Masking Basics: Hide All

0 comments

Tutorial Number: 218
Made with: Anime Studio Pro 9.5
Level: Basic

Basic introduction to masking in Anime Studio. The 'Hide all' setting removes everything from the group and only shows what has been masked out. (This is the most common option when using layer masking).

1: Masking a group
2: Time to put it to practice
3: How masks work
4: Example 1 - Shadows and highlights
5: Example 2 - Textured Layers with Masks
Supporting Content

1. Masking a group

Create a new group layer, then open its settings dialogue (Figure 1-1)

FIGURE 1-1 Create a new group layer

Open to the 'Masking' Tab (Point 1 in Figure 1.2) then select 'Hide all' then ok.

FIGURE 1-2 Masking Setup

You will notice the shading icon is now shown on your group.

FIGURE 1-3 Masking Icon on group

Now create a new vector layer, so there are now two, and drag them into this group. (The group's arrow icon on the left must be clicked to point down or you will not be able to drag your new layers into it)

FIGURE 1-4 2 vector layers inside group

Anime Studio will automatically change the layers so that they are masked. The layers will also be shown with icons to show this.
(If you check their masking settings you will see they have been set to 'Mask this layer'.)

Open the bottom layer's masking settings again, and set them to '+Add to mask'. This will tell Anime Studio that anything drawn on this layer should be seen as the mask.

FIGURE 1-5 Set bottom layer to '+Add to mask'

Now we have a basic masking setup using the 'Hide all' settings.

2. Time to put it to practice

Lets say we want to quickly create a shape with some shading. The shading will be messy and quick so a mask could be used to help.
We'll use a star shape, but this could be face, body, object etc.

This is what we want to achieve:

FIGURE 2-1 The final image

Lets start by drawing a star shape in the bottom vector layer - try and keep the image in the center of the screen. The star shape can be found in the 'Draw Shape' menu.

FIGURE 2-2 Create a star shape

FIGURE 2-3 Draw a star on the bottom layer and colour it yellow

In the layer above, draw a triangle that covers half the star and colour it a darker colour. You should notice that anything drawn on this top layer will only show where it has been masked by the bottom layer.

FIGURE 2-4 Draw the shading

When we select the top mask group, you'll see the final result.

3. How masks work

Imagine a camera is looking from the bottom up of your group.
The bottom mask is filled with black, and anything drawn in that mask will cut a hole by clearing this mask.
The final image will be anything seen from within this hole.

FIGURE 3-1 Masking Group Setup

4. Example 1 - Shadows and highlights

See 'Supporting Content' below for example files.

You can easily create shadows and highlights with this method.

FIGURE 4-1 Shading with masking

Notes:
The black and white shapes have a fill with the transparency set to around 25% (render to see final result)
The bottom masking layer has the 'Exclude Strokes' ticked in the Masking options (to show the outline correctly, or the lines would be masked too).

5. Example 2 - Textured Layers with Masks

Create a group, and add two vector layers as in step 1.
In the bottom mask layer, create your shape, apply a thick line, and use a brush that looks 'fluffy'.