Masking Adjustment & Live Filter Layers (Affinity Photo)

[@robwarner1858]

Your voice is so solid and your diction so perfect you sound like a radio broadcaster.

[@tucsondavehayes]

Another example of your ability to present a complex subject in the most understandable manner. I will have to view it a few more times and practice using masking in their manner on my own photos. Wonderful tutorial, as usual!

[@billboswell4509]

Excellent explanation and clearly presented.

[@javierrivero7]

I congratulate you for the new tutorials where the image of the person who is explaining does not appear, since this image distracts and covers part of the program's interface. Congratulations!

[@LV4EVR]

LOVE the work you all are doing. Affinity is definitely getting much better! Still have some basic workflow issues to address, but making great strides.

[@SBGGCA]

Thanks for this. I was just trying to figure this out yesterday. Your videos are always helpful (and often over my head). 🙂

[@smiffy5467]

James your a life saver, this was something I’ve been wanting to work out for awhile… Keep up the good work 👍🇬🇧

[@PhilWilkinsonMusic]

Great App! I just migrated from PS. Really impressed with Affinity photo.

[@levelb6299]

As God is my witness, this is one of your best efforts. Thank you.

[@tomaswilde5481]

Thank you so much !! As usual, easy to understand and apply.

[@elizabethrussell4858]

This is a great information to use, thanks James.

[@windmilljohn]

Fantastic, fantastic. Many thanks for this video. Masks were the one area I was a little confused, coming from many years with Photoshop. As mentioned above, still a little baffled by the gradient tool if you want to use it as a graduated neutral density filter. What I have been doing is popping back into the Develop Persona and using that one. Not sure if degrades image quality keep popping back and forth to the different Persona; shouldn’t do.

[@JamesRitson]

Hey John, you can just use the Gradient Tool directly on an adjustment/filter layer or a mask layer: select the tool (G), then click-drag to draw out the gradient and you'll see the mask effect straight away. However, you can take this a step further and use a Fill layer which gives you a completely non-destructive gradient mask (using the gradient tool creates a 'raster' gradient which cannot be edited once you switch to a different tool). To do this, you can use the following steps: 1. Layer>New Fill Layer. 2. The Gradient Tool will automatically be selected. Draw out your desired gradient. 3. With the black gradient stop selected (it should be by default), change Opacity on the Colour panel to 0%. Using black by itself won't register once the Fill layer is used as a mask: it works off Opacity instead. 4. On the Layers panel, drag this Fill layer onto the thumbnail of the layer you want to mask (e.g. an adjustment layer, pixel layer, live filter layer). Hope that helps!

[@windmilljohn]

Thanks James, when I grab my laptop, I’ll take a look.

[@windmilljohn]

Hi James, your first paragraph worked perfectly for my needs. I couldn’t get the second example to work, I ended up with a faded out picture. Not to worry, the first part gave me my needs. Thank you.

[@davidbuttrick5400]

I have Affinity Photo 2, and I tried following this tutorial, and none of the examples work the same way. After I make the curves adjustment, and I choose invert from the Layers menu, nothing happens.

[@JulesMoyaert_photo]

Thank you!

[@cerenademe9433]

How do I get white for the brush at 1:32 ? I don't have the color picker below the zoom tool as you do.

[@jobz9150]

You can press X on your keyboard to toggle between black and white.

[@Upal_Chatterji]

this was extremely useful

[@smiffy5467]

Can this also be achieved in the iPad version James?

[@juurstudio]

Automatic masks are all well and good but the Channels panel is still quite confusing. Perhaps a longer video to explain the logic of the Channels panel properly and its different use cases.

[@uzeyourillusion]

Hi James, when I invert the layer @ 1:04, the layer inverts but I do not get the black mask. I only get the black mask if I start painting. Do I have a setting wrong here ? Plus I have white band top and bottom on the mask. It is not a solid black mask like yours ? Cheers

[@jamescorton6288]

I think that's one of the changes in AP 2. The mask is there but only shows up once it is activated by painting.

[@meganynt]

Does it work the same on iPad?

[@JohnCollins-iy1pw]

Why are my channels showing both composite and back ground channels,where your's shows only composite?

[@johnpnj]

I'm having an issue. In Photoshop - I can create a feathered white border around a picture by adding a solid color layer (white) - above my picture, then using a rectangle marquis tool to create a small border around the picture, then apply a mask with that selection and inverting it. Then I would have my feathered border. How can I do something similar in Affinity Photo 2? I don't see an invert mask option anywhere.

[@JamesRitson]

Hi John, you can either invert the selection or the created mask layer. To invert the selection (before masking), use the top menu Select>Invert Pixel Selection. To invert the mask, make sure it's selected then use Layer>Invert (or CMD+I / Ctrl+I). PS for your white border, try using a Fill layer (Layer>New Fill Layer). This keeps it as a non-destructive vector layer which actually has its own mask: so you could for example make your marquee selection first, invert it, then use New Fill Layer and the layer's alpha channel will mask to that selection. This is quicker with fewer steps. Alternatively, here's a creative solution for you that will let you be completely non-destructive and alter the shape of the mask at any time: 1. Create a Fill Layer and make it whatever colour you want the border to be 2. Drag out a quick shape (e.g. Rectangle Tool) and draw it across the area you want to show through. You can use Snapping (magnet icon, top toolbar) to line it up to the centre of the image 3. On the Layers Panel, drag the quick shape onto the text (NOT the thumbnail) of the Fill Layer and release the mouse button. This clips it inside (or, in our terminology, child layers it) 4. Set the quick shape's blend mode to Erase. It will knock out the fill wherever the shape renders, giving you the border effect 5. The benefit is that you can now adjust the shape at any time for a 'live' border mask, e.g. make it thinner or thicker Hope the above helps!

[@johnpnj]

@@JamesRitson this is awesome - thank you very much for your detailed instructions!

[@Charleston1956]

Great! Thank you!

[@TheHornoxx]

...prima! (I am unable to change the selection brush radius by using the bracket buttons - could someone please help me with this?)

[@mike_qbik]

is there simple select object by one click option? is there mask in one click option?

[@pawl_s]

No, no AI supported masking is available. Unfortunately.

[@gemini1noe]

Dieses Video würde ich gerne auf deutsch sehen.

[@Abhishekkumar-gw4wr]

Without Automatic Remove Background Feature All Photo Editing Software Useless... This time is Ai and affinity have no ability any Ai tool... this is Large downfall time for afinity Photo without Ai tool