[Award Winner] Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP(and PS)

Well, i was following this tutorial and it was kinda difficult to read, since i have to scroll up and down and change pages, so i suddenly came with the idea of making it a PDF file, so i copied it to word and printed it on PDF, but, it was not enough, so i could not resist the temptation of actually MAKE a PDF version of it, after all, i have used so much your great advices, that im glad that i can do something useful.

As you can see i didn't do something that complicated, i tried to do a simple and readable document for easy use.

1. I used the cartographers Guild Logo, if that's wrong, i can remove it easily.

2. I don't edited the content, but if the author don't like what i did, i can delete the file.

XD

This is a really helpful tutorial.
I got two of my top-priority list unanswered questions answered,masks and gradients.
Repped and rated 5 stars.

Well, after this tutorial, I'm trading in my eye patch and parrot for a mask! ;)

Thanks for the tutorial. I've been playing with layer masks the better part of the last 2 days, and I see a long and happy future with them. Rated the thread +5!

Back to the GIMP for me now. :D

Well, I recently realized that I never mentioned how much this tutorial has helped me out and I wanted to step in and remedy that.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write it. I wasn't understanding how to use a layer mask on my own but once I buckled down and went through this process I have to admit I use in every project. I can't tell you how many times I found myself wishing I hadn't erased something and having to recreate it (or carry around a bunch of duplicate layers "just in case" I needed them). Now, it's such an easy thing to modify the mask instead.

If you happen to not quite get the concept of layer masks I encourage you to follow this tutorial and ask the questions until you do. You won't be sorry.

Thanks Jax. Heh.. my first year or so after I wrote this tutorial, I probably suggested learning layer masks to hundreds of people with questions similar to this one. I was saying all the time...heh..

You've got me there. I had a slight idea how they work because I used layer masks as a beginner in tutorials but without realizing what exactly can be done with them. So even over 3 years after you made this tutorial I is still very helpful for beginners like myself!

Thanks a lot for that!!

Thank you so much! I'd seen layers in other tutorials, but have never been able to get them to work. Thanks to this tutorial, I worked out what I was doing wrong.

Such a huge help with my learning to use gimp to make maps! Thanks for this!

jfrazierjr Thanks for this, I'm struggling with this some myself. With no real knowldege of PS (not using GIMP atm) I just follow along with the tutorials and hope for the best, as there is information overload for the beginner. I try to go back and review what I've done but its easy to get lost in the tree :( Old Thread but thanks V

Thanks so much for the tutorial!