Working with Masking Tools

Rebelle offers several ways of creating a mask on the layer: Clipping Mask, Layer Mask, Masking Fluid layer, Stencils and Selections:

Clipping Mask - Control the visibility of a layer using the content and transparency of another layer. To create a clipping mask, we need two layers. Add a clipping mask by right-clicking the top layer and selecting 'Add Clipping Mask'. The bottom layer controls the visibility of the layer above it. The bottom layer becomes the mask, and the layer above it is the layer that's clipped with the mask below.

In other words, any parts of the top layers that go beyond the edges of the bottom layer are masked:

Example of a clipping mask. Layer 1 with the dark blue painting stroke) is a clipping mask, Layer 2 with the green painting stroke is clipped to the mask.

Layer Mask - Use layer masks to control the transparency level of a layer. By default, when we first add a layer mask, the entire layer is fully visible. It's because the mask is filled with white. Layer masks use white to represent the areas of the layer that should remain 100% visible and black to represent areas that should be 100% transparent.

Example of a layer mask. The white circle on the mask determines the visible area of the original layer.

Video tutorial

Learn how to use clipping masks and layer masks in this video: Masking Layers, Clipping Masks.

To disable a layer mask, right-click the layer and uncheck 'Use Layer Mask'.

To prevent any unwanted changes to the position of the layer mask, right-click the layer and select 'Lock Layer Mask Position'.
To delete a layer mask, right-click the layer and select 'Delete Layer Mask'.

To apply the mask directly to the alpha of the layer, right-click the layer and select 'Apply Layer Mask'. Visually, nothing will change on the layer, the resulting alpha of the layer will be preserved, and the mask itself will be removed.

To copy the mask from the selected layer, select the layer mask and tap Ctrl+C (on Windows) or Cmd+C (on macOS) or right-click the layer and select 'Copy Layer Mask'.

To paste the mask to another layer, select the layer and tap Ctrl+V (on Windows) or Cmd+V (on macOS) or right-click the layer and select 'Paste Layer Mask'. The mask will be added to the selected layer. If another mask had been created for this layer, the new mask will replace it. You can also paste a clipboard image using the 'Paste Layer Mask' option - a mask will be created from this image.

Tip

With an active selection in the canvas, clicking "Add Layer Mask" will automatically create a mask in the shape of that selection.

Masking Fluid Layer in the Layers panel - Use masking fluid layer to lock opaque or transparent pixels on the selected layer. This layer will serve as a masking layer and will be marked with the letter "M". When painting on a new layer, all pixels will be masked by the 'Masking fluid layer'. This can be a quick and easy way of coloring sketches and images.

Tip

Masking Fluid Layer is useful for coloring images. Example: Paint or import any black & white image (clipart) into Layer 1. You can use the 'White to Alpha' filter from the 'Filter' menu if the image has no alpha channel. Add a new Layer 2. Set Layer 1 as a 'Mask Opaque' and add Layer 2. Use 'Wet the Layer' from the 'Layers' panel on Layer 2, so the layer will be completely wet. Then paint with watercolors on Layer 2, watercolor will diffuse in water, and Layer 1 will behave as a masking fluid. You can paint on Layer 1 too (unlock the layer), and repaint the masking borders.

Stencils - Stencils are tools used to place a particular pattern, shape or lines on the canvas. Stencil works like a thin sheet of card or plastic with a pattern or letters cut out of it used to produce the cut design on the surface below by applying paint through the cuts. Rebelle comes with default stencils that can be found under the Stencils panel. You can create custom stencils from an image file, from a layer or from a selection via the Stencils panel menu.

Selections - Selections are easy masking tools that allow you to block off areas of the canvas you do not wish to change. Once an area is selected, the operations you carry out are limited to that specific area. For example, if you select an area and paint, the paint will only be applied inside the selected area. You can also paint a selection using Freehand selection and create a stencil from it via the Stencils panel menu > Create Stencil from Selection. The new stencil will be automatically created and added to your 'Stencils' list.