In the first part of this Tutorial I'm going to explain how to use one of Photoshop's most feared and misunderstood tools to create and work with Complex Layer Masks.The PEN TOOL is the master of drawing flawless outlines, and in particular, curved lines. It is a difficult tool to control, but once you get the hang of it I promise you'll rarely go back to painting Layer Masks by hand. It gives an extraordinarily smooth edge to your Masks and can make all the difference in making your work look professional. Although this Tutorial deals with fairly complex shapes, the technique can be applied to just about every Layer Mask you will create in the future. We'll also have a quick look at how to make your Layer Masks more effective.
1. OK - in this image you can see I've pasted together my two basic photographs onto separate layers. I'm going to work these two images together in exactly the same way that I did when I created PORTAL for the FX "Dream Worlds" contest. I have the 'Layers' Palette and 'Paths' Palette open, just to make things easier when we're flipping about the various elements we'll be working with.
2. First, I hide the background layer by clicking to turn it off within the Layers Palette. This is so you won't be confused by underlying details when it comes to making your first Pen Path on the 'Base Aircraft' Layer. With that done, it's time to begin, so I select the Pen Tool and get to work. I want to create a futuristic flying vehicle, so that's the shape I'm going to draw - I will follow the contours of the aircraft to pick out the shape of what will become my Layer Mask, hiding some of the aircraft to create a new vehicle.[Edited by User on 3/11/2011 1:29:16 PM]
3. So, with my Pen Tool selected, I click where I want to begin the shape of my spacecraft. With this first point plotted on the image, you can see in the 'Paths' Palette a little pop up appears called 'Work Path'. As I add points to my shape, this window will record each point I make on the main image. Next, I click AND HOLD where I want the line of the path to travel to. Holding the mouse button down as you click the second point gives control of the curve of the line, and as I move the mouse I am able to make the curve more or less pronounced - until it fits the contour of the aircraft. With the second click done, you can see this has made three points - the middle one is the 'anchored' point (the finishing point of the line) and the other two are 'handles' to control the shape of the curve.
[Edited by User on 3/11/2011 1:29:41 PM]
4. This is the point where people run into trouble with the Pen Tool. What I want to do is plot another point and curve to follow the natural shape of the nose cone, but what happens if I do that? The third point I plot will try to follow the outward 'handle' in the direction I am going. This is fine here; but when using two handles to make my curve, Photoshop is trying to work out the best possible curved path for me. I need more control over my path, so what I do is 'ALT' click on the Middle anchor point. This cuts out the 'third' directional handle and makes my middle anchor point a new starting point within the Path.
[Edited by User on 3/11/2011 1:30:10 PM]
5. I repeat the process - click and hold on a new end point, and pull the curve into the desired shape. Once I get the curve down, I ALT click on the middle point to cut the path and make a new start point. I keep this up until I have a complete shape for my spacecraft. I close the path by making my last point on the path the same one as the first point, thereby making a complete shape. Note in the 'PATHS' palette, a miniature version of my complete path is visible. I want to save the path in case I need it in the future, so I give the path a name and save it, by clicking onto the sub menu in the Paths Palette. This also means the path can be switched on and off whenever I need it - if it's highlighted (blue) it's active, but it's very important to note - Saved Paths become active on whatever Layer is also active at the time.
[Edited by User on 3/11/2011 1:30:32 PM]
6. Now I have my basic Path completed, it's time to make my Layer Mask. I make sure I'm working on the correct Layer - the one I want to mask is the basic aircraft, so I click on the Layers Palette to activate it. My Path is highlighted too, so what I want to do is make the path an active selection. I do this by going into the Paths Sub Menu again, and mousing down to 'Make Selection'. This will convert my Path to a selected area of the Active Layer. I also get the option of feathering the selection, but it's not important here so I leave the feather at the minimum setting. Note that by default, the Path becomes inactive at this point, although remains visible in the Paths Palette.
[Edited by User on 3/11/2011 1:30:52 PM]
7. Now I go to the Layers Palette and click the 'Add Layer Mask' button. This creates the Mask around the selected area.
Next, I reactivate the 'Landscape' Layer and see where we are...
8. ...and that's the basics of creating complex masks using the Pen Tool to draw outlines. However, there is one more tip I can give to make your mask just a bit more refined. In the example above, although the edges are smooth enough, we need to make them pick up just a touch of the underlying background layer to make the blend a little more seamless. So, now I select the Mask itself within the 'Layers' Palette and apply a Gaussian Blur of about 2 - 2.5 to it, giving a little opacity to its edges.
[Edited by User on 3/11/2011 1:32:17 PM]
9. Still with the Layer Mask selected, I apply a 'Level Adjustment to it, taking the black slider down to just past the middle of the scale. This tightens up the mask while still picking up some of the underlying background, just for that nice touch of added realism.
10. As you can see, it's pretty rough and ready, and will require a lot of additional work in Photoshop to get it up to scratch, but that's a different tutorial!In PART TWO of the tutorial I'll show you how the above information can be used to create amazing complex shapes, effects and more!Good luck with your work, and I hope this helps you produce some stunning images.[Edited by User on 3/11/2011 1:32:52 PM]