Mask Overview

A mask is a vector stencil that decides where a layer's fills can draw. Transparent areas let the fill through; opaque areas hide it. With no mask, the layer covers the whole canvas.

Masks are how one image can carry several styles at once. On a portrait you might run one fill on the face, another on the hair, and a third on the background, each kept to its own area by a mask.

Creating masks

Four tools shape masks right on the canvas:

• Brush — paint mask areas by hand.
• Rectangle — clean rectangular or square regions.
• Ellipse — circular or oval regions.
• Freeform — custom outlines, with optional shape detection from the source image.

You can also import a mask from existing vector artwork if you already have the shapes you need.

How a mask behaves

A normal mask sets the drawing region and lets stroke ends run slightly past its edge. A sharp mask cuts straight through the strokes instead, and a smooth mask feathers their thickness at the boundary for a softer edge.

Switch on Mask Overlay for a layer and its mask reaches down: the area it protects gets hidden on every layer below it. That means one mask can fill one region with one style and leave the rest for another.

Masks and mesh

If a layer has a mesh, its mask picks up a Pinned option. A pinned mask moves with the mesh — when you move, rotate, resize, or distort the mesh, the mask goes with it.