User Guide

Canvas 12 User Guide
Masked object
Keep in mind that an object’s appearance can be affected by its transfer mode, scope setting, and
opacity, in addition to a channel mask. Changing the transfer mode can completely change the
appearance of an object that has a channel mask (see "Using transfer modes" on page 685).
Creating channel masks
You can create a blank channel mask, or create a channel mask from a paint object. You create a
channel mask when you render objects (see "Rendering objects and images" on page 430).
You can use the Transparency palette, Sprite tool, or the Channels palette to create blank channel
masks (see "Channel masks" on page 509 for more information about the Channels palette). In the
Transparency palette, the Mask menu shows “Channel” when a selected object has a channel mask.
To create a channel mask:
This procedure creates a blank channel mask for an object.
You can also choose Object | SpriteLayers | New Channel Mask.
1. Select a text, paint, vector, or group object to mask.
2. Select Channel from the Mask menu on the Transparency palette or press Ctrl and double-
click the object.
If the object to be masked is not a paint object, a dialog box asks you to set the resolution
of the mask. Enter a resolution from 1 to 2,540 ppi and click OK.
If the object is a paint object, the channel mask’s resolution will be the same as the paint
object’s resolution.
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