In the Layers panel, make sure there is a white border around the layer mask thumbnail. How to fade or feather a layer mask. Now you want to click on the Mask that you have just created, and then go to Select > Select and Mask: Once this happens you’ll enter Select and Mask, which gives you a new load of settings to tinker with. Click on the "Add Layer Mask" icon. Feathering is mainly used to create a vignette effect on photos. Thanks to Quick Mask mode and the Gaussian Blur filter, we now have a live preview of the amount of feathering we're applying to our selection edges! SPARE Mask. This feature works the same in all recent versions of Adobe Photoshop: CS5, CS6, and Creative Cloud (CC). Contrast: Moving this slider makes the edge of the selection sharper and more defined. The feather slider will do exactly the same job as a gaussian blur on a mask but it can be adjusted anytime. If you have made a selection prior to adding a mask, this selection will be used as initial mask. Today i want to show you how cut out hair accurately. Step 2. So there we have it, two of the best techniques on how to feather in photoshop, especially Number 2 with the select and mask. The photo layer is selected and active: I'll grab my Elliptical Marquee Tool from the Tools panel by clicking and holding my mouse button down on the Rectangular Marquee Tool, then selecting the Elliptical Marquee Tool from the fly-out menu that appears: With the Elliptical Marquee Tool in hand, I'll drag out an elliptical selection outline around the area in the center of the photo that I want to keep: The Elliptical Marquee Tool, as with most of Photoshop's selection tools, draws hard edge selections, so to create my vignette effect, I'll need to soften the edges quite a bit. Here we show you some effective Photoshop tutorial with the easiest way How to Clipping Mask in Photoshop? Next, add a layer mask by clicking on the layer mask icon. In the example shown here, it was possible to create a feathered mask by adding a feathered edge to a selection when working in the masked portion of the layer. How to Make a Clipping Mask in Photoshop Step 1. But less about my skills as a Photoshop Wizard, we’re talking a newbie tutorial here. Double-click the Photoshop app icon, which resembles a blue icon with the letters "Ps," then click on File in the menu bar at the top of the screen and perform one of the following actions: Click Open... and then double-click a project to open an existing document. The Contrast slider controls by darkening the dark pixels and brightening the bright pixels.To see the results better, you can change the View mode to Black & White when adjusting this slider. If you realize that after spending so much time … The image will open in a new tab in photoshop. The transition between the fully visible and overlay-covered areas is now much softer, which means my selection edges are now softer: Now that we've softened our selection edges, we can switch out of Quick Mask mode and back into normal mode by clicking again on the Quick Mask icon at the bottom of the Tools panel or by pressing the letter Q on the keyboard: This brings us back to our standard selection outline, which again gives us no indication that we just feathered the selection in Quick Mask mode. Blur Edges Using Photoshop Feather Selection. You’ll first want to create a new project in Photoshop, or open an image you want to use as a background for your feathered image. Making selections is the first step in using Photoshop to isolate subjects and parts of images. The rest of the image is covered by the overlay because it was not part of my selection: Photoshop's Quick Mask mode doesn't just give us a different way to view selections. We have detailed ways to change the shape of the selection in the past, but you can actually modify your selection no matter what the shape is. Then, on the Properties panel, adjust the Feather slider as needed. Tip #3 View the mask overlay on canvas. So choose a background that you want your main image to blend into. I'll press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) on my keyboard to undo the feathering I applied a moment ago. First, open the image using Photoshop and create a new layer. This feature has been in Adobe Photoshop since i can remember, seriously. As we'll learn in this tutorial, there's a much better way to feather selections, one that isn't quite as obvious as the Feather command but is every bit as simple to use and has the added advantage of giving us a live preview of the result! Now that being said, there are most likely other ways, especially as newer versions of Photoshop are always introducing new features, but these techniques are tried and tested by many photoshop professionals on the web, and on Youtube also, so lets stick with what we know eh? Press it once to switch to Quick Mask mode, press it again to switch back to normal mode: In Quick Mask mode, the standard selection outline is replaced by a red overlay. Create a layer mask. The feathering is still there whether we can see it at the moment or not: The only remaining problem is that I currently have the wrong part of the image selected. Shift Edge: Sliding this in or out increases or decreases the diameter of the selection area set in Step2. Problem is, how we know what value to enter? To invert the selection, simply select the mask and press cmd/ctrl+i. The term “mask” isn’t immediately understandable to someone outside the realm of graphic design. Create two New Layers. Moderate: How to Feather in Photoshop using only part of an image When using selection tools (like a marquee, lasso, or regular selection tools) to ‘feather’ only a select portion of an image, it would seem that nothing actually happened. Increase the Mask Feather amount to 1.5, 1.5 pixels. Before we look at the better way to soften the edges, let's take a quick look at Photoshop's Feather command. You will see it softens the edge. Compositing, or making a new image by combining two or more images, is one of the foundations of the program. The option is found on any layer that can have a mask. Luckily for you guys, feathering in Photoshop is not particularly hard, and with the guidance of me, Eddy, you will be able to feather your way through the harshest of situations from here on. Free Icons Ready for some Free Icons? - YouTube Feather: Moving this in or out will increase or decrease the fade at the edges of the mask. This is simply done through the Feather tool. To apply a feather effect to your mask, simply click on the Masks tab (above the Layers tab) and adjust the Feather slider. The point of creating a layer mask is so that you can edit the edges of the … To disable, enable or delete the mask right click on the mask thumbnail. If not, consider a new feather radius and draw a new selection to try again. The edge of the neck and cheeks is too hard and abrupt, let’s soften it. Newer versions of Photoshop have a handy feature that lets you see and adjust the feathering of your selection in real time on a variety of backgrounds. If your mask still needs a bit more refining, click on the layer mask and use the paintbrush to continue refining any edges. Yes, these techniques are pretty much “evergreen” and won’t go out of fashion any time soon. (GUIDE), The Best Cheap Drawing Tablet with Screen, The Best Standalone Drawing Tablet for Beginners, The BEST Laptop For 4k Video Editing (2021 UPDATED), The Best Online Coding Courses & Training (UPDATED). We will use a powerful dodge & burn process to create a mask. It’s best to pick a simple image if you want to learn how photoshop smooth edges. Can I use these techniques in Photoshop CS6? Blur the overlay edges by dragging the Radius slider towards the right. Here it is using the actual shape and feather: Click the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette.. A layer mask is created in the image layer. The Feather Selection dialog box makes feathering the selection edges a guessing game. Today i want to show you how cut out hair without loosing any hair by Photoshop tool. If you’re happy with it, it’s time to add this selection to a layer mask! How to Get Smooth Edges Photoshop. The reason is that the standard selection outline only appears around pixels that are at least 50% selected. That's how to feather a selection in Photoshop, complete with a live preview of the results, using Quick Mask mode and the Gaussian Blur filter! You’ll be working in this tab now to feather the image. Now buckle up…because we’re in for one hell of a ride as we learn how to feather in photoshop. Simply select the eyes and then pull out the dark color to amplify the highlights. Home > Photoshop Basics > Photoshop Selection Tools > Feather With Quick Mask. Clicking the icon once switches us into Quick Mask mode. 3. To invert the colors of an existing layer mask, making white areas black … ... Make a selection around the giraffe on the background layer and add an inside feather to it. In case something goes wrong, use a life preserver! Still in Layer 0, click on the Add Layer Mask symbol at the bottom of the Layers panel. Knowing how to retouch an image in Adobe Photoshop CS6 means little if you don’t know how to make the retouching discreet. I would posit that until you thoroughly understand how and why to use masks, you simply don’t understand the power of Photoshop.The term “mask” isn’t immediately understandable to someone outside the realm of graphic design. Select a layer you want to blend in and click Add Mask button at the bottom of the Layers panel. You’ll first want to create a new project in Photoshop, or open an image you want to use as a background for your feathered image. You should now be able to see where you applied your feather effect. Position the pointer over the line dividing "Layer 1" and "Layer 2". For duplicate background, check on the top … Select the image's layer. How to mask Hair in Photoshop. Without further ado, let’s learn how to blur edges in Photoshop! From this tutorial, you will learn quickly about clipping masks in detail, create a layer, make a selection in layers, give a feather radius, transform, and move well in the image. I would like to create a soften effect between I then selected the car layer, made it visible again by clicking the eye icon, and added a layer mask by clicking the layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette. Once you create a layer mask, it is white. Download this tutorial as a print-ready PDF! Once you’re done, press ok. Below you can see the difference between the two images, with the newly edited one on the left being much more refined, smooth, and blended for the background; not just a sharply cut out element “plonked” onto the composition. Pictures with a uniform background are perfect for practising with the Refine Edge tool.. Keep away from images with busy backgrounds until you’ve got the hang of it.. I’ll use this photo to photoshop the smooth edges of the girl and remove the background. How to Refine Edges in Photoshop CC. It also lets us edit selections in ways that are not possible with the standard selection outline. If you made a selection, make sure the selection is still active with those … Making selections is the first step in using Photoshop to isolate subjects and parts of images. Then, on the Properties panel, adjust the Feather slider as needed. Create a photoshop file with two layers - one blank and the other containing the image to be made transparent. Step 1. Of course not — that isn’t discreet […] Select the Brush tool in the Toolbar. Then, using the Feather command, I applied a 100-pixel feather. How layer masks work in Photoshop. We need to adjust the pattern here, so it sits on the mask in a more organic way. What we need, then, is another way - a better way - to feather selection edges, and that way is with Photoshop's Quick Mask mode. It is the second symbol from the left. Step 2: Make a Selection. At the moment, the transition between the area covered by the overlay and the area not covered by the overlay is very sharp and abrupt, which means my selection still has hard edges. Click again on the Quick Mask icon to switch back to normal mode. Click to view larger image Hide the properties for the office_mask layer, and then choose File > Save to save your work. This will produce a hard-edged oval containing the selected portion of … Clicking the icon once switches us into Quick Mask mode. No more guess work needed because we can see exactly what's happening to the edges as we drag the slider: When you're happy with the way things looks, click OK to close out of the Gaussian Blur dialog box. The Layers panel showing the photo sitting above a white-filled background. What you want to do is go ahead and firstly change the view to On Black, which i find easier to see my selected image on. That's okay, though. Ok, so what you want to do is go ahead and Ctrl/Cmd + Click on your layer to select it, you’ll know you’ve done this correctly as you’ll see the marching ants selection around your image: From here, you want to go to Select > Modify > Feather. The first thing to do after you open the Photoshop application is to open your image. In Photoshop Elements you press the L key or click the Lasso icon to choose your lasso selection tool.. If you boost the color using curves to the CEO’s face, do you want it to look like a pancake has been attached to his cheek? It does not appear around pixels that are less than 50% selected. Now as you can see from the following settings, I increased the smoothness, the feather, and the contrast too to give the feather a more refined look. It should look like the preview below. Drag the feather slider slightly to the right if you want to soften the edge of the layer mask to blend … Photoshop refers to softening the edges of a selection as "feathering" the selection, and there are plenty of times when we need to feather our selection edges since not everything we need to select has edges that are sharp and clearly defined. Still in Layer 0, click on the Add Layer Mask symbol at the bottom of the Layers panel. In my case, what's the exact feathering value I need here to create an ideal transition between the selection and the white background behind it? To mask a layer, select it and then click the Layer mask button at the bottom of the Layers panel. I'll select the Gaussian Blur filter by going up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, then from there I'll choose Blur and then Gaussian Blur: This opens the Gaussian Blur dialog box. Unless Adobe change the way you can feather in photoshop, but I dont see that happening soon. We may be trying to select an object that's slightly out of focus in an image, causing its edges to appear soft and blurred, or we may be creating a vignette effect where our selection needs to transition smoothly and gradually into the surrounding background color. Global Refinements can smooth, feather, shift, or add Contrast to the Selection Edge. Sometimes you can press Select and Mask and the options do not appear, and this is because the properties panel isn’t open. Use the properties panel to control Density, Feathering and refine the Mask. In this case, we loaded it in as a Layer Mask. Step 5. This will deselect the area that was previously selected and select the area that was not previously selected, effectively swapping the selection: With the selection now inverted, I'll delete the area around the couple by pressing Backspace (Win) / Delete (Mac) on my keyboard, then I'll press Ctrl+D (Win) / Command+D (Mac) on my keyboard to quickly remove the selection outline from the document since we no longer need it. Layers are probably the single most important addition to Photoshop since the original version, but layer masks are a close second. Then, select the Feather … Choose Select→Modify→Feather; in the Feather dialog box that appears, enter 25 in the Feather Radius text field and click OK. Duplicate the original background layer. An elliptical selection outline has been drawn around the couple in the center of the photo. To add a non-destructive feather, select the desired layer mask on the Layers panel. Here, we can see the effect the Gaussian Blur filter had on my Quick Mask overlay. Once this is done, you’ll want to Ctrl/Cmd Click on your object again like we did earlier, and once again you’ll know because the marching ants show up around your object for the selection you’ve made. Mask. For example, we can run any of Photoshop's filters on the overlay! You can make your image smaller, bigger, adjust the zoom, etc. I would posit that until you thoroughly understand how and why to use masks, you simply don’t understand the power of Photoshop. Tip #4 Feather the mask. Yes, these techniques are pretty much “evergreen” and won’t go out of fashion any time soon. This will then “feather” your selection based on your settings, in this case, 3 Pixels, giving us a softer edge: While this effect does reduce the harshness of our selection, it still looks far from realistic, so as a finishing touch, I would select one of the default non-circular brushes, and using the Smudge Tool, on around 40% strength start smudging around the edges to create a realistic fur/feathering effect. In fact, it can give us a full preview of what our feathered edges look like. It is the second symbol from the left. The correct answer is, I have no idea. Here are steps on how to use the Feather Tool: From the Select Menu, choose the Modify button. The other controls let you control the shape etc. If an error message, say “No pixels are more than 50% selected,” click OK and create a larger selection. At its simplest definition a mask is You can use any selection tool, but in this case, we will use the lasso tool for the perfect selection of the eye. © 2021 Photoshop Essentials.com.For inspiration, not duplication.Site design by Steve Patterson.Photoshop is a trademark of Adobe Systems Inc. ; Click New... to create a new document, then add any images that you want to use. 2. Although this feature was in Photoshop CS5 (via the Masks panel), in Photoshop CS6 the Feather values support decimal places. The aim of this image was to make it seem somewhat-realistic, so sharp edges and all of that just would not look good at all, so feathering was a key thing to consider: Ok so let’s focus on the Bird. Whether you want to separate the stars from your deep-sky target, or apply subtle noise reduction to the background sky of your image, the select and mask … What we need, then, is another way - a better way - to feather selection edges, and that way is with Photoshop's Quick Mask mode. So basically, Photoshop is looking at us right now and saying "The most I can tell you is that any pixels inside the selection outline are at least 50% selected, and anything outside the selection outline is less than 50% selected. How to Use a Gradient Mask in Adobe Photoshop. However, it will make your image more natural & appealing. But you can avoid all this issue by using Photoshop clipping mask. Photoshop offers various tools for selecting a portion of an image. Our pattern has been applied to the mask, but it doesn't look very natural. I would like to know how to feather layers in photoshop. Clicking on this would open a properties box, which will have further editing options for you. Although this feature was in Photoshop CS5 (via the Masks panel), in Photoshop CS6 the Feather values support decimal places. Select a layer in the Layers panel. Then, I'll click on the Quick Mask icon at the very bottom of the Tools panel. Use the Output Settings to choose how the selection will show up in the document. The depth and opacity of the blending may be adjusted as well as the blending mode of the layer. To learn more about Photoshop's selection tools, see our How to make selections in Photoshop series. Here is a tutorial on how to create clipping masks using Photoshop CC 2017. Plus, using clipping masks is a good skill to have for more complicated projects in Photoshop. Here, you can feather the mask for a softer edge. In the properties panel, move the Feather slider up just a little bit. Hit the layer mask button. Press the backslash key \ to toggle mask overlay. Use a gradient mask in Photoshop to help blend one image into another. Before you start, you’ll want to make sure your properties panel is up, by going to Window > Properties. The Feather slider controls the blurriness of the edges.. All you need to do is press Ctrl/Cmd + D to deselect the selection, then you can move on to feathering something else in photoshop! I want to keep the area I've selected in the center of the image and delete the area around it, which means I'll first need to invert my selection by going up to the Select menu at the top of the screen and choosing Inverse. You will notice the mouse change to two overlapping circles. How to Feather in Photoshop. The Smooth slider controls the smoothness and the sharpness of the edges.. Basically create your shape, apply a layer mask to the shape creating the feather how you'd like using whatever tool you want. I remember using Photoshop 7 and I used this all the time to create feathered Graphics in various forums that I was a member of! 1.To select the mask click on the mask thumbnail on the image layer, you can then modify the mask with the paint or vector path selection tools. Let's get to learning how to create a mask in Photoshop! To make your cutout perfect, I bring an effective channel pull technique with dodging & burning & edge Refining. Creating Photoshop Clipping Mask. All you need to do is press Ctrl/Cmd + D to deselect the selection, then you can move on to feathering something else in photoshop! Contrast affects the BW contrast of the mask: Photoshop denotes this mode with a rectangle with a circle taken from the center, as shown below: Entering Quick Mask Mode overlays your photo in red. The selection outline doesn't look much different than it did before. Softer overlay edges mean softer selection edges. In Quick Mask mode, the red overlay indicates areas that are not selected. I wish I could be of more help.". This will produce a hard-edged oval containing the selected portion of … "Layer 2" will then clip into "Layer 1". I have found many masking Tutorial but there are many issue with the masking. I also shifted the edge (negatively) to further tighten things up a bit. This feature works the same in all recent versions of Adobe Photoshop: CS5, CS6, and Creative Cloud (CC). I did airbrush but could just as easily select your shape, feather it, then make layer mask. So choose a background that you want your main image to blend into. But the issue with a layer mask is it needs brushwork and feathering. Add black to a layer mask to conceal. I want to apply a vignette effect to this photo of a young couple: If we look in my Layers panel, we see that my photo is sitting on a layer that I've creatively named "Photo", and the photo layer is sitting above a white-filled "Background color" layer which will serve as the background for my vignette effect. If not, consider a new feather radius and draw a new selection to try again. White has no effect on the layer, painting with black will reveal the underlaying layer. In other words, they're not part of the selection. There are many hair masking method in Photoshop such as : Background Eraser Masking. Now, select the Marquee tool, either rectangular or elliptical. Feathering is mainly used to create a vignette effect on photos. There is a lot you can do with a selection in Adobe Photoshop CS5. The Quick Mask Mode . These techniques will work in every version of CC+ onwards. A white layer mask thumbnail appears on the selected layer, revealing everything on the selected layer. Get all of our Photoshop tutorials as PDFs. It just can't do it using the Feather command and the standard selection outline. Move the amount slider to the right which will produce a white feather. Click the Add layer mask button at the bottom of the Layers panel. Note: this works on the layer selected. I have a design with a bunch of photos mixed together. It's a good idea to rename it for ex. The depth and opacity of the blending may be adjusted as well as the blending mode of the layer. 2. Click the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette.. A layer mask is created in the image layer. In this tutorial in our series on making selections in Photoshop, we'll look at a great way to feather, or soften, selection outlines using Photoshop's Quick Mask mode! Photoshop offers a range of masks for editing images. How to Feather in Photoshop. I'll select the Feather command by going up to the Select menu in the Menu Bar along the top of the screen, then from there I'll choose Modify, and then Feather: This opens the Feather Selection dialog box where we can enter a Feather Radius value, in pixels, to specify the amount of feathering we want to apply to the selection edges. Select the office_mask layer in the Timeline panel, and press the F key to display the Mask Feather property for the mask. From here, you’ll want to add a Layer Mask by clicking this button in the layers Panel. We’ll be using the same project as an example. Many Photoshop users head straight to the Feather command under the Select menu in the Menu Bar (Select > Modify > Feather) when they need to soften a selection, but the Feather command has a serious drawback in that it gives us no way to preview what we're doing. Download this tutorial as a print-ready PDF! To add a non-destructive feather, select the desired layer mask on the Layers panel. Modifying Adobe Photoshop Layer and Vector Masks. The Select and Mask Tool in Photoshop CC is a powerful way to edit selective areas of your astrophotography images. Open or create a Photoshop file. As you drag the slider, you'll see the edges of the Quick Mask overlay begin to soften. Photoshop Essentials.com - Tutorials and training for Adobe Photoshop. All I can do is guess at a value. How to invert a layer mask. To apply a clipping mask, we need a group of a layer. Easy: How to Feather in Photoshop using the Entire Image. For the sake of this tutorial we will be using an image I created a while ago of a Big Ass Seagull on a beach. Layer mask can be "Refined". Press D on the keyboard to return your colors to the default black and white, then paint white for areas you want included in the mask, and black for areas outside the mask. Most of the results you can achieve using a mask look, at first instance, like they could be achieved with just editing the image in the normal way. The original image was cut out using the pen tool, so gave me some incredibly sharp edges to work with, but I needed to make them more natural looking.