How to Mask Layers in Photoshop

We are going to do a two level mask, one straight mask and one transparent one, separating two elements of the background layer in front of the text. Doing the straight mask first, lower the opacity level of your text layer using the blend properties (right click on layer, choose Blending Options, slide the Opacity level to 50%).

Now just using a hard edged eraser, select the text layer and delete the text where you want elements of the background layer to show through, in this case the hand and rod. Once you are done erasing, increase the Opacity level back to 100% and you can see how the hand shows through, pushing the main character into the foreground, even though all you have really done is delete a small portion of the text.

For the transparent layer mask, duplicate the layer you have just altered, and again hide the original layer, you’ll be using it again shortly. Lower the opacity level of your visible text layer again using the blend properties again. Select your visible text layer and using the eraser delete the elements of the background element you want to be transparent, in this case the energy around the rod the character is holding. As the energy has some quite small jagged edges, you may want to zoom in and adjust the size of the eraser tool to get it just right.

Bring the Opacity of this layer back up to 100%, this should now show a clear mask of all the elements you have deleted. Unhide the layer where you only masked the hand, and reduce the opacity to 30% and you will see the energy become a transparent mask while the hand remains fully masked, as you can see in the example. If the masked area is clearly defined, you may be able to save time using the magic wand tool, but zooming in and manually erasing is not time consuming and guarantees you mask all the correct areas.

This method can of course be applied to as many layers as you like adding different levels of transparency to different elements, and works just as well on photos as it does on illustration. Try combining different images and using this method to place objects in front of and behind each other, the results can be amazing!

[Images via Russ Payne]