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Using "Quick Mask" mode as a dynamic selection tool
By Brenton Staggard
Responsive and controlled selections can be made in “Quick Mask” mode and with the use of a graphic tablet, such as the Wacom Intuos3, this tool takes on a whole new selection capability. Graphic tablets allow the size and/or intensity of mask selections to be controlled through dynamic changes in pen pressure.
There are a number of different ways to make selections in PhotoshopCS2, “Quick Mask Mode” is essentially just another one. Instead of defining an area with a selection outline, masks define areas with 256 levels of gray, which allows varying levels of selection. Masks protect unselected pixels from any commands that maybe executed. When used together with a Wacom tablet “Quick Mask” mode (as the name suggests) enables the speedy creation and editing of selections. Masks are very user friendly allowing the ability to see the selection while you are working on it.
Selecting specific areas of images is easy with a Wacom tablet, follow these steps to create your very own Quick Mask:
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Step1. Open a file and select the “Edit in Quick Mask Mode” button (located in the tools palette or press Q).
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Step2. Use the “Brush Tool” (press B) and check that the default foreground/background colors are set (black and white), if necessary press D to reset them.
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Step 3. If you are using a Wacom graphic tablet select a brush type that changes size according to pen pressure, brush size dynamics can be set in the “Brush Pre-sets Palette” (press F5), to ensure the size of the brush is controlled by pen pressure, click on the word “Shape Dynamics”, and select the control “Pen Pressure” from the drop down menu under the “Size” slider. The coverage of the brush can now be controlled “on the fly”, firm pressure will create a mask the size of the entire brush – lighter pressure will make the coverage smaller, ideal when frequent switches are being made from areas of fine detail (such as the edges of hairlines) to larger selections requiring less precision. For minute details increasing the screen scale will make the selection process easier and more accurate. Accurate edge selections can be made using a harder edged brush as opposed to one that is softer, selected edges can be softened later by using the “Feather” control located under the “Select” tab in the “Menu” bar.
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Step4. Begin to “paint” to add to the mask (with the black color) the red tint indicates the area that has been selected (this is the default for quick mask and has an opacity of 50%, both the color and “strength” (opacity) can be altered if they don’t suit, simply double click the “Quick Mask” button to access the “Quick Mask Options” window). Continue to “paint” in the selection until the entire area has been masked.
If you paint outside the boundaries of the area you wish to select reverse the foreground/background colors by pressing X, (swapping the foreground color over to white) click X again to return to a black foreground color. The pen of the Wacom Intuos3 tablet also has an “eraser” end, so when using the “Quick Mask Mode” by simply flipping the pen over the brush automatically switches to an eraser and can be used to quickly remove part of a selection.
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As the “Quick Mask” mode selects in 256 levels of gray you can also adjust the intensity of a selection based on pen pressure. Set the control of “Opacity” to be influenced by pen pressure: Press F5, click on “Other Dynamics”, select “Pen Pressure” from the drop down menu under the “Opacity” slider. This is a great way to create dynamic opacity changes in selections.
NB: “Quick Masks” are temporary, so if you create one that you need to use again click the “Select” tab, and choose “Save Section” before closing the file. (You must be out of Quick Mask Mode to do this). The selection will be saved as an Alpha Channel, which can be loaded and accessed easily.
 Thanks to Brenton Staggard of Wacom Australia for this tip. Brenton is a regular contributor to Digital Reproduction magazine.
www.wacom.com.au
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