User Guide

Canvas 12 User Guide
If the paint object and the object to be masked aren’t the same size, Canvas scales the image of the
paint object to fit the masked object.
A channel mask created from a paint object is the same as any channel mask. You can edit it the same
as if you created a blank channel mask.
Like any other channel mask, a channel mask created from a paint object produces transparency
relative to its gray values. If the channel mask is solid white, it creates no transparency; if it is solid
black, it creates 100% transparency and makes the masked object invisible.
Editing channel masks
You can use painting tools, filters, and image-editing commands to modify the effect of a channel
mask.
To edit a channel mask:
Place the masked object in channel mask edit mode.
Editing a channel mask is similar to editing a channel in a paint object. You can paint in the channel
mask with shades of gray. You can make selections with selection tools, commands, and alpha
channels. You can apply image-adjustment commands and filters to the entire channel mask or to
just the selected areas.
Options for channel mask editing
You can enter channel mask edit mode using any of the following methods.
With the mouse: Press Ctrl and double-click a masked object.
If the object doesn’t have a channel mask, this creates a channel mask and puts the
object in channel mask edit mode.
In the Transparency palette: Click the Edit button when a masked object is selected. This
places an object with a channel mask in channel mask edit mode. If the object has a vector
mask, it places the vector mask in edit mode.
In the Channels palette: When a paint object is in edit mode, click the channel mask to
select it for editing. When any other object is in channel mask edit mode, the channel mask
is the only channel that can be selected.
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