Review Questions: Weeks III and IV
Paula Payne

  1. Based on the reading out of the book, what exactly is the function of a transparency mask?

    Answer:
    A transparency mask prevents you from painting inside the transparent portions of the layer.

  2. What are some of the benefits to using Layer Masks?

    Answer:
  3. How do you create a Layer Mask?

    Answer:
    Select the layer you want to mask. Then, click the layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette.

  4. Once a mask has been created, how do you edit the mask?

    Answer:
    Simply paint in the image window. Paint in black to make pixels transparent, i.e., "erases" the pixels. It's not really erasing the pixels but it looks that way. Paint in white to make pixels opaque.

  5. How do you know if a mask is active in the Layer Palette?

    Answer:
    A second outline is displayed around the preview thumbnail for the mask.

  6. How would you temporarily disable/enable a mask?

    Answer:
    Right click on the layer mask and select Disable Layer Mask/Enable Layer Mask from the popup menu.

  7. If you wanted to move either the layer's contents or the mask independently from each other, what would you have to do?

    Answer:
    Unlink the mask from the image by clicking the link icon that is located between the image thumbnail and the layer mask thumbnail.

  8. Briefly explain how Layer Masks can help your digital collages and color/brightness corrections?

    Answer:
    Layer Masks save you loads of time because you don't have to cut and paste or erase precise selections to create your digital collage. You can simply move the image or mask around freely once you've unlinked them.

  9. How can the pen tool be useful as a selection tool?

    Answer:
    Using the Magnetic Pen tool help you make the cleanest selection.

  10. How do you add an anchor point to a Path?

    Answer:
    Using the add anchor point tool, click the place on the segment where you want the point added. This divides that segment into two segments.

  11. How would you delete an anchor point on a Path?

    Answer:
    Using the delete anchor point tool, click the point you want deleted.

  12. How do you select an entire path?

    Answer:
    Use the Path Selection tool, the black arrow.

  13. How do you drag points and handles to reshape a path?

    Answer:
    Use the Direct Selection tool, the white arrow.

  14. Explain in your own words what the primary function of a clipping group or layer is.

    Answer:
    With a clipping group, you can group multiple layers where the lowest layer in the group masks the other layers. Where the lowest layer is transparent, the other layers are hidden. Where the lowest layer is opaque, the other layers are visible.

  15. Based on the reading from the book, what is the maximum number of channels an image can contain regardless of color mode?

    Answer:
    24

  16. Deke explains how you can improve the appearance of color scans using channels. Briefly explain what some of these techniques are.

    Answer:
  17. What are some of the benefits to working with mask channels?

    Answer:
    The main benefit is the ability to save selections. This is a real time save when you've spent a lot of time working on a selection and you need it later or you get interrupted in the process of creating the selection.

  18. When you save a selection as a mask, where is the mask stored?

    Answer:
    In the Channels palette.

  19. How can you edit a mask in a channel once you've saved it?

    Answer:
    Convert the mask to a selection to edit it.

  20. If you wanted to view the mask and the image at the same time, what would you have to do?

    Answer:
    Click the eyeball next to the name of the channel mask.

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Last modified: June 22, 2003