Clipping masks explained (and the shortcut in every program)

What a clipping mask does

A clipping mask acts like a cookie cutter, but it never actually cuts your files. It simply hides the parts of a top layer that fall outside the boundaries of the layer underneath it. The bottom layer acts as the base shape, and the top layer is the material that fills it.

Because digital scrapbooking uses a standard page size of 12 x 12 inches at 300 ppi, which is 3600 x 3600 pixels, your photos and papers are often larger than the frames you want to put them in. A clipping mask hides the excess instantly. Digital scrapbooking elements and alphabets are transparent PNG files, while digital papers are solid JPG files. You will often clip a solid JPG paper to a transparent PNG shape.

You can even clip several layers to the same base shape. For example, you might clip a JPG paper file to a shape, and then clip a texture overlay on top of that paper. Both layers will only show inside the original base shape.

Why scrapbookers use them

The most common reason to use a clipping mask is to figure out how to use page templates. Templates come with gray shapes that act as placeholders. You place your photo or digital paper over the placeholder and create a clipping mask to fill the shape perfectly.

You will also use them to put a photo inside a decorative frame shape. Instead of trying to erase the edges of your photo to fit the frame, the clipping mask does the work instantly. Since the original photo stays untouched, you can nudge it around until the best part of the image is visible.

Another great use is for recoloring digital papers and elements. You can clip an adjustment layer to a single transparent PNG element. The color change will only affect that specific element instead of changing the colors on your entire scrapbook page.

Step by step clipping mask basics

Creating a clipping mask requires your layers to be in the correct order in your layers panel. The process is very similar across most software programs.

• Open your scrapbook page document.
• Place the base shape layer on your page.
• Add your photo or paper layer directly above the shape layer.
• Make sure the photo or paper layer is selected in the layers panel.
• Apply the clipping mask shortcut for your specific software.
• Click on the photo layer on your page to move or resize it inside the shape.

Once the layers are clipped together, you can continue working on the rest of your scrapbook layout.

Shortcuts by program

Every program has a slightly different way to create a clipping mask. Here are the shortcuts for the most popular options.

If you want to make a digital scrapbook page in Photoshop, hold down the Alt or Option key and click on the line between the two layers in the layers panel. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+G on Windows or Cmd+Option+G on a Mac.

For those who scrapbook in Photoshop Elements, go to the top menu and choose Layer, then Create Clipping Mask. The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+G on Windows or Cmd+G on a Mac.

To make a digital scrapbook page in Affinity, you just drag the top layer onto the thumbnail of the shape layer in your layers panel.

If you make a digital scrapbook page in Canva, you do not need a keyboard shortcut. You just drop the photo directly into a frame element, which behaves exactly like a clipping mask.

GIMP does not have a native clipping mask feature. To get the same result, right click the shape layer and choose Alpha to Selection. Then add a layer mask from the selection to your photo layer.