joanykins

Help! Can anyone help me please? I am in the middle of a tutorial and got to the step where I have to apply the quick mask. Trouble is, when I click on it, the image is not overlaid with a transparent red as it used to do. I have checked the menu, where you can change the overlay colour of the mask and it is, in fact set to 50% red. I have even tried setting it to 100% and nd also rebooted to no avail.

I have looked in all the tutorials, but cannot find any troubleshooters on this problem. Please, please, I hope someone can enlighten me cos I don't know if its something I have done or whether the program is playing up!

theKeeper

Hi there.

Don't panic, it just sounds like you're not really understanding how "Quick Mask" works, that's all.

In order to see ANY amount of 'masking colour', you need to either have a selection active prior to entering QM, or use a brush to paint on the mask AFTER entering QM.

By default, just clicking the QM button will not produce any masking colour, because unless you have a selection active, an area to be masked has not yet been defined.

Let me know if this helps.

Stroker

What he said.

Good idea to check the brush mode, opacity, and all that jazz.

Erik

May I add that it is always best to start with a selection (any kind, any size) before going into quick mask mode? I remember that at Adobe's they admitted that using this mode without prior selection might confuse PS when saving the mask later on.

joanykins

Hi there! I tried wot you suggested - and HEY PRESTO I see wot you mean. Just one thing though. The tutorial says that after applying quick mask I need to use the brush tool to paint over a certain area. The thing is (I am a real novice I am sure you can tell [saywhat] ) I can't find the brushes. If I try to get the brushes down by going to "Window+brushes" but the brushes are not highlighted so I can't use them. I WILL NOT let this thing beat me [upset] ).

theKeeper

If you don't SEE a Brush Palette open up in the work area, then it's already open, and simply "docked" with some other palette. Just look to the other palette and find the word "Brushes".

joanykins

At last I have got it! Realised I didn't press on the brush in the tool palette. Was expecting it in the options bar. Thank you soooo much! Now perhaps I can complete my tutorial. ;\

AppleCider

Welcome to PS Gurus, joanykins!

A few concepts to help you get started:

Start with the Toolbar To do anything in Photoshop, you need a tool. Granted, the toolbar can look intimidating, but hover your mouse over a tool and you'll get a "tooltip" that tells you what it is. Tip: A tool icon that has a tiny arrow thingy (that's the technical term) on it has a hidden tool. Click and hold your mouse button to see and select it. For example, hold down the Marquee tool (first on the top left) and you'll see the Eliptical Marquee.

The options bar is tool context-sensitive. That is, it changes dynamically according to the tool you use. For example, as you've found, when you select the Paintbrush you'll see options for the brush.

Selections and Masks aren't exactly the same, but they work together. The QuickMask shows you that immediately; it changes a selection to a mask; clicking on the icon next to it gets you back to your selection. In QuickMask, brushing on the mask adds or subtracts from the mask, and the resulting selection. That's why you saw when you have no selection, you have no mask, either so QuickMask can't show you one.

I highly recommend Mark's (The Keeper's) excellent tutorials for beginners, particularly the Learning fundamentals. I just wish they'd been there when I started with Photoshop!

joanykins

Cheers. Just checked out the site you recommended, full of good stuff there. I reckon I should be able to clear up a few confusions that I have been having (not unusual) lol.