My layer mask is yellow/cream instead of white.

I can add a second one on the same layer and it will be white. Using CC and windows 8.

Yes that was the right answer but to be more specific about this masking issue there was no need to make a compound path or outline the text.
All you need todo is to place what ever you wanted to show through the Mask under the stacking order of the Text and select the text and the the objects or images you wanted to show through and Command 7 or Object>Clipping Mask>Make.

Similar Messages

How to use layer masks to separate line art from white background

How to use layermasks to separate line art from white background

Probably better to use Blend modes rather than a layer mask. Try setting the blend mode of the line art layer to Darken for instance. If you do want to use a mask, take a look at individual channels, and copy the channel with the best contrast. Then load the selection of that copied channel, select the line art layer, and add the layer mask. You will probably need to invert the mask. You will probably find that the line art is a greyscale image, and need to go to Image > Mode > RGB before you can use Channels.

Why use layer masks and adjustment layers?

I've been using PSE and CS successfully for years.
One thing I have never understood is: why use layer masks and adjustment layers, instead of simply creating a copy of the subject layer (the one I want to make changes to) and experimenting with that? It's quick (Ctrl-J), I can do it as many times as I want, I'm not affecting my Background layer. If I like the changes, I can keep them. I can switch the copy on and off to compare with the Background layer. I can do any type of blend or combination I desire. I can insert Gradient layer(s), select any part of the copy and (Ctrl-J) create a new layer containing only the selected part. I can adjust size, rotate, do anything.
It almost seems that "layer mask" and "adjustment layer" are mainly another layer of terminology; can anyone explain (preferably in 50 words or less) how they are intrinsically different from or superior to working with copies of the Background layer? What can be done with them that can't be done simply using copies of the Background layer?

Here's a very basic example of the advantage of using a layer mask.
I have this picture of a sunflower and I want to convert the background to black & white, leaving just the flower in color. I duplicated the Background layer, converted it to B&W and proceeded to use the Eraser to uncover the flower color. But I made a mistake and erased outside the flower. There is no way to correct this other than deleting the layer and starting again.
Now let's use a layer mask on the B&W layer. Set the Foreground/Background colors to the defaults black/white. Using the Brush tool paint on the mask with black to reveal the color. Here I painted too far, revealing a green leaf in the background. No need to start over. Simply switch to white and paint the excess to convert back to the B&W.
Tip: while painting you can type "X" to toggle between black and white.
You could also select the flower using the various selection tools and then fill the selection with black. If it turns out the selection was not 100% accurate you can then fine-tune the result by painting on the mask with black or white as necessary.

Layer Mask Issue, please help.

Hi,
My layer mask is not working, not sure what's happening. I'm using CS 4 . i want to use blending effect so i place the photos on a white background. I click layer mask on each photo, select brush tool brush on the photo but is not working, is either appear black or white color when i use the brush paint on it. If not wrong, the foreground color should be grey & white in layer mask function but it appear black & white instead. Please see the screenshot below. Please help, thank you

Hi, I will try explain your problem.
In your posted example we can see see that you have three layers in the layers panel.
On each one of layers, we can see, on the left side, that there is the Layer Thumbnail, that is a showing the actual image of your layer and then a Layer Mask Thumbnail (the white rectangle, on the right side).
A layer mask works as follows: you tell Photoshop to display or hide actual parts (pixels) of the layer with greyscale values. A white pixel on the layer masks tells Photoshop to show the image area at full opacity (non-transparent), while a black pixel on the layer mask tells Photoshop to hide the layer totally (0% of opacity.) Gray values will therefore show the image data partially.
But you are painting on the document, and you need to indicate Photoshop whether you want to paint on the image (what you did in your example, and you do not desire) or if you want to paint on the layer mask (what you want to do). This indication is called Targeting. It is done simply by clicking either on the Layer thumbnail, or on the Layer mask thumbnail of your layer. (Clicking different areas of a layer in the layer palette are different orders you give to the program). For instance, if you want to switch the layer you are hiding to another one, in order to paint on its mask, make sure to click on the layer mask thumbnail of the other layer in the Layers Panel.
In Photoshop CS5.5 and earlier, you will see that a layer or its mask is targeted because there will be three outlines around it: a black, a white and a black one again, like the actual layer data in the highlighted layer 0928 of your image. You should see those three outlines around the layer mask in order to paint on it.
In CS6, the target indicator is different, look in my image, we can see that the layer mask is targeted thanks to the white corners: I was then able to mask part of the black layer by targeting the Layer Mask in the layer panel, and then painting on the image where I want to hide the layer.
If you want to modify the actual layer (the photos, in your case), simply click on its thumbnail, and you are good to go!
Hope this helps.
See these help documents: Layes Basics: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-78e3a.h tml
Layer masks: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/masking-layers.html
Some search results for "Layer Masks Basics" in Photoshop help: http://community.adobe.com/help/search.html?q=layer+mask+basics&x=0&y=0&lbl=photoshop_prod uct_adobelr&hl=en_US&lr=en_US&self=0&area=0
(It is one of the best ways to search for tutorials or help files)
Pierre

Bug? color profiles appear to be affecting layer masks

Hello,
I am wondering whether I should file the following as a bug?
We are using color profiles that adjust the white point. When these color profiles are applied to the image we cannot properly paint into layer masks because we cannot access "pure white". The brightest white we can paint with is a form of grey (aka, we cannot paint back full opacity in a layer mask). This shows up in the color "chips" as only allowing the brightest value to be a light grey. The only way to get around this is to turn off our color profile, paint pure white, and then reapply the color profile (which confirms my understanding that "pure white" is supported by the mask channel when a color profile is applied, we just cannot paint it that value when the profile is applied).
As far as I can imagine, color profiles shouldn't be applied to scalar channels like a mask channel, right?
This affects CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS6

Ok, I did one more test to see whether I can use the eye dropper tool to select a "pure white" color even if the color picker does not let me do that. It turns out that I can.
So that is a work around... I am simply going to have to have an adjustment layer at the top of my layer pallette (but turned off) that has an all white mask. Even when it is turned off, I can simply select it, use the eye dropper tool to pick a pure white, and then return to my mask channel of choice and paint in full opacity.
In the mean time, I think the fact that the color profile still affects the color picker when a mask layer is active might be considered a bug. I'll probably report it as such.

How do I add a gradient to a layer mask to counteract a gradual change in tone from one end of a photo to the other?

I swear I must be going nutso. I have a photo taken with a rather extreme 10mm shift of a shift lens, which consequently has a gradual darkening toward the top of the photo. No problem, says I. I just added a layer mask, clicked on the gradient tool and drew a line (in the appropriate direction) with that tool. What I got was a transparent area at the black end (of the gradient applied to the mask) grading to the darker part of the image showing through at the other end (of the gradient.)
I've done this before, and did the above instinctively, so I thought I was doing it right. When it didn't work, I tried applying the mask and gradient to a duplicate background layer, then flattening the image. Nada.
Jees. Something set wrong? A different blend mode than normal? I even checked with a CS6 guide by Martin Evening, who seems to be able to do exactly what I wanted with no trouble.
Or......maybe I am going nutso :).
Thanks in advance,
BAB

Thanks, that's exactly what I've done.....now I'm at least certain I'm not going nutso . Specifically, I have image 2 stacked above image 1, with the mask for image 2 appearing on the same layer. However, when I apply the gradient, exactly as you have indicated, I do not get image 4. Instead I get image 2 showing through at the top where the mask is white, and then a gradual fade over the black part of the mask to the diamond pattern typical of transparent layer.
Well, I be darned. I just tried it again and now it's working exactly as you described and exactly as I had expected it to. I was using a .psd and wondered if that were the problem, although why I couldn't imagine. So chose a .dng I had just downloaded and the process worked perfectly. Huh? So I went back to the .psd (a test image that I had done to see how much falloff there would be using this shift lens at it's fullest shift) and it worked perfectly also. I have no idea. I promise you I did exactly as you indicated above in all the times I tried to get the falloff subdued. Yes, I did the mask in the right direction, as you've shown above. Yes I used a duplicate layer, and yes I applied the mask to the duplicate layer. I can even get it to work using the mask applied by the Curves layer I used to lighten the duplicate layer. If you can think of anything that may have been set wrong, please let me know, because I think I checked everything including layer properties and those of the gradient tool as well. And I'm certain it will happen again when I'm on some deadline and really need the gradient. You know about Murphy's Laws, right?
Thanks, though. I'll mark this question answered and if I find something I set wrong, on purpose or accidentally, I'll pass it along.
BAB

Layer Mask not revealing the right colors

Hi I am new to Photoshop CS6, and photoshop in general. I am trying to take a color photograph, turn it to black and white, and reveal a flower in color and the rest is still black and white.
I thought I had done this properly when I added a new "adjustment layer, hue/saturation", reduced saturization to zero, and painted the yellow flower over with black to reveal the yellow flower's color while the rest of the photo is still black and white. And it worked..except when I got to the green stem of the flower. Painting over that with black revealed a yellowish-green stem.
I experimented a little more by painting black on the new layer mask and most of the rest of the color photo comes out wrong. The blue sky shows up like a weird smurf blue, faces are oddly peach/orange and most colors look much different than the originial photo. Yellow seems to be not affected, magenta/pink seems to be OK and blue shows up so-so. But the rest of the colors are messed up.
I know this must be something very basic, but why are the colors showing up odd?
Thanks

Sounds like you did the right stuff. You should expect to see the colors revealed where the mask is made black. I might have used a Black & White adjustment layer rather than Hue/Saturation, as that would give you more control over the grayscale part of the result, but the technique with the mask should be the same.
Any chance you could take a snapshot of your screen, save as a JPEG, and paste it here? That will help avoid a whole lot of questions.
I noticed your screen name... I live in "bokeh". The weather has turned nice down here after Sandy passed by, eh?
-Noel

Colored texture pasting as black and white into a layer mask

Hello all,
First time poster, long time lurker here.
I'm pasting a colored layer into a layer mask I created in order to texturize a shape I made. Whenever I Option + Click the layer mask and then paste the texture, it pastes in black and white instead of color, see screen capture below (pardon the watermark):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC8Da4V0FAc
Am I missing something here? Thanks in advance!

If you want to add a texture to a shape, create a new layer, fill it with your texture, then ALT+click their separation line in the layers panel.
This creates a what is called a Clipping Mask: http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/revealing-layers-clipping-masks.html.

What do you do when painting on a layer mask with the correct color dosen't work?

I have been trying to do some compositing but when i paint with white on a black layer mask or black on a white layer mask, NOTHING HAPPENS. What should I be looking for? Is there an adjustment that needs to be set a certain way? I would also like to know how you open multiple images in one document with each image on it's own layer. Thanks...

Everything is set correctly... still nothing.
I want to use a texture and an image. I have them both in the same document, but the only way to get the texture to allow the image to show through is to reduce the opacity. That's not the look I want. I tried clipping the two different images together, but then I could only see the photo itself and no texture. I just don't understand why when I set things correctly they don't work.
One other question if I may? Everything, all of a sudden is opening in Preview instead of with PS as it has always been in the past. I don't recall changing any settings. What should I look for to make PS my default...
Oh and one more thing. When I click on Safari photoshop goes missing and Safari shows. If I click on photoshop then Safari goes missing. This is INCREDIBLY annoying and I don't know why it's doing that. Both these things started at the same time. I'm on a Mac.

Bug report: [layer mask] editing colors

Sometimes it appears that the white/black color combination that is automatically selected in layer mask editing may override the selected color combination outside of layer mask editing.
Example:
1) Open Photoshop.
2) Select two colors: white/white.
3) Create two blank documents, each with an empty Layer 1.
4) In one document, add a layer mask to Layer 1. The colors should have been automatically switched to black/white as the layer mask is selected.
5) In this document, use the gradient tool to fill the layer mask with black/white.
6) Switch to the other document, and notice that the color selection is again white/white.
7) In this other document, use the gradient tool to fill Layer 1. Notice that the layer is filled with black/white instead of white/white as selected.
Tested on: PS CS6, Windows 7, 64-bit.

On further testing I think the issue may not be directly related to layer masks at all.
Basically the issue is that the Gradient tool colors don't update to the 'default foreground/background colors' in cases where it seems that they should.
One example of such a case (as illustrated in the original post) is when the Gradient tool keeps the black/white color combo used for a layer mask in a previous document after switching to the current document where a non-masked layer is targeted and the default fg/bg colors have correctly reverted to white/white.
Example:
layer mask targeted in doc1 - notice synchronised Gradient and default fg/bg colors
after switching to non-masked layer in doc2, Gradient is still black/white although default fg/bg colors have reverted appropriately to white/white
Bug or not, it's something I wanted to point out as it seems inconsistent.

Layer Mask Frustration!

Hello! How can I fix my layer mask issue? I'd been having tons of fun with masks and editing pictures in PSE 11; now suddenly the layer mask is acting funky! Instead of completely revealing a layer, it's like making the picture faded. I've checked my opacity, that I'm painting on the mask and with the right color and brush, to no avail. I'm SO frustrated, tearing my hair out! Can anyone offer any insight please? I would so appreciate it!
Thanks!

If you haven't tried resetting the pse 11 preferences that would be the next step.
Go to Edit>Preferences>General and click on on Reset Preferences on next launch, click OK
and restart pse 11.
Also, are you using a drawing tablet or some other input device other than a mouse?

Layer Mask Transparency not White

When I go to make a selection in Photoshop CS6 and then click on layer mask from the background layer, the inverse selection is trasparent, rahter than white. How do I change this? Thank you!

Sorry for not describing it in better detail. Here is another example. When I go to crop image and expand my canvas beyond the borders and click ok, the background should be white, instead it is transparent.
When I try to convert a selection from my background image into a layer mask by selecting and then clicking on the mask icon, my background is transparent rather than white. I have cleared all my settings and am totally stumped on what I should do. Any help would be much appreciated!

Layer mask suddenly not working, how to fix this?

Please help!
I have been using the layer mask before and it has worked fine until now. Suddenly it only paints black and white colors, not revealing or hiding as it should. I have the mask layer selected properly. I have reset the brush tool and all the tools. I have the brush mode set to normal.
I tried also the eraser, it paints black too.
I'm using Photoshop CC.

Riina K wrote:
I have been using the layer mask before and it has worked fine until now. Suddenly it only paints black and white colors, not revealing or hiding as it should. I have the mask layer selected properly. I have reset the brush tool and all the tools. I have the brush mode set to normal.
If you hold the Alt|option key when you click on the Layer Mask icon in the layers palette to target the layer mask Photoshop will display the layer mask in the images window not the composite image. Layer Mask are gray scale channels. All you can see is the mask Black, White and Gray. Could you have Displayed the layer mask by accident. Are you sure you have the layer mask targeted to show the composite image or could you have targeted its to show the Layer Mask instead of the composite image.

Inverted layer mask not working

I havent used PS much of late but in CS6 when layer masking the technique I used to use doesnt seem to work anymore. I would have two layers. The top layer I would put a layer mask. Then I would select all and delete hit the delete button so the mask would turn black and invert. Then instead of painting black over white to reveal the bottom layer I would paint white over black to bring my top layer back. I liked doing it like this. But its not working now. When I paint with white on the black mask nothing happens?? I tried inverting in the properties but makes no diff. What am I doing wrong?

Check the blending mode on your brush. It may be set to darken or some other blend mode than normal. As a side note, you can invert a layer mask be making sure it's selected and press ctrl/cmd-i. You can also create a mask where everything is hidden by pressing alt/opt then clicking on the add layer mask icon in the layers pallet.

Layer masks posterized

I am having a problem in Photoshop CS6 where I am getting posterization in a layer mask, instead of a smooth gradient / transition. I am 87% sure that this is resulting in a visible hard transition in the final image (a TIFF, not a jpeg).
I have tried applying a gaussian blur to the mask, but this just changes the posterization, it doesn't remove it. Doing the gaussian blur with the document in 16 bit mode doesn't make any difference.
The posterization is visible at all zoom levels. I have tried setting cache levels to 1 and GPU acceleration to basic (and restarting PS), but still see the posterization when using a soft brush on a layer mask.
I read some of the other threads on the forum where people had problems with their graphics cards / monitor profiles causing things to look posterized when they weren't really. The examples given in those threads looked okay to me, so I think it is a Photoshop related problem rather than a general problem for me. I've attached two screenshots below, hopefully you can open them up full size and see if they appear posterized to you.
I'm not sure what the problem is or how to fix it?
Thanks
Dave

Do you see any posterization in either of these? Click on each to make sure you're seeing the original PNG.
-Noel

My layer mask is yellow/cream instead of white.

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