using & creating clipping masks

Hi everyone, kl here! :D

Today i'm going to show you a quick and simple way to create and use clipping masks with your digital or scanned photos. It's an easy way to use shapes and digital brushes to add some extra dimension and it only takes a few minutes once you learn the basics.

For this tutorial i'll be using photoshop 7.0, a self created clipping mask, a picture of my little girl madison as well as a file folder element from Audrey Neal's file 13 digital kit available {{here}}.

step one : open a new document in photoshop and size accordingly. for this tutorial, i sized mine at 6x4 for a landscape view, but you can size larger or smaller depending on the size of your photo. i also set a resolution of 300 dpi as i prefer working with a larger resolution for photos and digital elements, which is standard for most digital work.

 

step two : dulpicate layer by right clicking in your layers tab {usually on the right of the ps desktop} and choosing duplicate. you can name this layer if desired, but i usually just click ok. then unclick the eye icon so this duplicate layer is invisible. this will help so you can move your layers around.

step three : fill your canvas with black color using the paint bucket tool.

step four : to create the pattern you can use two different techniques.

technique one : i used a simple dot brush to make a random pattern on my canvas. i used several different sizes so feel free to play and experiment.choose the magic wand tool and erase each dot so it becomes transparent in these areas. 

 

technique two : you could also use your eraser tool when using more complicated brushes, like flourishes and detailed images like the eiffel tower brush i created {{here}}. by layering the brushes you can create some amazing borders and effects.

step five : open your picture and size accordingly, again i'm using a landscape photo at 6x4 with a resolution of 300 dpi.

step six : we're going to drag our photo from it's canvas into our clipping mask canvas. choose the move tool and drag your photo by first left clicking onto the image and then hold the button down as you drag the image across and drop it into the clipping mask canvas. then unclick.

step seven : your canvas should now look similar to the picture below.

step eight : click on the photo and center it into your canvas as seen above. now check your layers palette on the right hand side {on the lower right in my screen shot} and make sure your image is the very top layer and that it is highlighted.

step nine : use the short cut key {{ctrl+g}} to clip the mask onto the image. this will create a cut out with whatever border and/or brushes you have used. you will also notice there is a little arrow  pointing down in the highlighted image layer on the right.

step ten : save your image. i always save my clipping mask images as .png files. this allows me to use them on my layouts and projects and keeps the transparent areas clear.

step eleven : your clipped image is complete as seen below.

you can also use a premade image, like this file folder element from audrey neal's file 13 digital kit. simply follow steps 5 - 11.

and again, a fun and simple way to alter your pictures for layouts, hybrid projects and even images you use in your blog posts.

you can also print out the full instructions in a pdf file {{here}}

feel free to post a comment here is you have any additional questions and i'll do my best to email you with any help i can offer.

Happy Monday!
xoxo
kl

 

Comments

[Diane Dolan]

I so, so, so need to learn how to do digi. I have Photoshop Elements, but I am at a loss as to how to use it to its fullest. I really want to make a point of working on this over the summer while I'm on summer break. I love what you did with your photo of Madison. Can't wait to start. Thanks for the inspiration.

Diane

[Traci (tracinicole)]

Someday I wanna learn this. Your examples look sooo cool!

[Wilna]

awesome tut!!!

[PetiteCheri]

Wow, very cool! Thanks KL!
Tricia

[Julie Ann Shahin]

Fabulous tutorial!

[Judy]

Thank you, I am trying to learn new things. I wanted to print this out, but the link does not work.