Using a Clipping Mask

October 14, 2007 | Filed Under Tutorials | 10 Comments 

You might be wondering just how you would go about playing around with a clipping mask (like the one that’s included in my Little Circle Tag freebie). Well, I’ve gone to the trouble of taking a few screen shots to show you just how I used these elements to make my sample tag. Here are my instructions. I hope you find them to be helpful!

How to Use a Clipping Mask:

1) First, begin by opening the .png file. Use the Marquee Tool (M) to draw a box around the circle to select it.

2) Next, we are going to move this mask to a new “Layer via Cut” which is quickly done with a keyboard command: CTRL+Shift+J.

3) Now, be sure to drag the mask layer down so that it is behind the metal tag. Align the two layers and open your patterned paper:

4) Using the Move Tool (V), drag your paper straight from it’s window into your tag file (nifty little trick, eh?). Position the paper layer to be between mask layer and the metal tag layer.

5) Now all you need to do is create a Clipping Mask (either by right clicking on the layer and selecting “Create Clipping Mask” or using the command CTRL+ALT+G or CTRL + G, depending on your program). Once you’ve done this, you’ll have a tag that looks like this:

That’s all there is to it! And it’s a handy trick to have in your tool box. Let me know if you have any questions! I’d be happy to help.