PhotoPlus X2 User Guide - Serif

152 Layers and Masks
Masks and selections
Suffice it to say that a selection, which lets you isolate specific parts of the active
layer, often makes an ideal basis for a mask. Once you've created, modified, and
manipulated a selection, it's easy to turn it into a mask.
To create a mask from a selection:
1. Choose Mask>Add Mask from the Layers menu. Remember you can't create a
mask on a background layer!
2. To create a mask revealing the selected region, choose Reveal Selection from
the submenu. Pixels outside the selection will be 100% masked.
OR
To create a mask hiding the selected region, choose Hide Selection from the
submenu. Pixels outside the selection will be revealed.
You can also select part of an image to create a custom brush shape, for example a
textured brush or special shape.
Conversely, you can create a selection directly from the mask. Within the resulting
selection, pixels that are lighter on the mask (conferring more opacity) become
relatively more selected. This correlates with Paint to Select mode (see p. 52),
where painting in lighter tones also confers "selectedness."
To create a selection from a mask:
• Ctrl-click on the layer’s mask thumbnail, or select the mask preview
thumbnail and choose Create from Mask from the Select menu.