Selections and masks give you more control over specific parts of your artwork, letting you make precise edits without affecting the entire layer. Whether you’re refining edges, changing colors in one area, or painting inside a shape, these tools help you stay flexible and accurate as you work.
Making Selections
To begin a selection, tap the Selection tool (ribbon icon) at the top left. You’ll see four selection modes at the bottom of the screen:
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Freehand: Draw custom shapes with your finger or stylus.
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Automatic: Tap an area to select similar pixels — drag left or right to adjust the threshold.
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Rectangle and Ellipse: Quick geometric shapes for simple selections.
Once a selection is active, you’ll see dashed lines around the selected area. You can transform it, adjust it, or apply edits like color fills, effects, or brush strokes just within that area.
Working with Layer Masks
Masks let you hide parts of a layer non-destructively. To add one, tap the layer, then choose “Mask.” A new linked thumbnail will appear — anything painted black on the mask becomes hidden, and anything painted white is visible. This is great for erasing details without actually deleting them or creating complex compositions with clean control.
Using Clipping Masks
Clipping Masks are another way to contain your edits. When you add a new layer above another and set it as a Clipping Mask, anything you draw will only show up where there are pixels on the layer below. It’s especially useful for adding highlights, shading, or texture to a specific part of your artwork without affecting the rest.
Alpha Lock vs Masks
Alpha Lock also restricts drawing to existing pixels, but it’s destructive — changes happen directly on the layer. Masks give you more flexibility, since you can turn them off, edit them, or delete them without losing your original work.
Selections and masks are essential tools for any digital artist who wants to work smarter, not harder. They keep your edits clean, your layers organized, and your creative options wide open. In the next post, we’ll explore time-saving gestures and QuickMenu shortcuts to make your workflow even faster.