How to Use Mask Brushes in Adobe Photoshop

Have you ever seen those banners that look so gorgeous and you just can't figure out how in the world to make them? I'm referring to mask banners. They are so popular nowadays, and almost every wants to know how to make them. Have no fear, they are very easy. Easy enough for a beginner just learning to make graphics.

You are going to learn how to use mask brushes and make a mask banner. In the following tutorial you will be using Adobe Photoshop CS2. First open up a new document. You'll want to make it big enough so you have room to see what you are doing, and big enough for your finished product.

After you've opened up your new document. Find the picture you'd like to use for your mask. In my example I am using the lovely and talented Jessica Simpson. I blurred her face a little using the blur tool on the tools palette. Next I used the dodge tool to sharpen her lips and eyes to make them stand out more. Don't go overboard or your person's face will turn zombie like. Next I brightened my picture by duplicating the layer and setting the duplicated layer to "Screen" on my Layer's Palette.

Select your picture and paste it onto your blank document where you'll be making your mask. You can also drag it over to the canvas whichever you prefer. Now you will want to make a new color fill layer. By doing this you'll go to Layers then New Fill Layer then Color, then set the color to white. Once it shows up white over your picture, set that layer to Lighten or Screen blend mode. On the bottom of your layers palette you'll see a little square with a circle in it, you'll want to click that. This is add a masking layer to the white fill layer.

After you see another white square next to your white fill layer, click the second box. Once you've clicked that, you'll want to take your masking brush and put it on your document in black. Now you should see the original picture you put on your document and you'll see the brush you just put over it. Now you are all finished, but before you end. You may want to add some color, text, brushes, and other effects to get your finished product. Once you're done, crop the extra stuff around your mask and save.