Guide: How to Use Layer Mask To Remove Background in GIMP
Often when we take a picture or download one from the internet, the background does not suit our taste. Most of the time, you would be disappointed and curse your luck for not knowing a powerful tool like Adobe Photoshop. But do not worry. You have GIMP. GIMP, the free photo editing tool, is one of the best alternatives to Photoshop. It offers several ways to remove the image background by making it transparent. However, one of the easiest and most useful methods (you know why) is to use layer masks. Before we get into the steps of using layer masks to erase the background, let’s first understand the layer masks briefly.
What are layer masks
Layer masks are used when editing images to control the visibility of the layers present under a layer. Typically, you would delete part of the image to reveal the underlying layer. But that’s what makes layer masks different. This allows you to hide or show certain parts of an image without actually deleting other parts of it. Think of it as a non-destructive way to remove parts of a photo from your view.
Still confused? I will explain it with a realistic example. You know how when you paint something to cover the areas with masking tape where you don’t want to paint. That way you can easily paint the surface without worrying about other areas. That’s exactly how layer masks are used in digital editing: you hide areas on an image with masks without removing them. Furthermore, layer masks help you easily retrieve the surface that you accidentally deleted / hidden. That’s not possible with other techniques where you have to go through the tedious process of undoing it and, in some cases, starting from scratch.
Basic types of layer masks
You usually work with two types of layer masks: white and black. When adding a layer mask, paint the surface with a black color to hide the parts and use a white color to show them. Remember it this way: black will be hidden and white will be revealed for the current layer.
White mask (full coverage)
When you add a white layer mask, you won’t see any visual change in your image (except for the layer mask in the layer box). To use it (or to remove the mask), you have to paint the image with black color. When you do this, the layer below your current layer will become visible. If there is no layer underneath, the transparency is revealed.
Painting the layer mask with black color will make it completely transparent. Use other shades of gray to control the transparency level. Use this mask when you want to hide only a small part of the layer, such as when removing the background from an image.
Black mask (full transparency)
Adding a black mask will make your entire image transparent. That is, your layer will go blank. To make the parts of your current layer visible (or to remove the mask), paint it with a white brush. That makes the pixels on the current layer visible to you. The black mask is useful when you want to hide most of the layer and reveal only part of it.
Basically if you have a white mask then use black color to show the background and if you have black layer then use white color to show current layer. Now that you know the basics of layer masks, let’s take a look how to remove the background using them.
How to Remove image background in GIMP
Step 1: Open the image in GIMP that you want to remove the background from with the File> Open option. Tip Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + O to open the Open Image dialog box in Windows and Command + O on macOS.
Step 2: Then right-click on the image in the layer box and select Add Layer Mask from the menu. Or go to Layer> Mask> Add Layer Mask in the top bar to add it.
Step 3: In the Layer Mask dialog that appears, check the White (full opacity) option.
You will notice that a small box filled with white color appears next to your image thumbnail in the layer box.
Step 4: Now that we’ve filled the layer mask with white, we need to use black color to remove the background. To do this, keep the foreground color black in the color box on the right. Tip: Press D to automatically make black foreground and white for background color respectively.
Step 5: Click on the brush tool to activate it. Then color the areas you want to remove. You will see that by stroking the brush on the image, the area will be removed. Apply brush strokes to the area you want to make transparent.
Make sure the mask is activated when you start using the brush on your image. Just click on the mask in the layers panel. It should have a white border around it. If the image is selected instead of the mask and you start drawing, you will see a normal black color on your image.
Step 6: If at any point you make a mistake removing the background, you don’t have to start all over. Just invert the colors, ie make the foreground color white and the background black. Then paint on the area you want to bring back.
Step 7: Finally, to maintain the transparency of the photo, it is essential to save the image as a PNG file. PNG differs from JPG in that it keeps the transparency layer intact. That is, if you save the image in JPG or some other format instead of PNG, it will lose transparency. To save the image, click on the File option at the top and select Export as from it. Tip Use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + E (Windows) and Shift + Command + E (macOS) to open the export dialog.
Navigate to the folder where you want to save the image. Make sure to keep the PNG file extension.
Take the help of layer masks
Not only are layef masks useful for removing the background, but you can use them for many other things as well. For starters, by making an image transparent, you can easily change its background. You can also apply an effect to part of an image without affecting the whole image. Likewise, you can merge two images by using them. Layer masks are also widely used for selective coloring. The next up: Spruce up your text in GIMP by adding a hint of shadow to it. Check out our detailed guide for adding shadow to text with GIMP.
How to Use Layer Mask To Remove Background in GIMP: benefits
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Final note
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