How to do a mask over a layer

How to do a mask over a layer. Need the mask to not move. Layer will.
In other words, something is moving into a shape that is not moving. Thanks

from the page that I pointed you to:
"The TrkMat menu shares a column with the blending modes menu. To show the TrkMat menu, make sure that the Modes column is visible. (See Columns.)"

Similar Messages

How do add a mask to a layer?

It may be basic but it seems confusing, please I need help

Assuming that the variable myLayer is a layer object, the collection of all its masks is: myLayer.property("ADBE Mask Parade");
and its children are the actual masks groups (which can be renamed). To add a mask to the collection you do:
var myMask = myLayer.property("ADBE Mask Parade").addProperty("ADBE Mask Atom");
Then you can set its name, color, rotoBezier attributes etc (optionnal):
myMask.name = "My mask";
myMask.color = [1,0,0];
myMask.rotoBezier = false;
myMask.maskMode = MaskMode.ADD;
To set its keyframable properties: the maskPath property has special propertyType (SHAPE).
You need to create a Shape() object like this before setting the value:
var myShape = new Shape();
// set the vertices (coordinates of the vertices in layer coordinates, not comp)
// + the inTangents (coordinates of the incoming Bezier handles with respect to the the corresponding vertices)
// + the outTangents (coordinates of the outcoming Bezier handles with respect to the the corresponding vertices)
// + the closed attributes
var w = myLayer.width, h = myLayer.height;
myShape.vertices = [[w/2, 0], [w,h], [0,h]];            // here: array of 3 "points"
myShape.inTangents = [[0, 0], [0, 0], [0, 0]];        // array of 3 "vectors"
myShape.outTangents = [[0, 0], [0, 0], [0, 0]];        // array of 3 "vectors"
myShape.closed = true;
// now set the value:
myMask.property("ADBE Mask Path").setValue(myShape);
In this example all tangents are 0 which gives a mask with straight contour.
Unless you already have your shape data ready, inserting more complexe values for tangents is not so straighforward.
Xavier.

A mask on a layer with Button compo drops the label

Hi
I think its a bug , when i create a mask over a layer witch
contains a button component instance , the label of this button is
masked by the mask while the button it self is displayed fine .
any ideas ?
thanks
ps : it does the same with any text field (static or dynamic)
unless i embed the fonts and then its displayed fine .

It's under: Stuff that makes no sense... To clarify I
uploaded a quick example:
embedFont
First frame has a dynamic textfield, "HelveticaRounded Bold"
as font family (you can change that to whatever font you are using)
and 2 lines of code:
_global.style.setStyle("fontFamily" , "HelveticaRounded
Bold"); // change the HelveticaRounded Bold to the font embedded in
the first frame
_global.style.setStyle("embedFonts" , true);
The second frame has a button component masked.
Hope this helps.

How do I select a color range like in Photoshop OR copy/move a layer into the mask of another layer?

Hi there,
I'm trialling Photoshop Elements and wanting to use a black and white (grey scale) layer that I've made as a mask in another layer and don't know how to do it in Elements. In Photoshop, I'd do this (there maybe a better way in PS to do it, but I haven't discovered it yet)...
Click the layer i've created that I intend to use as a mask
Select All
Copy
select layer that I want the mask to be applied to
click the Add Layer Mask button (at the bottom of the Layers window)
click the mask icon so it is highlighted (and the image isn't)
switch to Channels view
highlith the Layer Mask beneath the R,G,B layers and make it visible
Paste
make it invisible again
switch back to layers.
This works and retains the full range of transparency for semi transparency and soft edges of the mask etc.
Alternatively, I can select a Color Range, but that doesn't seem to be available in PS Elements.
So, how do I achieve the same result in PS Elements?
Thanks for your help
Jonno

Perfect! Thanks very much R_Kelly. That does exactly what I was hoping to do.
Cheers
Jonno

Please help! How do I unlink a mask from a layer in Motion?

How do I "unlink" a mask from a layer so when the object on the layer moves, the mask stays still?
(Similar to how you unlink a mask in Photoshop by clicking on the link icon beside the layer thumbnail)ghgh
This is propably very simple, but I can´t figure this out or find it anywhere searching on the net or in the manual (already wasted almost two hours on this and my deadline is coming uncomfortably close...)
Hope somebody can help I´m getting desperate now

Would moving the mask to the Group containing the layer you want to animate give you the result you're looking for?
Your layers list would look like this:
If there are other layers in the group, then you would need to nest the masked group so as to not affect the other layers.
You could also add a shape and use that as an image mask which includes a stencil option.
Draw your shape
Select the image you want to mask
Add Image Mask (shift+command+m) via the object menu
Drag your shape to the image mask
Your layer list would look like this:

How to Manage Several (But Similar) Masks on One Layer

Hello, in video tutorials i'd like to "sketch-motion" a red circle around relevant areas – several times in one video, around several areas in several sizes, sometimes elliptical and sometimes rounded rectangle. Sometimes i might want to show changes in position and dimensions of the circle. The video tutorial itself is one video layer including audio, already rendered before imported to AE.
I know how to create a "sketch-motion" effect with a (for instance elliptical) mask and the "Stroke" effect. Now this red circle has various keyframes:
- At least for "Start" of "Stroke" effect and ended "Opacity" of this circle
- sometimes more keyframes for position and transform
I wonder how to best create 6 or 10 such red circles within one video tutorial:
- Should i do everything with one single "Mask 1", with keyframes for several appearances in several areas and sizes or
- should i create a new mask for every circle that i want to show (sounds much preferable)?
I don't want to arrange again the keyframes for each new circle added (build-up time of Stroke effect, fade-out time). Is it possible to save a mask with all keyframes and import it at several points on the time line, with all keyframes intact? (Position and Size would still be adjusted, as well as length of visibility.)
I searched but didn't find a good solution how to manage a "master mask" or "mask template" or how to show that mask with the "Stroke" effect various times with always similar keyframes for "Start" and "Opacity". If you could hint me at how to manage that, that would be great.
Thanks!

Mylenium, thanks for a helpful hint!
I tried your suggestions and it seems that i have to save
- mask shape and
- Stroke effect settings incl. key frames
as separate things, if i want them in the effects panel.
When i set the Stroke effect to my preferred look (with custom colours, width, key frames for Start and Opacity) and save this as an effect, i cannot re-apply this to another mask with any of my custom settings still there. When i re-apply the saved custom Stroke effect, all settings like keyframes, custom colours and width are lost and it arrives with default settings and without any keyframes.
Maybe i do something very wrong here?
I wondered if i should save the mask with Stroke effect as an AE file and re-import it. But this mask can only be saved together with some footage and i don't see how to bring mask including Stroke effect into an existing composition and which of the File/Import ways to use.
Thanks again!

How to create a mask on individual frames of a video in Photoshop CS5 extended

I am working on a video piece and I need to mask out a moving figure throughout the entire video, what is the best way to to this? I know that I can import the video frames to layers in CS3 and then create a mask on each frame, but there are thousands of frames - and when I render the video from the animation it is slow to run in quicktime. Even if I were able to edit each frame, it seems like there should be a better way... I'm not terribly familiar with using Photoshop to edit video, maybe there is another program that would do what I want in a better way?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This sounds like something Adobe Edge would be perfect for if it would just support video importing.
I created a mask over a video in Flash, but I had to convert the background video (which is masked) from mov to flv. Then you import it into Flash and stick the transparent PNG on a top layer for a mask. You can also animate the mask in Flash somewhat... more so if it's a vector object.
Result: Http://www2.avatarix.com/manatee
I would prefer to do this in HTML5 though... which is what Adobe Edge is for. But I can't figure out how to import video into Edge. I've tried 5 different video formats... webm, ogv, mp4, mov and flv.
Hoping this will be a feature when it's finally out in the market.
The struggle continues.

Why doesn't masking with gradient layer work when regular gradient does?

If I make a regular gradient over a layer, and make it's opacity 0, and have it on 'shallow knockout', it will knockout the layer below along the 'lines' of the gradient.
However, when I make a gradient layer to do the same, and set opacity down to zero, it doesn't seem to work. Why?

If I was a more advanced artist, then I might know better when I can merge things and not, but right now, I'm a wanna be artist coming from an engineering background, where when I can't grok a whole picture, I break it down in to parts and combine them.
Like when then hand didn't look right or I needed fingers to be relocated, I brok apart the hand and fingers so could relocate them
separately then reshade them after they were in place.
Another set of things i've kept separate (are about 50-80 'hair strands' most of which have a unique color, then have a another
layer for texturing -- painting the texture onto the color made it impossible to change the look of the texture when it was wrong -- and I've changed it several times, because it didn't look right or came up with a better process/way of doing it. Then there's usually an effect layer on top of that to apply shadowing to the strand, give it a bit of 3-dimensionality, and sometimes multiple or add or something with the layers below for emphasis.
On change I made -- which helped, I started with all 3 layers in a group. and 'N' groups... (still have manny like that.. but a new section I started putting base strands in 1, group , then a copy of those layers, blanked and then painted with texture (that's usually brushed on )..., And it seem the only way to apply an effect to one set or the other (or both) is to convert them to smart objects, which still allows editing (but, unfortunately, also stores them in the same file)...
My eye's, have grown.. ll starting out in a few things, then they got more complex... as I didn't know how to really make an eye look good, so I started w/parts...and ended up with 15 layers/eye (not counting groups... things likke eyebase white, irsibase base, iris color, (base is back to pupil layer somewhere above can punch through to a black layer -- at one point (but backed off that approach, even tried to put some nerves and veins on the iris base...)..... then there's the circles of fibers that make up the iris pattern, various
tints for various fluids and transparent structures, .. YIEKS...
Not making any claims about this being a best or even good way, but when you are learning, and especially whern you come from
an engineering background where you are usd to building thigns up out of parts, .. you don't want to weld your parts together before you are at the final product...and even then, ..... what if you want to make a change?!...
Again, newbie-problem more than likely...with too much software engineering background...
Adobe should really have doing part-time work doing product usability/abusability/stability evals... I've pressed it over the limites more than once, and had to redo the way I do things to stay with in its relavtively easy (for me) to hit limits...
Like the one I posted about the layers slowing things down... trivial to rproduce...yet sounds like Adobe never heard of it.
Another parallel problem I ran into/noticed the other day -- when I MOVED, 90% of the layers (somehow they got out of alignment with 10% that were still in the origninal... could be related to a move/cancel bug I run into too often as well, which, fortunately, has a not too difficult workaround). But I moved 90% of those layers, and it only used 2 cpu's out of 6 (and no GPU usage).... took about 45 -60 seconds .. it was a *simple* +/- xy, (no rotations).. so it was something that could have been done in parallel, easily and wouldn't have been compute bound...
The other bug I've run into WAAY too often, is when trying to move an object, if I don't caefully try to nudge it with rotate, or move a
side, 1st, but instead, just put my pen in the middle of the object, to try to drag it -- it almost ALL the time, selects some base layer and moves some large percentage of the layers -- in a visually corrupting way... since when you hit escape to break out of the 'free movement)., the parts don't go back to where they belong and stay offset and random places...
But it's a visual problem only...I think (not sure how my 90% got moved), -- if you SAVE the file, then make a slight change, and then revert to the just saved copy, it cleans all up. so it's just the display that's messed up.
Anyway, slowly over time, all the layers that I originally had a paint or gradient layers surrounded with a vector, I slowly (interspersed with other stuff) converting them to fill/gradient layers which take up comparatively no space. Really speeds up manipulation of those
objects as well...
But it's slowgoing and the interface for creating a gradient to match an existing one is very awkward to use...It's too bad when you
create a gradient or paint layer to BEGIN with, that it's not automatically created as a vector Then, when you start to paint on it,
it creates a layers sized to your painting applied on top of the existing fill layer...would save all the space take by the pixels that were formula driven... Would be so much more powerful -- only storing as bits the things you need to store as bits, rather than defaulting
to 'bits' for everything (which really consumes resources!)...
Personally, Another feature but this might be specialty, or not..... but as I designed my things with parts, it would be nice to be
able to specify XY coordinate tie points between layers -- so if I moved a layer shaped like a stick, attached to another stick,
by 1 point at each end, changing the angle of the first would change the angle of the 2nd like a 'joint' -- not like a solid rod.... that
would be VERY cool!..but not holding my breath on that.
Just getting the current features to work would be nice...like the gradient masking layer... no reason that shouldn't work, but there ya go.
Maybe you know this one (unrelated...)... But I've more than once run out of temporary space (even with usually 130-150GB on my temp store. The thing is, is that adoe doesn't use any of the extra 56GB I have in my Pagefile -- I can't tell it to use more than 100%
of physical memory -- (i.e. so it would use part of the page file). I have 48GB mem, and 56GB pagefile, that's on an SSD., I'd
rather have it page to the SSD before writing temp files to disk...
If it could force pages out, to the pagefile, before resorting to a spill file, would save on space and possible speed depending on
the config... But , eh, C'est la vie.
Meanwhile, I's still ike to figure out how to solve the orignal problem, but I'm beginning to think it looks like a core bug...so it maybe hard to get around.
Thanks for your comments! As usually, appreciated!...

How to extend the size of a layer?

Hi all,
Hopefully this is an easy one, but I think I'm just thinking about it wrong. I'm animating the movement of one part of a photo. I duped the photo layer, masked out the subject I want on the copy layer and have animated its position over time. Pretty straight forward. The problem is that as the item moves its edges are seen. I wanted to just use the clone stamp to add a little more to the image but obviously you can't paint or stamp past the edge of the layer. So I was trying to figure out how to 'extend' the bounds of the layer a little so that I can fill in the missing area.
Thanks for any input.
-Chris

Hi Todd,
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I'm not having any success with this method. Here's what I have:
Original photo of kids with ball at playground. Ball is at lower left but partially cut off. Photo is on layer 1.
I duplicate layer 1.
Rename layer 2 to 'ball' and layer 1 to 'bg'
On ball layer I mask out the ball and then animate its position over the length of the clip.
When I precompose the ball layer (I tried both moving the attributes and leaving them as is) I get the new composition 'ball comp 1'. I open up ball comp 1 and change the composition settings to make the width taller.
So far, so good. Now I'm trying to follow your suggestion to then paint on the precomposition layer. Do you mean to go back to the original composition where the new pre-comp layer is and try to paint on it? If so, that doesn't work. If I select the Clone tool and try to paint the layer actually gets moved rather than painted on. If I open the new 'ball comp 1' composition and try to paint there it doesn't work either. And if I open up the layer in that comp that has the ball in it and try to paint there, the edges are still the original edges.
Any idea where I went wrong?
THanks,
Chris

Is it possible to have a mask on one layer affect layers below it? AECS6

I am animating a stick figure (because I'm an awesome artist! ) Anyhow the head is made up of a hollow outlined circle, and I want to have the stick man raise his arms, and have the head block the arm that passes behind it (Instead of showing the arm through his head) Is this possible? If so, how can I accomplish this?
Thanks all!

To mask you need an alpha channel. If you just have a stroked shape layer for the head then you don't have an alpha anywhere but over the stroke.
You'll have to fill the shape and either duplicate it and use the duplicate as a track matte for the arm layer or you'll have to set a mask on the arm shape layer that's exactly the same size and shape as the head.
If you need the head shape not filled then you can turn off the fill for the head and still use the track matte.
If you can use the head shape with a fill then you can just stack up the layers in the right order and the hand will be blocked by the head shape.
There are so many ways to do this kind of thing that a screenshot would be very helpful.
Here's a setup with a track matte and a hollow circle for the head. I've selected the hand so you can see the paths. Notice how the stroke dissapears behind the head layer.

Apple Script: How to deactivate single channels of a layer?

Hi there,
can someone probably tell me how to deactivate specific channels of a layer?
Example: Photoshop file with two layers, say CMYK. I want to deactivate CMY of the first layer, so that only K can be seen.
Unfortunately I didn’t find any information in the PS scripting guide nor in the scripting reference.
Thanks for any help on this.
andy

Paul, is correct you can't even do this in the app through the GUI. You would either need to duplicate your top layer loop through the channels that you don't want selecting all and clearing then going back to the composite or you could add an adjustment layer above the top grouped and use this by toggling its visibility (this is the way I would go). Paul 'AppleScript'? you've made me smile this morning what's come over you…
Added some code from scriptlistener…
tell application "Adobe Photoshop CS2"
activate
set Doc_Ref to the current document
tell Doc_Ref
if mode = CMYK then
set current layer to layer 1
-- delay 2
do javascript "Just_Black(); function Just_Black() {function cTID(s) { return app.charIDToTypeID(s); }; function sTID(s) { return app.stringIDToTypeID(s); }; var desc01 = new ActionDescriptor(); var ref4 = new ActionReference(); ref4.putClass( cTID('AdjL') ); desc01.putReference( cTID('null'), ref4 ); var desc02 = new ActionDescriptor(); desc02.putBoolean( cTID('Grup'), true ); var desc03 = new ActionDescriptor(); var list5 = new ActionList(); var desc04 = new ActionDescriptor(); var ref5 = new ActionReference(); ref5.putEnumerated( cTID('Chnl'), cTID('Chnl'), cTID('Cyn ') ); desc04.putReference( cTID('Chnl'), ref5 ); var list6 = new ActionList(); var desc05 = new ActionDescriptor(); desc05.putDouble( cTID('Hrzn'), 0.000000 ); desc05.putDouble( cTID('Vrtc'), 255.000000 ); list6.putObject( cTID('Pnt '), desc05 ); var desc06 = new ActionDescriptor(); desc06.putDouble( cTID('Hrzn'), 255.000000 ); desc06.putDouble( cTID('Vrtc'), 255.000000 ); list6.putObject( cTID('Pnt '), desc06 ); desc04.putList( cTID('Crv '), list6 ); list5.putObject( cTID('CrvA'), desc04 ); var desc07 = new ActionDescriptor(); var ref6 = new ActionReference(); ref6.putEnumerated( cTID('Chnl'), cTID('Chnl'), cTID('Mgnt') ); desc07.putReference( cTID('Chnl'), ref6 ); var list7 = new ActionList(); var desc08 = new ActionDescriptor(); desc08.putDouble( cTID('Hrzn'), 0.000000 ); desc08.putDouble( cTID('Vrtc'), 255.000000 ); list7.putObject( cTID('Pnt '), desc08 ); var desc09 = new ActionDescriptor(); desc09.putDouble( cTID('Hrzn'), 255.000000 ); desc09.putDouble( cTID('Vrtc'), 255.000000 ); list7.putObject( cTID('Pnt '), desc09 ); desc07.putList( cTID('Crv '), list7 ); list5.putObject( cTID('CrvA'), desc07 ); var desc10 = new ActionDescriptor(); var ref7 = new ActionReference(); ref7.putEnumerated( cTID('Chnl'), cTID('Chnl'), cTID('Yllw') ); desc10.putReference( cTID('Chnl'), ref7 ); var list8 = new ActionList(); var desc11 = new ActionDescriptor(); desc11.putDouble( cTID('Hrzn'), 0.000000 ); desc11.putDouble( cTID('Vrtc'), 255.000000 ); list8.putObject( cTID('Pnt '), desc11 ); var desc12 = new ActionDescriptor();desc12.putDouble( cTID('Hrzn'), 255.000000 ); desc12.putDouble( cTID('Vrtc'), 255.000000 ); list8.putObject( cTID('Pnt '), desc12 ); desc10.putList( cTID('Crv '), list8 ); list5.putObject( cTID('CrvA'), desc10 ); desc03.putList( cTID('Adjs'), list5 ); desc02.putObject( cTID('Type'), cTID('Crvs'), desc03 ); desc01.putObject( cTID('Usng'), cTID('AdjL'), desc02 ); executeAction( cTID('Mk '), desc01, DialogModes.NO );}" show debugger on runtime error
end if
end tell
end tell

Use layer as mask on other layer?

Hello,
I wonder if it is possible to copy a layer with its layer styles and use it as a layer mask on another layer.
Anyone know if its possible and how do I make it work?
Thanks

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes I want coupling of some sort but I guess your suggestion is enough to help me with the effect I'm looking for.
Im now working to solve my problem with another approach. Its not possible to apply some sort of effects on a group is it? I know I can put on mask on group but is it possible to apply styles as Gradient Overlay on a group?
Or I must merge layers before I can apply new styles? Or Rasterize if only one layer?
Thanks

Copy and paste layer mask into another layer mask

I know there is a way to do this.
How can I copy and paste on layer mask into another.
I need to use the same mask for multiple layers and images.
Thanks

In the same document, click on the layer mask, option drag to a new layer
To copy mask to a different document with both documents open, select the layer, Duplicate Layer to the other document (destination). Then in the other document, option drag the mask to whatever layer you want, delete the layer you duplicated (you don't need it anymore, you just needed the mask)
Or to copy mask to a different document with both documents open, load mask as a selection. Save selection to the other document (destination). Then in the other document load the new alpha channel and apply as a layer mask. Delete the alpha, you don't need it anymore.
Edit: J always beats me to it

How can I fill mask with pattern?

Hi
Would you please help me? How can a add pattern to a mask? I drew a motion mask on video clip and now I want to fill it with pattern that I made in Photoshop and saved as PSD, what should I do? How can I fill mask with specific pattern?
Thanks for any help

AE doesn't directly support a pattern-fill like PS, so here's a workaround (as Mylenium suggested):
Create a PS document and create a layer filled with the pattern required.
Import the layer/PSD to AE and place in timeline.
Place a copy of the masked layer above the Pattern layer.
On the pattern layer, set the Track Matte to Alpha Matte.
Read more here:
http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/8.0/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-7cf9. html

Graphics layer over video Layer problem

Hello!
we are blu-ray applications developers and we have a problem with repainting graphics layer over video layer. In MHP this problem is solved using the method call repaint() to the HScene. This Method remove all graphics and paint again. But in Blu-ray is not work correctly. When you have a graphics over video, this graphics don´t disappear when you paint other graphics, because don´t refresh the HScene and all the containers get painted over the others.
what is the solution of this problem?
Thanks a lot for your help!
Regards

Thanks for your reply.
As far as I know, targas can only be RGB. I couldn't find a way in Photoshop to work in YCbCr. I have Photoshop CS, so its pretty old, but even on my work computer, which has CS3, I didn't see anything. Next week I'll be installing CS4, so there might be something in that.
I won't be able to test anything until late tonight, but I'll try several formats to see if they make a difference. I'm wondering if there might also be some kind of option in FCE to convert imported graphics to the correct color space.
When keying graphics over video in your projects, how do you save them(formate,color space, etc)? Ever see this issue?
Thanks for your help
Colin

How to do a mask over a layer

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