Editing the Linear Gradient Mask

If you want to edit the Linear Gradient Mask, ensure that you have selected the correct Layer in the Layers tool and that you have selected Draw Linear Gradient Mask (keyboard shortcut L). You can now move the start line or end line by dragging them, rotate the mask by hovering the mouse over the central line, and reposition the entire mask.

Watch this tutorial to learn how to create and transform the Linear Gradient Mask.

You can even adjust the distance from the start or end line to the central line independently by holding down Alt while dragging them. This way you can adjust the transition zone from 100% to 50% mask to cover a large area while the transition zone from 50% to 0% can be short.

1. Go to the Layers tool and select the layer with a Linear Gradient Mask.
   
   
   
   
2. Select Draw Linear Gradient Mask from the footer of the Layers tool or use the keyboard shortcut L.
   
   
   
   
3. Click on the start line or end line and drag them to adjust the gradient coverage. Hold down Option/Alt to be able to adjust the start line or end line independently; the central line will stay idle and only the selected coverage zone will change.
   
   
4. You can rotate the mask by hovering the mouse over the central line (the cursor will change to a rotate icon) and drag up or down. Hold down Shift while dragging to lock the rotation to angles of 45-degree increments.
   
   
5. It is possible to reposition the entire mask by hovering the mouse anywhere over the gradient mask (the cursor will change to a move icon) and dragging it to a new position.

Useful keyboard shortcuts

• Hold down Shift while creating the Linear Gradient Mask to lock the rotation to angles of 45-degree increments.
  
  
• Click on a layer and hold down Command/Ctrl to reposition the mask without the need to have the Draw Linear Gradient Mask cursor selected.
  
  
• Hold down the Option/Alt key while dragging either the start line or the end line to adjust the two mask transition zones independently.
  
  
• Hold down Shift while dragging either the start line or the end line to resize the mask symmetrically (the center line will stay idle).
  
  
• Hold down Shift while dragging the center line to lock the rotation to angles of 45-degree increments.
  
  

You can also invert the Linear Gradient Mask, which basically flips the mask coverage. It keeps the non-destructive nature, meaning that you can readjust the inverted Gradient Mask by moving it, dragging the start line or the end line to new positions, or rotate it.

1. Select the layer with the Linear Gradient Mask in the Layers tool.
   
   
2. Right-click and select Invert Mask or choose Layer -> Invert Mask.
   
   
3. You can now readjust position, coverage, and rotation is you see fit.
   
   

If you want to edit the Linear Gradient Mask with the brush by either adding or removing areas of the mask, it will need to be rasterized first. This operation basically changes the mask to be pixel-based, meaning that you cannot readjust the gradient after the fact. The resulting mask will then be the same type as if you were using the Draw Mask feature (or created a Gradient Mask in Capture One 11 and earlier).

1. Go to the Layers tool and select the layer with a Linear Gradient Mask.
   
   
   
   
2. Select Draw Mask or Erase Mask from the footer of the Layers tool or use the keyboard shortcuts B or E respectively.
   
   
   
   
3. Click on the image in the viewer to start editing the mask. Capture One will now alert you that you are about to rasterize the mask. Accept by clicking on Rasterize.
   
   
4. You can now add or remove areas by painting with the brush, depending on whether you have chosen Draw Mask or Erase Mask.

Note that you can also rasterize the Linear Gradient Mask directly by right-clicking on the layer in the Layers tool and selecting Rasterize Mask or choosing Layer -> Rasterize Mask.

<<   Creating a Linear Gradient Mask   |  The Radial Gradient Mask overview   >>