Tag Archives: photoshop layers
Deleting layer mask in photoshop
Layer masks are stored, along with their layers, when you save your document, so they’re around
as long as you need them. If you decide you no longer need a layer mask, or you need to save
some disk space, you can delete the mask by selecting the layer then choosing Layer ➪
Layer Mask ➪ Delete. You can also right-click the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette, and
choose Delete Layer Mask from the pop-up menu.
You can delete the layer mask using the Layers palette’s Delete Layer icon, too. Click the layer mask
thumbnail to make it active; then click the Delete Layer icon. You can also click and drag the layer
mask thumbnail down to the icon. When you delete a layer mask in this way, a message box
appears asking if you want to apply the mask to the layer before deleting it, thereby permanently
deleting the masked areas of your layer. Click Apply to do this, or Delete to just delete the mask.
Press Cancel if you get cold feet.
edit your layer mask in photoshop
To edit your layer mask, make sure it’s active by clicking its thumbnail in the Layers palette, then
modify pixels in the mask using your tools of choice. As with any bitmap mask, you can use practically
any tool or command you like on the mask, ranging from the brush tools and retouching
tools through to the filters in the Filter menu and the transform commands under Edit ➪
Transform.
If you paint black onto the mask, you mask off the corresponding areas of the layer, allowing the
underlying layers to show through. If you paint using white, you unmask those areas of the layer,
making them opaque and blocking out the underlying layers. Painting with shades of gray makes
the corresponding pixels in the layer semitransparent—a bit like adjusting the layer’s Opacity
slider, but on a pixel-by-pixel basis. You can see these effects in Figure 9.11, which shows a layer
mask that’s been painted on using black, white, and gray.
