You can do all sorts of clever tricks with layers in Photoshop, using tools such as blending modes and filters, but one less well-known technique is clipping masks. Perhaps this is because these are seen primarily as a tool for designers; however, but this powerful feature can be equally useful for photographers. Whether you want to create eye-catching conceptual art like ours, or more simple layouts and photo frames, clipping masks can be incredibly useful, as you’ll discover in this issue’s video tutorial.
Essentially, a clipping mask requires two things: a shape, and something to fill the shape with. For our shapes here we’ve used a series of simple flourish designs. (You’ll find a layered PSD file among the project files, with an choice of flourishes.) We simply copy our…
