Lynda.com - Photoshop Masking & Compositing: Fundamentals

Photoshop Masking and Compositing: Fundamentals is the introductory installment of Deke McClelland's four-part series on making photorealistic compositions in Photoshop. The course shows how to make selections, refine the selections with masks, and then combine them in new ways, using layer effects, blend modes, and other techniques to create a single seamless piece of artwork. Deke introduces the Channels panel and the alpha channel, the key to masking and transparency in Photoshop; reviews the selection tools, including the Color Range tool , Quick Mask mode, and the Refine Edge command; and shows how to blend masked images so they interact naturally. Exercise files accompany the course.

Topics include:

* Setting up a workspace
* Working with the seven key selection tools
* Using the Color Range command
* Automating masking
* Matching a scene with Smart Filters
* Choosing the ideal base channel
* Converting a channel to a mask
* Painting with the Overlay and Soft Light modes
* Using History to regain a lost mask
* Working with the Calculations command
* Extracting a mask from a Smart Object
* Masking and compositing light
* Masking with black and white
* Working with path outlines
* Combining pixel and vector masks
* Creating and feathering a vector mask


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