FIREWORKS4 Mask Full Contact

Mask

Fireworks masks are a useful graphical approach. Using masks you can make the light and shade effects you want to achieve for each object; You can easily change the color of a colored bitmap picture to the same color; You can also fill a different pattern color inside the text ... Fireworks 4.0 strengthens support for masking technology, making it easy to create colorful matte effects on the right occasions. Here are some of the following.

　　Basic concepts of masks

　　Several ways to create an image mask

Several ways to create a path mask

Make Matte effects from clipboard

Using Masks for multiple objects

To edit the mask

　　First, the basic concept of mask

1.1 First to understand a few basic concepts. What is a mask object, masked object, and mask graphic.

1. Mask object: In the mask, we refer to the object used for the mask as the Mask object. The Mask object is above the masked object.

2. Masked object: In the mask, we call the masked object the Masked object. The Masked object is under the Mask object.

3. Mask graphics: The shape of a mask is called a matte graphic.

Both vector and bitmap graphics can be masked objects or masked objects, and masked objects and masked objects can consist of multiple objects.

1. 2 Categories of Masks:

There are many ways to create a mask, but the final mask has only two categories: image masks and path masks

1, Image mask: Image mask is generally in the image editing mode. You can use the bitmap drawing tool to create a matte on the canvas, or you can select a bitmap image as a mask object and a masked object, using a mask command directly against them.

The following figure is the display state of the object panel when the image is masked

Image masks can be divided into "alpha Channel" (alpha channel) and "Grayscale appearance" (Grayscale appearance)

(1) In the image mask the role of the alpha channel is the current bitmap image as a full black picture, the object under the mask, you can clearly reflect the object below.

(2) In an image mask, a grayscale appearance is based on the grayscale of the mask image itself as the alpha channel for the object under it. The effect is similar to the function of the layer channel in Photoshop.

2. Path Mask: Path masks are typically done in object-editing mode, using vector objects or literal objects and masked objects to form masked graphics. The role of a path mask is to define the display area of its bottom object based on the path outline that is the mask.

A path mask can be divided into "path Outline" (Path Contour) and "grayscale appearance" (Grayscale appearance)

(1) "Path contour" Mask: Masks by the path of the Mask object, at which time the masked object is displayed in the path area of the Mask object. Select the path Outline option in the object panel to enter the path contour mask, and check the show fill and Stroke (Display stroke and fill) options below to display the stroke and fill effects of the matte object. Areas outside the Mask object path will be obscured and not displayed.

(2) "Gray-level appearance" masks: the matte image depends on the bright relationship between the Mask object and the background color, the black color portion of the matte object, the bottom masked object to be fully displayed, the white color part of the Mask object, and the bottom masked object becomes a transparent color. A gradient between black and white can provide varying degrees of transparency.

Several methods of creating image masking

　　1. Use the menu command Modify->mask->group as Mask

(1) First select the Shading object, if the object is vector graphics, you can use the menu Modify>convert to Bitmap, so that the vector graphics into bitmap format. A masked object can be either a bitmap image or a vector graphic, and one thing to remember is that the color of the Masked object determines the overall color of the shading graphic based on the light and dark relationships between the shading object and the background color.

(2) The object must be on the top of the Masked object, select all two objects, and use the menu command Modify>mask>group as mask. This time the mask is complete.

When you click on the mask with the mouse, a circle of blue paths will show up, move the mouse to the center of the shaded graphic (there is a Blue cross), at which point the mouse will be black-colored solid mouse into White hollow mouse, you can press the mouse on the object to be shaded the position of drag, When you feel the right place, you can release the mouse.

If the object being obscured is a vector graphic, you can also select the Masked object in the Layers (layer) panel, and then change the color of the vector graphic fill by the fill Color in the tool panel, at which point the color of the entire shading graphic will be changed. Look at the picture below.

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　　2, use the layer board to make the image mask

(1) using the mouse to select a bitmap image as a mask object, and then open the Layers (layer) panel. If you do not currently have this panel, you can use the menu command window>layers or press the default shortcut F2 key to open the layers panel.

(2) Click the Add Mask (add Mask) button below the layer panel. At this point, pay attention to the changes in the layer panel, the mask has been produced, look at the yellow color highlighted area. The canvas is now transferred from the original object-editing mode to the image-editing mode.

(3) You can then use the Bitmap drawing tool to draw the Mask object. Different masking methods are used with different bitmap drawing tools. If you use a rectangle, ellipse, eraser, and other tools, the extent of the mask is related to the selection of the fill color, while the use of brushes, lines, pencils and other tools, the extent of the mask is not the choice of fill color, and the thickness and color of the stroke.

The mask is made in this way, and the fill color of the Mask object defaults to white, at which point the white part masks a portion of the image in the bitmap image. If the fill color is black, it will not produce any effect, but if superimposed on the white color swatch or other color block, you can remove the object to display. Colors produced in addition to the Black-and-white color are based on the color's own grayscale as the object's alpha channel, to produce a different mask degree.

(4) Complete mask image, exit image edit mode, mask image automatically becomes independent object.

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　　3. Create an empty mask

FIREWORKS4 the newly added two masks command reveal all and hide all, located in the menu Modify>mask. Use these two commands to add a full space mask to the selected object. The Reveal All command adds an empty full mask to display all the masked objects. The Hide All command adds an empty full mask, so that the object is all obscured.

The empty mask command is primarily used in image-editing mode, which can be either a bitmap or a vector graphic.

(1) using the reveal all command

(a) Create a masked object.

(b) When the masked object is in the selected state, use the menu command modify>mask>reveal all to create a full through empty mask. When the canvas automatically enters image-editing mode, the current mask object block in the Layers panel is highlighted in yellow, and you can notice that the mask block is empty and is a hollow mask.

(c) Select the Bitmap drawing tool to draw a matte image on the masked object. Different masking methods are used with different bitmap drawing tools. If you use a rectangle, ellipse, eraser, and other tools, the extent of the mask is related to the selection of the fill color, while the use of brushes, lines, pencils and other tools, the extent of the mask is not the choice of fill color, and the thickness and color of the stroke.

The mask is made in this way, and the fill color of the Mask object defaults to white, at which point the white part masks a portion of the image in the bitmap image. If the fill color is black, it will not produce any effect, but if superimposed on the white color swatch or other color block, you can remove the object to display. Colors produced in addition to the Black-and-white color are based on the color's own grayscale as the object's alpha channel, to produce a different mask degree.

(d) Complete the mask image, exit image editing mode, and mask the image as a separate object.

(2) using the Hide All command

(a) Create a masked object

(b) When the masked object is in the selected state, use the menu command modify>mask>hide all to create a full matte mask. When the canvas automatically enters image-editing mode and the current mask object block in the Layers panel is highlighted in yellow, you can notice that the mask block is a fully white matte block. The visible cover was also invisible.

(c) Select the Bitmap drawing tool to draw a matte image on the masked object.

The Fill or stroke color selection you make at this point is the opposite of the reveal all command. Filling with a black color will clearly show the area of the mask underneath the color block. If the fill color is white, it will not produce any effect, but if superimposed on the black color color block or other color blocks, you can hide the displayed object again. The color produced by a color other than black and white is based on the grayscale of the color itself as the alpha channel of the masked object, resulting in a different matte level.

(d) Complete the mask image, exit bitmap edit mode, and the mask image automatically becomes a separate object.

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　　　4. Show or hide the selected image area

The Reveal selection command and the Hide Selection command are also FIREWORSK4 newly added mask commands. is located in the menu Modify>mask. The Reveal selection and hide selection commands mask or mask the selected area respectively.

The biggest difference between these two commands and the reveal all and hide all commands is that the masked objects of these two commands can only be bitmap graphics, while the masked objects of the two commands of the reveal all and hide all commands may be bitmap graphics or vector graphics.

(1) Revel selection command

(a) Create or import a masked object. If the object is a vector graphics Command menu command modify> Convert to Bitmap, converts the object to a bitmap.

(b) Select the Circle tool (rectangular circle tool or circular circle tool) or lasso tool in the tool panel (at this point, automatically from object-editing mode to image-editing mode) and select a certain area in the bitmap graphic.

(c) Complete the mask for the selected area using the menu Modify-> Mask-> Reveal Selection command. At this point, only a portion of the selection is displayed, and no other selected shapes are visible.

(d) Complete the mask image, exit image editing mode, and mask the image as a separate object.

(2) Hide selection command

(a) Create or import a masked object. If the object is a vector graphics Command menu command modify> Convert to Bitmap, converts the object to a bitmap.

(b) Select the Circle tool (rectangular circle tool or circular circle tool) or lasso tool in the tool panel (at this point, automatically from object-editing mode to image-editing mode) and select a certain area in the bitmap graphic.

(c) Complete the mask for the selected area using the menu Modify-> Mask-> Hide Selection command. Some of the shapes in the selection are not displayed (as in the background color), and other shapes that are not selected can still be seen.

(d) Complete the mask image, exit image editing mode, and mask the image as a separate object.

three ways to create a path mask

The role of a path mask is to define the display area of its bottom object based on the path outline that is the mask. The Mask object of the path mask is either an open path or a closed path or a literal object. The masked object can be either a vector graphic or a bitmap graphic.

　　1. Use the menu command Modify->mask->group as Mask

(1) Create masked objects and masked objects, octagonal and blue-colored circles in the following figure.

(2) The blue color of the circle on top of the octagonal, respectively, the menu command Modify>align>center vertical and modify>align>center horizontal, so that the center point of the two objects aligned.

(3) Use menu command Modify>mask>group as Mask finish mask

As with the image Mask command, when you click on the mask graph with the mouse, a circle of Blue path will be displayed, move the mouse to the center of the Mask (there is a Blue cross), at this point, the mouse will be black-colored solid mouse into White hollow mouse, At this point you can press the mouse on the Masked object to drag the position, feel the appropriate position, you can release the mouse.

　　2. Make a mask on the text

(1) Import a bitmap picture as a masked object (that is, a picture filled with text). With the text tool in the Tools panel, open the text editor to enter the text you actually need.

(2) Move the text to the top of the graph, select all two objects. Complete the Mask using the menu command Modify->mask->group as mask.

(3) If the position of the mask is not right, you can use the mouse to select the mask graphic, when the mask is surrounded by a blue-colored path, you move the mouse pointer to the center of the Blue Cross symbol place. Use the left mouse button to press and hold this Blue Cross type, and drag the masked bitmap graphic until you are satisfied with the image.

　　3. Color Gradient Mask

The usual fireworks pictures have three 8-bit channels--red, green, and blue--to form 24-bit RGB images. When you add a 8-bit grayscale channel to describe the transparency, you get a 32-bit picture.

The value of each pixel on the Alpha mask is between 0 and 255, specifying the degree of transparency, indicating the degree of transparency from full occlusion (black or 0) to full transparency (white or 255). The middle gray value can be imagined as translucent. Fireworks will determine the opacity of the underlying pixels in the mask group by the value of each pixel on the mask, and decide how to mix the pixels with the background element.

A mask object that is a vector that is black to white and masked objects. The Mask object is converted to grayscale and acts as an alpha mask. is the black color part, the following mask object will be completely blocked. Is the part of the white color, and the following objects will be completely penetrated. As a result, the shaded graph shown has a gradient that transitions from opacity to transparency.

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Make Mask effect through clipboard

Fireworks makes it easy to make a matte effect by using the Clipboard, and the objects on the Clipboard can be masked objects, as well as masked objects, but with different commands. The way to create a mask by clipping a panel is to facilitate the use of external objects to create a mask ... for example, just when you cut or copy an object (which can be graphics or text) to the Clipboard in another application that supports the Clipboard, you can easily apply it to the masked object or mask object of fireworks. Greatly improve the work efficiency.

1, the object in the Clipboard as a mask object to create a matte effect

(1) Create an object as a masked object (can be bitmap graphics or vector graphics or text)

(2) Select one of the steps in the following operation

Then create an object (either a bitmap graphic or a vector graphic or text), and then press Ctrl+x (cut). The object is saved on the Clipboard at this time.

Cut or copy an object to the Clipboard from another application that supports the Clipboard

(3) Select the Masked object with the mouse tool.

(4) Use menu commands edit-> Paste as Mask or Modify-> Mask-> Paste as Mask to form a mask. These two commands function exactly the same.

At this point, the object in the Clipboard automatically becomes a mask object that masks the masked object.

2, the object in the Clipboard as a masked object to create a matte effect

(1) Create an object as a mask object (it can be a bitmap graphic or a vector graphic or text)

(2) Select one of the steps in the following operation

Create an object (either a bitmap graphic or a vector graphic or text), and then press Ctrl+x (cut). The Mask object is saved on the Clipboard at this time.

Cut or copy an object to the Clipboard from another application that supports the Clipboard

(3) Select the Mask object with the mouse tool.

(4) Use menu command edit-> Paste Inside.

At this point, the object in the Clipboard automatically becomes the masked object appearing inside the current mask object.

Use Masks for multiple objects

The most common command for using masks for multiple objects is the menu command Modify>mask>group as Mask. More than one object can be either a mask object or a masked object at the same time.

1, multiple objects are masked objects at the same time.

The topmost image in the order of multiple objects is the Mask object, and the remaining objects are automatically masked objects.

(1) Create three vector objects, the top is a purple-red circle, followed by a yellow-colored multi-angle, the bottom is the green color of the rounded rectangle. Of course, you can draw the graphics you want according to your actual needs, using a bitmap image as the top-level can also, but at this point, the actual function of the bitmap object is only a giant outline. Look at the layers (layer) panel below, which clearly shows the upper and lower order of these three objects.

(2) Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the three objects to make them all selected. Then use the menu command Modify>mask>group as Mask. Create a multi-object mask.

(3) The mask graph has been formed at this time. As we can see in the Layers panel, the mask object is the topmost circle of the selected objects, and the Masked object is the following multiple-angle and rounded rectangle.

The Group as Mask default vector mask is "grayscale appearance" (Grayscale appearance). You can adjust to the path Outline by clicking on the Mask object in the Layers (layer) panel, and using the path contour, because of the alpha channel relationship, the color will be the same as the "grayscale appearance" There are some differences in the way (gray level appearance)

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　2, more than one object as a mask object.

You can combine multiple objects into one group for the masked object below.

(1) Create multiple objects, hold down the SHIFT key, and click on each of these objects so that they are all selected. Then select the menu command Modify>group. Make these several objects a group.

(2) Create and select a Mask object (the masked object must be positioned below the mask object)

(3) Both the Masked object and the Mask object group are selected. Complete the object group matte using the menu command Modify>mask>group as Mask.
At this point I think you should be able to tell the difference between the two kinds of masks.

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Vi. Editing The Mask

So many ways to make masks, there are bitmaps, vector graphics, and so on, but how to edit the mask, when you want to temporarily remove the mask and how to operate it, you want to keep the mask effect, but do not want it is masking graphics and how to deal with it. Don't worry, we'll focus on solving these problems for you below.

1. Edit Mask object and Masked object

Open the Layers (layer) panel we can clearly observe the mask object and the Masked object. The object before the link symbol is called the Masked object. The object behind the link symbol is called a mask object.

(1) Edit the Masked object of vector graphics
You can click the Masked object in the Layers (layer) panel with your mouse, and the masked object will be highlighted by a circle of blue-colored paths. You can use the Rotation tool to make a variety of this vector graphics, you can change the vector graphics color and fill, or add modify stroke effect, you can use the effect panel to add a variety of real-time effects.

(2) Edit the Masked object of a bitmap graphic
Click the Masked object in the Layers (layer) panel with your mouse. The masked object of a bitmap graphic is surrounded by a circle of blue and black stripes, at which point you can edit the bitmap object using the Bitmap tool, and the resulting pattern is automatically added to the original bitmap image. You cannot restore the original graphic unless you undo the action.

(3) Edit the Mask object of vector graphics
Click the Mask object in the Layers (layer) panel with your mouse. The masked object is highlighted by a circle of blue-colored paths. You can use the Rotation tool to make a variety of this vector graphics, you can change the vector graphics color and fill, or add modify stroke effect, you can use the effect panel to add a variety of real-time effects. You can also select the edit Mask command in the pop-up window by clicking the Black arrow button above the layer panel. Even if you select a masked object at this point, you will automatically go to the Mask object's edit by using this command.

(4) Edit a mask object for bitmap graphics
Click the Mask object in the Layers (layer) panel with your mouse. The masked object of a bitmap graphic is surrounded by a circle of blue and black stripes, at which point you can edit the bitmap object using the Bitmap tool, and the resulting pattern is automatically added to the original bitmap image. You cannot restore the original graphic unless you undo the action. You can use the Rotation tool to make various variants of this vector shape can also change the vector graphics color and fill, or add modify stroke effect, you can use the effect panel to add a variety of real-time effects. You can also select the edit Mask command in the pop-up window by clicking the Black arrow button above the layer panel. Even if you select a masked object at this point, you will automatically go to the Mask object's edit by using this command.

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2. Move the Mask object or masked object individually

Generally, when you view the Mask shape in layers (layer), you will find a white link symbol between the masked object and the Mask object. So when the mouse is a black solid mouse, move the mask shape, the masked object and the Mask object are moved at the same time. Of course, you can also use the mouse to click on the mask graphics, a circle of Blue path will be displayed, move the mouse to the center of the Mask (with a Blue Cross), at which point the mouse will turn from a black solid mouse to a white hollow mouse, and you can press the mouse to drag the masked object individually.

If you want to move the masked object or mask object arbitrarily, you can click on the link symbol in the Layers panel, when the link symbol disappears, you select a Masked object or Mask object, you can move them individually, and the other object does not move along. You click again at the location of the link symbol, and the link symbol is displayed again.

3, the mask effect temporarily ineffective or effective

(1) Select Mask Object

(2) Do one of the following operations
Use the menu command modify>mask>disable Mask.

Click the black arrow button on the Layers (layer) panel to select the Disable Mask command in the pop-up window.
If you are currently in mask mode, you can temporarily cancel the mask. If the mask is currently in a temporary cancellation mode, the same place will become the Enable Mask command, again, and the mask will be displayed again.

When the mask fails, a red X diagonal appears on the object display block of the Mask object, and clicking on the X diagonal will make the mask work again.

4. Remove Mask Effect

(1) Select Mask graphic on the canvas

(2) Do one of the following operations

Use the menu command Modify>mask>delete Mask.

Click the Black arrow button above the layers (layer) panel to select the Delete Mask command in the pop-up window.

Fireworks will ask you to choose whether to apply a matte effect on the masked object before removing the mask.

Select Apply to preserve the mask image as a separate bitmap graphic. Masks can no longer be edited.

Select ' Discard ' to remove the Mask object and restore the Masked object

5. Separating mask objects and masked objects

(1) Select Mask graphic on the canvas

(2) Use menu command Modify>ungroup, default shortcut (CTRL+SHIFT+G). Or use the buttons in the Modify tool panel directly.

The Mask object and the masked object are then detached. All right, so FIREWORKS4 's mask is all covered: