How do I do this in PS CC? I'm trying to retain the masks but when I merge the two shapes into one, part of the layer mask is lost.
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Merge two shapes with layer masks?
- Thread starter davidjearly
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No, you haven't.
- What are the two shapes? Bitmap data on separate layers or vector shapes each on their own layer?
- What are the masks are you trying to retain?
- Are you wanting to retain the "masks' as separate masks or are you wanting to concatenate them into a single mask?
I think this is what you are looking for:
Here’s a quick example I made. I started with two squares, each on their own layer with a mask to make them feathered circles.
1 Add new layer.
2 Cursor over the first mask, Press Command + Left Click to highlight.
3 Cursor over the second mask, Press Command + Shift + Left Click to add to the selection.
4 Click on your new layer.Click on the add new mask button at the bottom of the Layers palette to add the mask to your new layer.
5 Trash the masks on the original layers.
6 Merge the original Layers.
7 Drag the Merged mask down to the newly merged layer.
Hope that helps.
Here’s a quick example I made. I started with two squares, each on their own layer with a mask to make them feathered circles.
1 Add new layer.
2 Cursor over the first mask, Press Command + Left Click to highlight.
3 Cursor over the second mask, Press Command + Shift + Left Click to add to the selection.
4 Click on your new layer.Click on the add new mask button at the bottom of the Layers palette to add the mask to your new layer.
5 Trash the masks on the original layers.
6 Merge the original Layers.
7 Drag the Merged mask down to the newly merged layer.
Hope that helps.
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Great steps and excellent illustration.
I would add that if you are going to do this to a real working file that you do it on either a copy of the file, preserving the original if something goes wrong, or that you first:
1. Group the two original layeres with their masks
2. Duplicate the Group.
3. Turn off / hide one of the groups.
4. Perform MacUser2059's steps on the visible group while retaining the hidden copy as a backup.
Thanks, greatly appreciate the effort you've put in. However, it's not working for me. When I trash the old masks on the shape layers, the original shape is retained and the mask lost. Dragging the new mask down does't appear to help.
Just make a copy of the layers and then do whatever you want with the originals.