To Make a Mask
- On the Timeline, select the layer that you intend to mask and key, and then go to the Main Menu and choose Layer > Mask > New Mask. The Mask will appear on the layer in the Timeline.
- In the Timeline, refer to the Mask Layer and expand it (i.e., click on the Expand/Collapse button, the “triangle-shape” to the left of the Mask Layer Name) and choose the Mask Shape. From there, refer back to the Layer Window double-click on Mask’s Transform Handles and adjust them, by making a fairly tight mask around the character.
- The new mask will appear in the layer. Expanding the layer will reveal Masks, and if you expand the Mask Layer, you will find the following:
- Mask Path
- Mask Feather
- Mask Opacity
- Mask Expansion
- Refer to the Composition Window and look at the buttons on the lower left-hand edge of the Window. There, you will find a button that Toggles Mask and Shape Visibility (it’s located between the Magnification Ratio Popup and Current Time). You should click to toggle the visibility of the Mask.
- Once you’ve selected the Mask in the Timeline (and provided that the visibility is on), you’ll be able to edit the Mask.
- Use the Selection Tool to select the Mask in the Composition Window and then double-click on the Mask to activate its Transform Handles. You can use the Selection Tool to resize the Mask. Frame it around the object that you intend to mask, so that it’s fairly tight around the object. This way, you won’t have to try and key regions of the field that you don’t really have to key anyway.
- Use the Convert Vertex Tool (i.e., go to the Pen Tool > Convert Vertex Tool or press the G-key on the keyboard), to adjust the shape of the Mask. Using the Convert Vertex Tool will activate a vertex’s handles (the small “squares” on the Mask). Hold down the Control Key while selecting a vertex and you’ll be able to move the vertex around. With the Convert Vertex Tool you will be able to grab vertex handles and change the shape of the Mask.
- To add vertex points on the Mask, you can use the Add Vertex Tool (and consequently use the Delete Vertex to remove vertex points).