect.  Try it with different blend modes. B The Lighten blend mode group will affect thew black, but possibly not the colour areas (depending on if they are lighter or darker than the colour above it.  

Does tha make sense?

[shawn_4302]

That is amazing, Trevor!  It wasn't what I was trying to explain, but I think I will try this instead! Thank you!