Which mask type uses a shape to determine visibility of underlying layers?

Which mask type uses a shape to determine visibility of underlying layers?

• A. Layer Mask
• B. Clipping Mask
• C. Vector Mask
• D. Alpha Channel

Answer: (B)

Clipping masks use the shape of the upper layer to determine visibility of the layers beneath. The top layer acts like a stencil: its opaque areas reveal whatever is on the layers below, while its transparent areas hide those parts. This lets you carve out irregular shapes from underlying content simply by shaping the upper layer. This differs from a layer mask, which controls transparency on its own layer using grayscale values you paint on the mask. A vector mask uses vector shapes to define transparency, typically affecting a single layer or a group based on scalable vector outlines. An alpha channel stores overall transparency information for the image as a separate channel rather than being driven by the content of a visible shape.

Clipping masks use the shape of the upper layer to determine visibility of the layers beneath. The top layer acts like a stencil: its opaque areas reveal whatever is on the layers below, while its transparent areas hide those parts. This lets you carve out irregular shapes from underlying content simply by shaping the upper layer.

This differs from a layer mask, which controls transparency on its own layer using grayscale values you paint on the mask. A vector mask uses vector shapes to define transparency, typically affecting a single layer or a group based on scalable vector outlines. An alpha channel stores overall transparency information for the image as a separate channel rather than being driven by the content of a visible shape.