Make Your Own Clipping Mask
The more I digi-scrap, the more I love to use frames with my photos. But a lot of times, I’m not sure how to get my photos to fit in them without cutting, cropping and resizing… and finding the right dimensions can be time consuming! I wish everyone would be so nice as to include clipping masks with their goodies.
But I’ve found a way around this little annoyance, and I thought I’d share it with you!
How to Make Your Own Clipping Mask
1) Open your file with your tag or frame element.
2) Create a new layer and drag it behind your frame (Note: you may have to turn your tag or frame into a layer before you can move anything behind it).
3) Fill this new layer with black.
4) Select the Magic Wand tool (W). Be sure to check the box that says “Contiguous” and set the tolerance to zero. Select the area within the frame, like so:
5) Go to Select > Modify > Expand. Expand the selection by about 20 pixels.
6) Invert the selection (CTRL+Shift+I) and hit the delete key. This will delete the rest of the black area of this layer!
Now you are left with a clipping mask that’s just slightly larger than your frame or tag! Drag your photo or paper in between the two objects and clip it to the black layer. Now you can move your picture around until it’s in the perfect spot. This will also help you when you go to resize your pictures with the Transform tool. You can see how everything is aligned before you commit to the changes.
I hope you find this tip to be helpful! Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to send you an e-mail with an answer. One thing I can already tell you: I have CS2 and I don’t know a thing about Photoshop Elements. If anyone would like to leave a comment with the keyboard shortcuts for Elements, that would be much appreciated, I’m sure. Thanks!
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11 Responses to “Make Your Own Clipping Mask”
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Fabulous!! Thanks for the info and download.
Yep, I’ve been doing this for a little while too. And I use PSE 3. But I do it slightly different.
I click on the frame layer, then with the magic wand tool, I select the inside of the frame. Then I Select-Modify-Expand by 20 usually too. Then I create a layer and fill that layer with whatever color (it doesn’t matter). Then I drag this layer below the frame. Then I bring in my picture and Control-G to clip it to the new layer under the frame. Then I can resize and move around the pic until I get what I want to see.
So see, pretty much the same, just a little different. And yes you can easily do this in PSE. The hard part is when they have several frames together, then you have to create a layer for each opening and then clip each pic individually to them. But I am sure someone is having the “ah-ha moment” right now because of your tutorial!
Kim, thank you for your comment!
I don’t know if PSE has a “Cut to New Layer” feature (CTRL+Shift+J for me) but that’s what I do for multiple frames… just cut one of the masks to a new layer. Hope that helps!
Awesome tutorial, Nicole! Thanks so much!
You’re so clever at all this techy stuff – I’m so glad you found the Shanty and joined the digi team. Thanks for the freebie
Wow. I am new to all this, I use PSE5. I went and experimented and here is what I did, just slightly different than above.
– opened the element, used magic wand to choose inside the frame
- select/ layer/ modify, 25 pixels (20 wasn’t quite enough) leave as is
- then, layer/new
- I then filled the new layer (on top of the element) with black and it was only the size of my selection on the frame layer
- then I dragged the new mask layer behind the frame.
Amazing – thanks again!
Well I am totally lost. I just have a trial of PSE 3 and I can’t even get my toolbar sorted out much less clip anything to anything but I saved this and I am sure eventually I will find my way. ANd I haven’t even seen a magic wand either……………lol But thank you I am gleening every scrap of information about Photoshop I can find.
Well I am totally lost. I just have a trial of PSE 3 and I can’t even get my toolbar sorted out much less clip anything to anything but I saved this and I am sure eventually I will find my way. ANd I haven’t even seen a magic wand either……………lol But thank you I am gleaning every scrap of information about Photoshop I can find.
For what it’s worth, I do something similar in Paint Shop Pro – select the area with the magic wand, expand a few pixels. Make the picture the active layer and invert selection, delete, merge visible. You just have to make sure you have the picture where you want it, first! Honestly, I’ve done this so much that it’s just second nature and I really had to think about it to write it down.
This is just cool! Thank you so much. I have PSE 6 and it works fine. I had to make sure I had the right layer selected at each point. That might be worth adding – when to switch layer selections. I am so saving this.
Thank you so much for posting this tutorial. This will be so much easier than erasing like I have been doing.