How to mask text to show "scratches".....

Hiya all,

Okay, I have been using Fireworks for years and finally decided I must
teach myself how to do this stuff in Photoshop.....mainly because
Photoshop is so damned fast and I can no longer spend 6 hours on one
illustration anymore wiating for Fireworks to catch up!

OK, I am trying to add a mask to text to add scratches to the
lettering.

This is an example of what I want to do in Photoshop.

http://www.artifice-design.co.uk/fringe_header2.gif

I made this in Fireworks and in there all you do is put a black and
white "mask" image (containing the scratches) over the text vector,
highlight both objects and then select Group as Mask. I have been
studying masks all week in Photoshop and still cannot find out how to
do this very simple task!

Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Mark

 

Ok, well if you set the layer to Darken, you'd have the artifacts over the
background as well - so make a selection from the text and use that as a
layer mask for the artifact layer.

As for letting the background show through the scratches (something I didn't
notice since the background on your image was black anyway) you could use
the black as a selection and 'hide' that selection in the text layer,
allowing anything on a layer below to show through.

 

If you make your background black as you have in your Fireworks image, place
your colored text. then add a mask to the text layer and use the one your
have already used for the scratches.

 

Sorry, I was not clear.....I am only using this picture as an example.
I want to make effects like this only in Photoshop from now on to
speed up my workflow as I am using Photoshop 7 for my compositing
software now.....I don't want to have to go into Fireworks, fiddle
about in there and then export/import into Photoshop.

So, I want to be able to do this on Photoshop as easily as I can in
Fireworks if possible.......

 

Hi,

Thanks for all the help.......

Could you run through the stages of how to do this - I can make the a
copy of the text as a selection but cannot apply this selection to a
mask - I can only seem to paint or add a gradient to my mask......

Sorry, again could you give a bit of detail on this - I am new to
Photoshop 7 and cannot seem to 'hide' the selection in the text layer
as you suggest.

Thanks for your time, it's helping a lot!
Mark

 

Howdy,

A layer mask is essentially a non-destructive way of removing part of a
layer. Briefly, you can make a selection (i.e. the text) from any layer and
apply a layer mask to 'hide' or 'reveal' that selection on any other layer
(Layer > Add Layer Mask > Hide/Reveal Selection).

So if you used the black artifacts as a 'hide' layer mask on the text layer,
anything beneath it would show through.

Does this help?

 

If you are looking to recreate the artifacts, you could try adding noise on
a new layer (filled with white) and altering the threshold and erasing areas
as you see fit (or, as in my other reply, using layer masks to do it
non-destructively).

HTH

 

Okay, I think I am getting somewhere - I may even get this concept by
today!!!

I have now managed to make a mask from the text itself so that, for
instance, when I paint across the text it only shows inside the
text.....now for the next bit.....

My artefact data is not a selection, it is a black and white bitmap
imported into a seperate layer from the text. I cannot seem to make
this bitmap a selection and use it to mask the text mask.....

I know I could paint the scratches on, but I would like to do it the
way I describe above if possible. I have collated many black and white
images containing artefacts (all made using threshold under
Image>Adjustments) that I am using on my current magazine projects and
they contain a lot of unique data that I cannot recreate by painting -
so I would love to use these bitmaps as 'artefact' masks.........

Thanks for your patience!
Mark

 

Ok, I think what you're looking to do here is to select just the black. You
*could* do this using the magic wand and then do 'Select > Similar' but
you'd have much more control if you do 'Select > Colour Range'. The range
for the shadows may work well, alternatively use the colour picker to select
the blackest black on the layer.

Once you have your selection, you can turn off the artifact layer, select
the text layer and use the selection as a layer mask (hide).

How's that?

 

Alright, that was good, colour range was simple and useful - now all I
have to do is work out how to get this selection into the text layer
and become the mask for the text.

At the moment the artefacts are masking themselves. I need to make
this selection jump into the text layer - which I cannot seem to do at
all......

So close yet so far........

 

In Photoshop, that's called a Clipping Group. It's listed in the index
for Photoshop help.