Coustom masks on a layer

Hi,
How can I use a vector image (corel draw or illustrator) as a mask in after effects? I'm trying to use the stroke effect but i would like something different than the original masks.
Thanks!

You can draw your own masks in AE with the pen tool. Literally an infinite number of possibilities.
However, if you have something already drawn and you want to bring it into AE: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/9.0/WSE4F03C08-9074-45eb-842E-2BF05D297249a.html

Similar Messages

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:

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

Why doesn't clicking laser mask icon or layer add hide-reveal mask produce a usable mask?

When I try to add a layer mask either by clicking the icon in layers panel or going layer>add mask I am not getting a usable mask. The layer mask icon in the layers panel is added to the image, but it is still the rectangle with a white circle in it, not an icon with an all white or all black background. Clicking on this icon does not produce a mask to paint, whether white or black. Can anyone help me understand why I am not getting the typical pixel layer mask that can be used to paint and reveal the image beneath? I must be missing something obvious but I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. Any help would be appreciated.

Joe333 wrote:
When I try to add a layer mask either by clicking the icon in layers panel or going layer>add mask I am not getting a usable mask. The layer mask icon in the layers panel is added to the image, but it is still the rectangle with a white circle in it, not an icon with an all white or all black background.
Sounds like you have "No Thumbnails" set in Layer panel options, which displays mask icons as you describe. Right-click a layer icon (not a mask icon) and pick "Small", "Medium" or "Large" to see thumbnails.
Clicking on this icon does not produce a mask to paint, whether white or black. Can anyone help me understand why I am not getting the typical pixel layer mask that can be used to paint and reveal the image beneath? I must be missing something obvious but I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. Any help would be appreciated.
Clicking on a mask thumbnail/icon should target the mask (you'll see a white border at the corners of the current target's thumbnail/icon) to receive paint, adjustments, etc, but not display it as a grayscale image on the canvas. To see the mask in grayscale as well as target it, Opt/Alt-click its thumbnail/icon. Use Backslash key to toggle rubylith overlay of mask.

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.

Masking a Solid Layer with an Effect

Should be easy, you would think.
I have a solid layer (white) with a radio waves effect applied to it. I've got the effect dialed in and it's what I want, but I want to mask off just a triangular portion of this layer, creating a beam shape (not eminating in 360 degrees.)
But my mask has no effect on the effect, if you know what I mean. I've tried inverting the mask and changing the mask modes but nothing works.
Isn't there a way of masking a shape layer with an effect on it?
Thanks.

Precompose or nest.
Apply the triangular masking to the nest.
Think of it this way, your'e making a movie of the radio wave effect then importing the movie and applying a mask to the movie.
You can also set Radio Waves to use closed but custom shapes as the emission source but that's often more trouble than simply masking a nested pr precomposed sequence.
bogiesan

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.)"

Is it possible to mask a 3d layer?

Is it possible to apply a shape mask to a layer consisting of 3d particles?
I tried doing this but couldn't get it to work. Afterwards, I thought about pre-composing the layer with an adjustment layer with the mask on top, but I don't think this is the most elegant solution.

> I thought about pre-composing the layer with an adjustment layer with the mask on top, but I don't think this is the most elegant solution.
It is a solution, though.

Rotoscoping Masks in same layer

Ok, question, I want to rotoscope a guy so I can put things happening behind him as he walks by. I took the object set it on the layer. Copied the original to have an image behind it unchanged. Then I tried to mask his head, and then his arm. Problem I am having is, I invert the first mask in the layer, when I try another mask, it deletes the top mask. How do I have multiple masks in one layer all invert at the same time so I can rotoscope?
Thanks

Masks won't delete each other - you just need to change how they interact using the pop-up menu in the HUD - try ADD.

Action help to copy color in layer mask to another layer mask

Hi all,
Having trouble with this problem...
I have layer 1 with a color mask set to black, red, blue etc.
I have layer 2 with a color mask which i want to match and also become black, red, blue
There are hundreds of files, and the color in layer 1 is always different.
Manually i would simply click on the layer 2 mask which opens the color picker, and select the area of layer 1 i want to match.
But doing that in an action does not work.
I can't get the action to recognize that i want to copy the color content of a mask, and not the specific color used in the example during which the macro is recorded. The color picker does not seem capable of selecting a dynamic input (e.g. whatever color is on layer 1), it simply copies whatever was in layer 1 during recording like a dumb instrument.
thanks for any input.

Not sure what you mean by color mask, but I just noticed cs6 seems to have a new feature in the actions tab dropdown menu (small top right button) called 'allow tool recording'.
I just tried to make an eyedropper action with that option turned on and now the color does change when I change the image colors and run the action again.
Hope this helps.

How to copy a black and white layer to the mask of another layer.....

Earlier I asked, "How?"
Got a reply, but the solution didn't work in PSE 10.
After trial and error, I figured it out.
When dealing with abstract art or even hair, it is too time consuming to make a
mask pixel by pixel.
Load the image you want to mask into a new layer and convert it to black and white. You might need to
adjust contrast/brightness to maximize the effect..
Using the Magic Wand tool, click on the WHITE area of the image.
Click Edit/Copy.
Click on the layer you want the mask copied to.
Next, click on "Add new layer mask" button on the bottom of the layers panel.
Your mask should appear and is now ready for a touching up!.

What’s the correct way to proceed?
Joke?
In Photoshop there are often more ways than one to achieve a task and none of them need be considered »wrong« as long as the result fits the intention, so »the correct way« seems to be problematic terminology.
Anyway, one can use a Layer set to Blend Mode Color and paint on that with whatever colors.
Or one can use Solid Color Layers set to Blend Mode Color.
Or Hue/Saturation Layers …
To edit contrast if necessary Curves or Levels Adjustment Layers can be employed.
You could also have googled »photoshop colorize black and white« …

Unsharp Mask on Adjustment Layer crushing whites during fade?

I'm using Premiere CS6 with video footage from a Canon T2i. However, the issue appears regardless of the video source.
When I apply a Film Dissolve to a clip in the timeline, then add an Adjustment Layer with an Unsharp Mask on a track above the clip, the whites in the clip appear to become crushed over the length of the transition, while still fading to black. This does NOT happen if I use a Sharpen filter instead of an Unshark Mask, and if I apply the Unsharp Mask to the clip directly instead of using an Adjustment Layer. Fading with another clip looks normal as well, the whites only get crushed when fading to black.
If the problem had to do with the Film Dissolve processing in a linear color space, then I would expect similar results with the Sharpen filter. Likewise, if the problem had to do with the Unshark Mask, then I would expect to see the same thing when it is applied to the clip directly.
Any ideas? I appriciate the help!

Looks like a bug. Thanks. I'll escalate it.
Workaround looks good, so thanks for that too! Nice find.
PS:
LensFusion wrote: If the problem had to do with the Film Dissolve processing in a linear color space, then I would expect similar results with the Sharpen filter. Likewise, if the problem had to do with the Unshark Mask, then I would expect to see the same thing when it is applied to the clip directly.
I think it has to do with blend modes, but can't say for sure.

Need to cut into a mask to reveal layer

I need to cut into a mask to reveal a layer. I have a alpha image with thousands of lights scattered around the image. I'm laying the lights layer over an image of a city to create more lights in various buildings. All I need to do is create some form of mask that when I cut into it reveals the lights below which is over the city. It's a basic question but I'm stumped. Thanks peeps.

Just target the upper layer's layer mask and set your paint brush to a good size black paint and paint the area you want the light to show through from the lower layer. Black will make the current top layer's opacity transparent in the areas you paint over.

Coustom masks on a layer

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