Mask Making from Scratch in Paint Shop Pro 9 or X

Masks can be useful for creating interesting effects on images by covering parts of another layer completely or with varying levels of transparency. These steps for creating a basic mask completely from a blank canvas can be used in both Paint Shop Pro 9 and X.

Open Paint Shop Pro, and then open a new image. It can be any size, although you will probably want to make it somewhat large to give yourself room. Set the resolution to what you normally use for images, and make the background black.

In the Materials palette, change the foreground color to null and the background color to white.

Now let your creativity loose! Draw something yourself or use a preset shape. Use various distortion and texture effects or plugins, or any combination.

When you are satisfied with the appearance of the image, go to Layers and scroll down to Merge, then click on Merge All (Flatten).

Go back to Layers and scroll down to New Mask Layer, and then click on From Image. The Auto Actions window might pop up (depending on your settings) stating that the target must be promoted to a full layer before you can continue. Click OK. In the Add Mask From Image menu, leave the options as the defaults and click OK. This will change your image into a grayscale version.

In order to save the image you've created as a mask to use on other images, go to Layers and scroll down to Load/Save Mask and click on Save Mask To Disk. Choose a name for your mask and click Save.

Test your mask by opening an image to try it on.

Go back to Layers and scroll down to Load/Save Mask and click on Load Mask From Disk. If the Auto Actions window pops up again just click OK. In the Load Mask From Disk menu leave the default options or play with the settings to see the different effects your mask can have on images.

And that's all there is to it. You can create several different masks to change images in many unique ways. These instructions are compatible with Paint Shop Pro 9 and X, though in some instances the interface may have changed. Tools and commands may be in different locations, and some may have to be added back via customization in order to be accessible. Creating masks to use in Paint Shop Pro is only limited by your imagination!