Lesson 4: Mask Behavior

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Lesson 4: Mask Behavior

Before proceeding with this lesson, review:
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3

If you have completed lessons 1 through 3, you now have three masks in the 00 My Masks catagory when you enter the Mask Window.

Each of these masks should be 800 x 600 pixels in size.

Mask Rule: Masks will stretch to fit pictures that are bigger.

If you apply one of your masks to a photo that is bigger, say: 1600 x 1200 pixels, the mask will stretch to fit that photo.

Mask Rule: Masks will squish to fit pictures that are smaller.

If you apply one of your masks to a photo that is smaller, say: 400 x 300 pixels, the mask will squish to fit that photo.

In the previous lessons, we asked you to create your mask at a size of 800 x 600. If you will be applying your masks to photos that are significantly larger than that, you may wish to make your masks the same size as your photos.

Example: If most of the photos you work with are 2400 x 1800 pixels in size, make your masks that size. This will give better clarity to your finished product.

Mask Rule: Masks will squish and stretch to match the shape of the photo they are being applied to.

The masks you have created so far are all wider then they are tall, which is a landscape orientation

Find a photo of yours that has a portrait orientation ( taller than it is wide ), load it into the Editor and apply one of your masks.

You will see that the mask squishes and stretches to fit the shape and size of your photo.

This is important to understand when working with watermarks or text. Apply your landscape watermark mask to this portrait photo and see how the text squishes when applied.

This tells you that if you will be applying your masks to both landscape and portrait photos, you may need to make two separate masks: one portrait and one landscape.

Next Lesson: Lesson 5: Colored Masks

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