Thanks for the compliment fearlessfreap
Dtownley - Cheers for the feedback i really appreciate you taking time to give your advice
If you dont mind, id love to learn how to mask as a channel, it might make my life easier
~~ TS ~~
channels are stored as a separate tab under the layers palette. Personally, I use them to save selections (and to load later) and to assist in creating complex selections.
You can apply a mask to any layer through the layers palette (there's a button down the bottom) It works the same as a channel though, except it's partnered with a layer. White areas represent visible parts of the layer, black parts represent masked areas.
If you're using a layer mask, here are a couple of shortcuts that can make life a lot easier.
Option+click the layer mask to view it as a channel. It can be edited exactly the same way, but if parts of the mask are missing, it's here that they're most visible. *Note* From this view, it's possible to select all, copy and paste into another mask if need be. It won't affect the artwork layer, only the mask.
Shift+click the layer mask to quickly turn it on or off.
The advantage to masking, is that you're never losing details. You never need to erase part of an image, and it's always editable.
You can deal with masks exactly the same way for adjustment layers. (which are found at the bottom of the layers palette)
In this way, you can apply a hue/saturation adjustment layer to your photo, desaturate, then simply paint (or use paths, selection tools) to create a mask to hide the desaturation effect and reveal the original colour. Saves a lot of messing around, and allows for fine tuning.
