masks importing from Ps

[DougS]

Somehow I lost my way or forgot...can you point me to where/how?
As I recalled, if my image in Ps had a layer adjustment mask, it would show up in CM mask carte to select and use.
Now it seems that is true only if the mask is named alpha 1 (or 2 or 3)....what happened to other masks such as a curves mask?

I can see to view the mask as a curve (when it is selected) and can adjust it with a CM curve....but the adjusted mask looks same in Ps, no adjustment in CM sticks (does not change the Ps mask).
And any adjustment to the mask cannot be seen as any effect on the color image while in CM?
Is the method to adjust the mask, save a copy within CM, and then paste the adjusted mask in Ps?

Maybe there is a primer video or best place to look in the CM user manual? I have searched and experimented and thought I could do all the above but cannot seem to do it like I remembered (right? or wrong?).
Please advise.
Doug

Rephrased: What I'm trying to do is open an image from Ps that is one layer plus an adjustment layer like hue/sat with a mask,
then in CM adjust the mask using the mask curve in CM while I see the change/effect to the color image in CM,
and then "apply" in CM expecting the Ps mask to look like the CM adjusted mask.
Is that workflow possible?

[gregmeister_admin]

Hi Doug,
Well let's see my understanding of your question is that you want to adjust the layer mask in CM. You can but you will only have the information in the mask as a starting point not the total image information.

CM respects the mask layer as a separate part of the image stack and does allow you to edit it. It will be a gray scale image and you only have access to the data in the mask. So, if you have a hard mask with no mid-tones you really cannot do much with it.

You can create a channel mask in CM and copy it to a layer mask in CM. The process is pretty straight forward but not very intuitive. To copy a mask you would create a mask channel in CM using the Mask Pallet. Edit the mask channel in CM and then copy it to the clipboard using the Copy Icon in the CM interface. Then you close CM and return to PS. If you have more than 1 monitor you can do some of this without closing CM but you need to close CM in any case to re-load the image with the mask added.

Next you add a layer tot he image and then add a blank mask to the layer. Select the layer mask with Alt-Click and then paste using Ctrl-V.

Here is a video link that shows what I am talking about.
Waterfall Masking

Greg

[DougS]

Thanks, I remember how to do the above OK.
And you answered my question about a live view of mask applied to the image...can't be done...I understand. And that would be a nice addition in a future version of CM????

But I still have another lingering question:
If I make a mask in Ps, then open the Ps image in CM, how can I ensure the mask will show in the mask carte? If I rename my mask to alpha 1, CM seems to recognize it OK, but if the mask has any other name such as "D2 mask" or something not "alpha 'n' ", CM ignores the mask import....is that correct?

[gregmeister_admin]

Are you making it a channel in the image then? CM will bring in all channels in the image. If the mask is just a layer it will "respect" the mask on the layer you bring into CM.

For instance: I have an image with 3 layers. Background, adjusted, and adjusted 2 which has a mask on it. If I bring Adjusted into CM it will not have any mask applied unless I create one in CM. If I bring Adjusted 2 into CM then the mask is respected and my adjustments are through the layer mask.

Now if I create an Alpha Channel within the image in PS; and fill it with a mask CM, should see it and bring it into the mask Cart. My question on this for you is Why? If you can edit the mask in PS or create an editable mask in CM why bring it in as an alpha?

Greg

[DougS]

I answered Greg via email but forgot to post a reply here...

Yes, if the channel exists for a mask, it works in mask carte. The problem was a plugin I use makes a layer mask, but unless that layer is selected, CM does not see the mask. Solution: save the layer mask as a channel layer and voila, imports to CM mask carte. I wrote a small .atn to do so easily.

I like to adjust a mask in CM because I can make the curve as a full screen window (second monitor) and very finely tune a curve for a specific curve portion.

[gregmeister_admin]

Got it...Glad CM can assist you in the process.
Greg

[DougS]

I was about to ask another question/new thread on a somewhat related topic.....and to my amazement after looking at one of the videos again, I found my answer; that the capability is already there.

So sharing here in case others missed it.
The question stemmed from when we select a point on the image we see a "worm" on the curves...excellent!
But wouldn't it be great if selecting a point on a curve we could see what pixels are affected in the image....Yes, we can. A simple button in CM.
Thanks for having an answer before I asked the question.

Doug