Masking in Studio – Bynder Support

Masks are used to control the transparency of an element. Where element opacity controls the transparency of the entire element at once, a mask gives more precise controls over specific areas, and allows designers to create more complex designs.

In Studio you can use any existing elements or groups in your design to mask other elements. The element that is used as a mask will be hidden on the canvas, but is visible in the layer or timeline editor. Studio will use the alpha channel of the element to mask, and in case of a group it will use the combined alpha of all elements in the group. You don't need to place the mask in a specific order before it becomes effective. Masks can be applied on all elements, such as images, texts, shapes, and groups. Because masks behave like normal elements, you can apply transitions, animations, and effects.

Note

Masks can be imported from existing PSD files. Learn more about importing PSD files into Studio.

Create a mask

Select the element that you want to mask

Navigate to the masking section on the image/video/text tab

Click on the Select element button, then:

Select which element you want to use from a list of all existing elements in your design
Search for an existing element that you want to use as a mask by typing the name
Create a new shape element and automatically assign it as a mask

With the more options menu next to the mask selection you’ll find two more options:

Edit the mask: This will select the mask element and will open the properties tab
Remove the mask: This will remove the masking relation, but the original element that was used as a mask will not be deleted

Set the mask mode

You can control the behavior of the mask by setting the mask mode:

Alpha: the original alpha channel of the element is used
Alpha inverted: the mask is used in inverse
None: the mask is still linked but not applied to the element

Link masks

It is possible to use a Masked element as a mask. This allows you to create more complex masks. Alternatively you can use groups as well.

Learn More

Import Photoshop Files into Studio