which works fine, it is very flexible but it is bit clumsy and I feel like it degrades the performance of GIMP because it seems to me that while using layer groups (that `folder’ for layers) it impacts the performance …
I have few questions:
does anybody else do it like this o.O ? Am I missing something regarding mask visualisation over existing layer ? I can display just Mask or nothing … I didn’t find howto add a transparency over displaying mask …
if somebody else does then it would be great idea to script it … unfortunately I don’t have this level of skill to script something in the GIMP … whole idea would be that adding a mask on layer will simply put the layer in the layer group, it will put the mask on whole group and it will add a mid layer filled with color (~ with 80% transparency - this is what I did here)
This approach brings few benefits like don’t have to switch between editing Mask and underlying layer - you can just select in layers preview what you’re working with, and so on …
Please share your thoughts with me …
regards, ~dan
ps. gimp 2.99.18 is awesome … Those non-destructive edits are mega-cool
I don’t really understand what you are doing here. Why is the mask a layer mask on the group?
As far as my Gimp experience goes, for such editing there are two kinds of mask that can be helpful:
A selection mask (this includes the “luminosity mask” variant). If you want to see the mask, you use the “QuickMask” button (square icon in bottom left corner of the display). When you use such as mask you can edit a single layer, changes a restricted to pixels in the mask.
A layer mask, applied to a copy of the image. You apply the changes to the whole copy and then use a layer mask to make the copy opaque or transparent to merge the changes to the original image. If you want to see the mask, you can right click it in the Layers list and useShow mask.
ad.#1) quick mask (aka shift+Q) works but it’s very clumsy … it works only for selection (eg mask-to-selection), it doesn’t easily support changing color, switching between editing mask and layer is very clumsy … you have to enable / disable to show a selection (ctrl+T) and mask (shift+Q) to some combination … working with that is just very very clumsy …
ad.#2) show mask doesn’t allow you to use a transparency so you cannot see mask and image in the same time …
my method emulates a bit how using (for example gradient) masks works in Lightroom … you can use that mid-layer with color and transparency to see where mask exactly applies … you switch between editing image and mask just by clicking on element in Layers (clicking on image will switch to editing bare image, clicking on group will switch to editing mask) …
Like @Ofnuts I’m a bit lost about what you want, I found your system quite complicated for what it does…
For instance if you want a gradient color above your image, like you did, I’ll just add a layer above (not a mask) and add a colored gradient on it (and change the mode) like below.
In the end, not group is needed from my point of view, you can directly edit the mask on the canvas if you wish with Ctrl+Alt+Click on the mask, it’s a toggle to show the mask on the canvas
thanks for an input … I am probably messing terms together … I am photographer and I work with masks while blending exposures (from bracketing) and even for local edits … In reality, I don’t use a local edits based on selection but always just duplicating layer and then I use mask … I don’t have any big issues except of that I feel like working with masks in GIMP is a bit clumsy compared to other software, nothing else …
That my approach above is based upon many hours working with that … It seems to me less clumsy from the perspective of working with that or ergonomy, to duplicate the layer and put it into a layer group (eg that `folder’) and put the mask on group rather than on layer itself … that coloured layer (red one) is just a helper that I use for checking where mask exactly applies and I disable it of course that afterwards … there are two or three functions (represented by ctrl+T == show selection, shift+Q == quick mask overview, but only works with mask-in-selection and switching between editing mask Vs editing image and displaying mask) which I don’t have to use with this my approach …
thats the whole point …
I would love to have some scripted action while creating mask which will consist of
create layer group
put current layer in it
add one colored layer above (~ 80% transparent)
put mask on the layer group instead of layer
Hi Yasuo-San … thank you very much for your input … It’s as you said the matter of ergonomics … it would be probably for me easier if I will get on to use a GIMP way (which I consider a bit clumsy) … Thank you also for a script … I will use it for my own education, it would be good for me if I will understand a bit to this part of GIMP which is for me really a grey zone now …
