6 Masks and Channels

PROJECT: MAGAZINE COVER IMAGE

Photography © Andrew Faulkner

Use masks to isolate and manipulate specific parts of an image. The cutout portion of a mask can be altered, but the area surrounding the cutout is protected from change. You can create a temporary mask to use once, or you can save masks for repeated use.

In Photoshop, you can make temporary masks, called quick masks, or you can create permanent masks and store them as special grayscale channels called alpha channels. Photoshop also uses channels to store an image’s color information. Unlike layers, channels do not print. You use the Channels panel to view and work with alpha channels.

A key concept in masking is that black hides and white reveals. As in life, rarely is anything black and white. Shades of gray partially hide, depending on the gray levels.

1 Start Photoshop, and then immediately hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (Mac) to restore the default preferences. (See “Restoring Default Preferences” on page 5.)

2 When prompted, click Yes to delete the Adobe Photoshop Settings file.

3 Choose File > Browse In Bridge to open Adobe Bridge.

4 Click the Favorites tab on the left side of the Bridge window. Select the Lessons folder, and then double-click the Lesson06 folder in the Content panel.

5 Study the 06End.psd file. To enlarge the thumbnail so that you can see it more clearly, move the thumbnail slider at the bottom of the Bridge window to the right.

In this lesson, you’ll create a magazine cover. The model for the cover was photographed in front of a different background, and the background isn’t a single color, so it may be a challenge to mask. You’ll use Select and Mask to quickly isolate the model over the final background.

6 Double-click the 06Start.psd thumbnail to open it in Photoshop. Click OK if you see an Embedded Profile Mismatch dialog box.

7 In the Layers panel, make sure both layers are visible and the Model layer is selected.

1 Choose File > Save As, rename the file 06Working.psd, and click Save. Click OK if the Photoshop Format Options dialog box appears.

Saving a working version of the file lets you return to the original if you need it.

2 Choose Select > Select and Mask.

Select and Mask opens with the image. A semitransparent “onion skin” overlay indicates masked areas, which are represented by a checkerboard pattern. For now, the checkerboard pattern covers the entire image, because you haven’t yet identified the areas to unmask.

3 Make sure the Quick Selection tool () is selected. In the options bar, set up a brush with a size of 15 px.

4 Position the Quick Selection tool within the outline of the model, and then drag while keeping the tool within the hair, face, and shirt areas. Where you drag teaches Select and Mask which areas should be revealed and not part of the mask. It’s OK if you release the mouse button and drag more than once.

As you drag the Quick Selection tool over the model, the onion skin overlay disappears from the areas that you are marking to be revealed. Don’t worry about total perfection at this stage.

Do not drag the Quick Selection tool over or past the model’s edge to the background. If you do, and this adds unwanted areas to the mask, either choose Edit > Undo, or reverse the edit by painting over it with the Quick Selection tool in Subtract mode. To enable Subtract Mode for the Quick Selection tool, click the Subtract From Selection icon () in the options bar.

5 Click the View menu in the View Mode section, and choose Overlay. The masked area is now shown as a semitransparent red color instead of the onion skin checkerboard.

The different View Modes are provided so that you can see the mask more easily over different backgrounds. In this case, the red overlay more clearly shows any missed areas and edges where loose hair isn’t properly masked.

6 Look for areas of the model that are within the red mask overlay but that should be revealed, and drag the Quick Selection tool to include them in revealed areas. Increase the magnification if it helps you see missed areas more easily.

7 Click the View menu in the View Mode section again, and choose On Layers. This shows you how the current Select and Mask settings look over any layers that are behind this layer. In this case, you’re previewing how the current settings will mask the Model layer over the Magazine Background layer.

Inspect the edges around the model at a high magnification, such as 200%. Some of the original light background may still show between the model’s edge and the magazine background, but overall the Quick Selection tool should have created clean edges for the shirt and face. Don’t worry about edge gaps or imperfect hair edges, because you’ll take care of those next.

1 At a magnification of 200% or higher, inspect the hair edges at the back of the model’s head.

2 Select the Refine Edge Brush tool (). In the options bar, set up a brush with a size of 20 px and Hardness of 100%.

3 Choose Overlay from the View menu in the View Mode section, so that the missing hair is visible.

4 Drag the Refine Edge Brush tool between the hair bun and the ends of the hair, where the selection needs to be improved. As you drag the Refine Edge Brush tool over the complex hair edge, you should see that the hair strands falling from the bun are now included in the visible areas.

5 Scroll down to the loop of hair that falls over the back of the shirt.

The original image background shows inside the loop. That background needs to be replaced with the magazine background, so you’ll use the Refine Edge Brush to add that loop interior to the mask.

6 In the options bar, set up a Refine Edge brush with a size of 15 px, with Hardness of 100%.

7 Drag the Refine Edge Brush tool over any obscured hairs to reveal them. You should see two things happen: Gaps in the mask within the loop of hair should become masked, while fine hairs are added to the visible areas.

8 Click the View option, and choose Black & White. This is another good way to check your mask. Inspect the mask at different magnifications, and when you’re done, choose View > Fit on Screen.

If you see hairs or other details that are masked but should be revealed, drag the Refine Edge brush over them. The finer the details you want to mask, the smaller you should set the Refine Edge brush size. It’s OK if the brush size is slightly larger than the details you want to mask, and you don’t have to drag the Refine Edge Brush tool precisely.

If you see Refine Edge Brush tool mistakes that need to be erased, such as inner areas incorrectly added to the mask, drag the Refine Edge Brush tool over the mistakes while holding down the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) key.

1 Click the View menu in the View Mode section, and choose On Layers. This lets you preview adjustments over the Magazine Background layer, which is behind the Model layer.

2 In the Global Refinements section, move the sliders to create a smooth, unfeathered edge along the face. The optimal settings depend on the selection you created, but they’ll probably be similar to ours. We moved the Smooth slider to 5 to create a smoother outline, Contrast to 20% to make the transitions along the selection border more abrupt, and Shift Edge to −15% to move the selection border inward and help remove unwanted background colors from selection edges. (Adjusting Shift Edge to a positive number would move the border outward.)

3 Take one more look at this preview of the current mask over the Magazine Background layer, and make any remaining corrections as needed.

1 If the Output Settings are hidden, click the disclosure icon () to reveal them.

2 Zoom in to 200% or more so that you can more easily see the light fringing around the face edge that’s due to the Model layer’s original background color seeping in behind the mask.

3 Select Decontaminate Colors to suppress those color fringes.

4 Choose New Layer With Layer Mask from the Output To menu. Then click OK.

Clicking OK exits Select and Mask. In the Layers panel, the Model Copy layer now has a layer mask (pixel mask) that was generated by Select and Mask.

The layer was copied because using the Decontaminate Colors option requires that new pixels be generated. The original Model layer is preserved, and automatically hidden.

If the mask isn’t perfect, you can continue to edit it at any time. When a layer mask thumbnail is selected in the Layers panel, you can click the Select and Mask button in the Properties panel, in the options bar (if a selection tool is active), or choose Select > Select and Mask.

5 Save your work.

1 Hide the Magazine Background layer so you can concentrate on the model. Make sure the Model copy layer is selected.

2 Click the Edit In Quick Mask Mode button in the Tools panel. (By default, you have been working in Standard mode.)

In Quick Mask mode, a red overlay appears as you make a selection, masking the area outside the selection the way a rubylith, or red acetate, was used to mask images in traditional print shops. (This idea is similar to the Overlay view mode you saw in Select and Mask.) You can apply changes only to the unprotected area that is visible and selected. Notice that the highlight color for the selected layer in the Layers panel is red, indicating you’re in Quick Mask mode.

3 In the Tools panel, select the Brush tool ().

4 In the options bar, make sure that the mode is Normal. Open the Brush pop-up panel, and select a small brush with a diameter of 13 px and a Hardness of 100%. Click outside the panel to close it.

5 Paint the earpiece of the glasses frames. The area you paint will appear red, creating a mask.

6 Continue painting with the Brush tool to mask the earpiece of the frames and the frame around the lenses. Reduce the brush size to paint around the lenses. You can stop where the earpiece goes under the hair.

In Quick Mask mode, Photoshop operates in grayscale mask mode, where shades of gray correspond to degrees of mask transparency. When using a painting or editing tool in Quick Mask mode, keep these principles in mind:

• Painting with black adds to the mask (the red overlay), subtracting from the selected area.

• Painting with white erases the mask, adding to the selected area.

• Painting with gray adds a semitransparent areas to the mask, where darker shades are more transparent (more masked).

7 Click the Edit In Standard Mode button to exit Quick Mask Mode.

The unmasked area is selected. Exiting Quick Mask mode converts the Quick Mask into a selection.

8 Choose Select > Inverse to select the area you originally masked.

9 Choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation.

10 In the Hue/Saturation dialog box, change the Hue to +70. The new green color fills the glasses frame. Click OK.

11 Choose Select > Deselect.

12 Save your work so far.

1 Zoom out so you can see the entire model.

2 With the Model Copy layer selected in the Layers panel, choose Edit > Puppet Warp.

A mesh appears over the visible areas in the layer—in this case, the mesh appears over the model. You’ll use the mesh to place pins where you want to control movement (or to ensure there is no movement).

3 Click to add pins around the body and along the base of the head. Each time you click, Puppet Warp adds a pin. Around ten to twelve pins should work.

The pins you’ve added around the shirt will keep it in place as you tilt the head.

4 Select the pin at the nape of the neck. A white dot appears in the center of the pin to indicate that it’s selected.

5 Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac). A larger circle appears around the pin and a curved double arrow appears next to it. Continue pressing Alt or Option as you drag the pointer to rotate the head backwards. You can see the angle of rotation in the options bar; you can enter 170 there to rotate the head back.

6 When you’re satisfied with the rotation, click the Commit Puppet Warp button () in the options bar, or press Enter or Return.

7 Save your work so far.

To avoid confusing channels and layers, think of channels as containing an image’s color and selection information, and think of layers as containing painting, shapes, text, and other content.

You’ll use an alpha channel to set up a selection, which you’ll then fill with black on a layer to create the actual shadow.

You’ve already created a mask of the model. To create a shadow, you want to essentially duplicate that mask and then shift it. You’ll use an alpha channel to make that possible.

1 In the Layers panel, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac) the layer icon in the Model Copy layer. The masked area is selected.

2 Choose Select > Save Selection. In the Save Selection dialog box, make sure New is chosen in the Channel menu. Then name the channel Model Outline, and click OK.

Nothing changes in the Layers panel or in the image window. However, a new channel named Model Outline has been added to the Channels panel.

3 Click the Create A New Layer icon () at the bottom of the Layers panel. Drag the new layer below the Model Copy layer, so that the shadow will be below the image of the model. Double-click the new layer’s name, and rename it Shadow.

4 With the Shadow layer selected, choose Select > Select and Mask.

5 Click the View menu in the View Mode section, and choose On Black.

6 In Select and Mask, move the Shift Edge slider to +36%.

7 In the Output Settings section, make sure Selection is selected in the Output To menu, and then click OK.

8 Choose Edit > Fill. In the Fill dialog box, choose Black from the Contents menu, and then click OK.

The Shadow layer displays a filled-in black outline of the model. Shadows aren’t usually as dark as the person that casts them. You’ll reduce the layer opacity.

9 In the Layers panel, change the layer opacity to 30%.

The shadow is in exactly the same position as the model, where it can’t be seen. You’ll shift it.

10 Choose Select > Deselect to remove the selection.

11 Choose Edit > Transform > Rotate. Rotate the shadow by hand, or enter −15° in the Rotate field in the options bar. Then drag the shadow to the left, or enter 545 in the X field in the options bar. Click the Commit Transform button () in the options bar, or press Enter or Return, to accept the transformation.

12 Click the eye icon for the Magazine Background layer to make it visible, and delete the Model layer (the one without the mask).

13 Choose File > Save to save your work so far.

Your magazine cover is ready to go!

2 When you have a selection created by a quick mask, what happens when you deselect?

3 When you save a selection as an alpha channel, where is the alpha channel stored?

4 How can you edit a mask in a channel once you’ve saved it?

5 How do channels differ from layers?

2 As with any other selection, a quick mask selection disappears when you deselect it.

3 Alpha channels are stored in the Channels panel, along with the visible color channels.

4 You can paint in an alpha channel using black, white, and shades of gray.

5 Alpha channels are storage areas for saved selections. All layers set to be visible will be present in printed or exported output. But only the color channels are visible in printed or exported output; alpha channels are not. Layers contain information about image content, while alpha channels contain information about selections and masks.