Adobe Fireworks CS3 Tutorials
Pages/Layers/Masks / Working with Vector Masks
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Subtitles of the Movie (Adobe Fireworks CS3 / Pages/Layers/Masks / Working with Vector Masks)
In this movie, I demonstrate in more detail how to create and modify vector masks. If you've used other vector illustration applications like Adobe Illustrator, you're probably familiar with vector masks, which are often called clipping paths, or path insides. The vector masked object crops or clips the underlying objects to the shape of its path, creating a cookie cutter-like effect. I demonstrated several examples of these types of masks in the previous movies including one here where I took the letters of UTAH and I copied them, and then I go to my image and choose from the Main menu, Edit, Paste as Mask, don't resample, and I get this cookie cutter effect where I'm cutting out everything what's underneath the letters U, T, A, and H. Let's go back, however to, let's Undo that, and let's go back to a blank page here, and I have a shape that I drew with the Pen tool, and I can modify that shape, using the Sub-selection tool, which I covered earlier in this tutorial, to get kind of a complex shape like this. I can also copy this shape, go back to my bitmap photograph there and paste this as a mask, and what's different here, is notice that I can move these control points to reveal more or less of the underlying masked image including these Bezier curves here, I can modify those to create quite a sophisticated type of masked object here. I can also choose Modify, Mask, Disable Mask, and you'll notice that over here in the Layers panel, I still have this thumbnail. What's different in this case is I have a little pin tool there indicating that this is a vector mask, and I have a red X through the mask thumbnail indicating that that's disabled. Let's move that back in there. However, I can always go back, select the bitmap there, and choose Modify, Mask, and Enable the Mask, to see it again, and there is my little chain icon indicating that that mask is associated with this object there, and I have a little pin tool indicating that it is a vector mask. This bitmap label here refers to this photograph which is a bitmap. Now, by default, vector masks are applied using their path outlines; this is a very good example of that path outline. When you do create a vector mask, a mask thumbnail with a pin icon appears in the Layers panel to indicate you've created a vector mask. When the vector mask is selected, the Properties Inspector displays information about how the mask is applied, down here. Let's go back to my masked image, and then let's select that outline and notice that here, I have my mask outlines, path outline, or grayscale appearance. The grayscale appearance, again, as I demonstrated previously with bitmap masks, really changed the way the mask is applied. I also have an option here for Show Fill and Stroke. In this particular instance that doesn't do too much. Certainly the grayscale appearance does. I also have an Edge setting here, Anti-Alias, or Feather. There's my feather, kind of a nice effect there. And notice that when I select off of that path, my Properties Inspector changes, in this case it's selected the bitmap so I don't have those vector mask properties that I can change here in the Properties Inspector. Also notice if I take this bitmap and move it around, it doesn't change the mask position, it just changes the location of that mask image, in other words, I'm not showing through different portions of the image, I'm just moving what's visible around. However, you may have noticed this little blue star right there, and if I take the Selection tool, the Pointer tool, and move that, notice that I can move the photograph underneath that mask. That's probably a very good demonstration of just what the mask is doing. It's just poking through certain areas of the image below. So there's a little control point right there for moving the photograph underneath that mask. So there you have a demonstration of how to apply a vector mask and also how to use the various control points to modify that path outline, using the Sub-selection tool. So notice that I can modify this, and now let's copy it. Go to my image there, and let's do another Paste as Mask. This time Fireworks will ask me, A mask already exists. Do you want to replace the mask or add to the existing mask? Let's go ahead and add to it. And notice that I have a new shape there and I can again modify my shape. There's also that triangle there. If I choose the Selection tool, and click off the shape, and now pick the image when it goes blue I can now move the image beneath the mask there. Let me now move on to the next movie and demonstrate in more detail, some additional techniques for editing your image masks.
Tutorial Information
| Course: | Adobe Fireworks CS3 |
| Author: | James Gonzalez |
| SKU: | 33836 |
| ISBN: | 1-934743-42-9 |
| Release Date: | 2008-01-25 |
| Duration: | 8.5 hrs / 93 lessons |
| Work Files: |
Yes |
| Captions: | No |
| Compatibility: |
Vista/XP/2000, OS X, Linux QuickTime 7, Flash 8 |
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