Images & Shapes: masks

Apply a cut-out shape to images and shapes by means of the mask tool.
A video tutorial is available demonstrating masks as applied to a portrait template - click here to view it.

Click on the gradients & masks tool in the right-side editor to apply this effect to an selected image or shape.

Turn on the mask checkbox to apply it, then select from among the preloaded masks in the top dropdown.

Use the soften option to blur the edges of the mask. 

The second drop box contains your custom imported masks. Learn more about creating masks and importing them below.

Mask Cropping Options

For image frames, choose among three cropping styles.

Fit the image frame applies the mask to the current shape of the image. The mask is reshaped from its original aspect ratio to accommodate the image.

Original aspect ratio preserves the mask's aspect ratio. Unless your image and the mask are the same aspect ratio, more image is cropped out by the mask.

Follow image crop maintains the aspect ratio of both the mask and the image - the results may include the occlusion of the edge of part of the mask. 

Inverted mask

Use the invert mask option to flip the transparent/image content areas. This is best used as framing effect, applied to a shape or an image frame holding a texture. 

Alpha/RBG settings

Should you wish to import a custom collection of masks saved to jpg format, use the Alpha/RGB options to ensure the mask works correctly. Masks save to jpg may require special settings to assign rules to transparency areas (alpha channel). The stock collection and png mattes generally do not need adjustment - "alpha only" will get you best results.

Creating a mask

To create a mask in Photoshop or your favourite editing software, first create a project with a transparent background.  In this example, an 8x8" canvas will be used (300 dpi, sRGB).

Add a shape to fill as large an area as possible. Trim up the canvas size so that the shape fills it to its maximum capacity.

In this example, a heavy-weight font has been used to make the letter D, then the canvas has been trimmed so the shape fills the maximum area possible.

Important: the entire area of the mask is used to hold your image. As such, do not a lot of transparent area around your shape as |you will have much less flexibility to position your image within the mask.

In this example, images of identical dimensions are placed into the same mask, one trimmed to the edge and one not trimmed. The trimmed mask shows the maximum available area of the photo contained within it, whereas the untrimmed one loses a lot of the photo in the transparency area around the mask.

Any color may be used to create your mask. Reducing transparency on the mask will translate into reduced opacity of your image.

Adding your mask to Memento Composite

Save the mask as a .png file format. (A jpg format may also be used, but png is recommended for optimal compatibility.) In your file manager, go to Documents\Memento\Presets\Masks to automatically make the masks available in Memento Pro (a relaunch required to make them visible).

If you do not want to save your mask collection to this folder, you can import them into Memento Pro's Gradient & Mask tool via the Import Custom Mask button.

Clicking on this button will launch your file manager. Select one or more files to Open to complete the import.

Once imported, the masks will be available under the custom masks dropdown to apply to your photos.

Masks saved as jpg may also be imported. However, due to the lack of an alpha-channel in this format (transparency is not supported), you may need to adjust the alpha/rgb settings in the Mask options when applying it to an image frame.