Comments on: Opacity Mask Basics: Illustrator

By: Darren at Pure and Simple Web Design

Darren at Pure and Simple Web Design — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:26:59 +0000

At John –
“I love this site. I am very new w/ illustrator so this is probably a newbie question. After I am done creating my transparent gradient opacity mask I cannot view any of my previously created layers. There is just the opacity mask layer. What I am I doing wrong?”

* – Take a look in your Transparency palette – you’ll notice that out of the two images making the opacity mask, you have the mask selected – try selecting the thumbnail next to it in the Transparency palette – you should see all your layers come back.
Darren.

By: Adobe Illustrator « [ b h a n g b h a n g b a n g ]

Adobe Illustrator « [ b h a n g b h a n g b a n g ] — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:40:22 +0000

[...] some nerdy math humor, replacing the fool on the tightrope with Ryu a haduken, and a putting shiny opacity mask in the middle. Sure there’s too much going on, it only took 20 min to make, and it probably [...]

By: Super Mega Action Weblog Plus! » Illustrator Gradient Masks

Super Mega Action Weblog Plus! » Illustrator Gradient Masks — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:02:33 +0000

[...] If you’re not sure where to start with opacity masks in Illustrator, Bittbox is a great place to learn the basics. [...]

By: Kookaii

Kookaii — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:51:55 +0000

And like everybody before me, a super huge KUDOS to you Bittbox. Your site is FANTASTIC! I’m a fairly new AI user and all these tips on here are really helping me figure out a lot of the How Tos in Illustrator. Thanks thanks! :D

By: Cari Goldman

Cari Goldman — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:07:29 +0000

I just used the opacity mask for the first time, and I think I’m in love…

By: MellyMae

MellyMae — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:10:27 +0000

Same thing is happening to me… once I create the opacity mask, all my other layers in the layers palette disappear. How do I get them back?

By: Glossy Vector Web 2.0 Logo Text in 5 Easy Steps | BittBox

Glossy Vector Web 2.0 Logo Text in 5 Easy Steps | BittBox — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:42:36 +0000

[...] make the reflection itself “fade” out with a transparency gradient, read this post on making an Opacity Mask in [...]

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:59:56 +0000

It looks great in illustrator, but when converted to PDF, transparency is much thinner, and looks different. Any suggestions?……

By: Love/Heart Design: Bubbling Love at Clueless Clay

Love/Heart Design: Bubbling Love at Clueless Clay — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:18:46 +0000

[...] Bubbles – circle, radial gradient (spot the non-bubble which is the biggest one on the right! That was created using opacity mask; see this great tutorial from Bittbox) [...]

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:03:32 +0000

This is f’ing ridiculous you have to go through 5 steps just to create a simple opacity mask. Illustrator freaking sucks.

By: Markus

Markus — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:40:14 +0000

thank you :)
it isn´t so easy, is it?
but i got it

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:18:39 +0000

Wonderful! Thank you.

By: Patrice Lafond

Patrice Lafond — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:17:55 +0000

…just to confirm (again) that the “switch” between grayscale and RGB works… that solves the “not completely transparent” problem… must be a bug in CS3.

Oh, and btw, excellent tutorial! :D

By: Gazduire web site, inregistrare domenii .ro

Gazduire web site, inregistrare domenii .ro — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:30:59 +0000

Just what I was looking for.

By: drei

drei — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:26:21 +0000

good job!…i like it!

By: eobet

eobet — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:35:05 +0000

I had the same problem as wmarple. No matter what I seeminlgy did, I could never get 100% transparency on a gradient in the opacity mask.

The solution was this: If you convert your document from CMYK to RGB, make sure that you convert all your blacks from CMYK/Greyscale to RGB.

Just switching the mode in the color palette does the trick, apparently.

By: Fayna

Fayna — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:19:03 +0000

Nevermind, I *just* figured it out… I need to click “Show options” above “Make opacity mask” in the Transparency palette flyout menu to see the same options as everyone else. :D

By: Fayna

Fayna — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:16:28 +0000

Thank you for such a lovely tutorial!!

I’m just having trouble with my transparency palette… it doesn’t look the same as your’s. All I have is the blend mode drop-down and the opacity slider. I click “Make opacity mask”, but my object just goes blank. Am I doing something wrong? I’m using Illustrator CS3.

If anyone could help, that’d be great! :) Thanks again, Bittbox!

By: PixelDesign

PixelDesign — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:26:42 +0000

Thank you so much!!!
:)

greetings from Cracow, Poland

By: Oscar

Oscar — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:54:35 +0000

Great tutorial. It helped solve a problem I was having with making a precise mask. Thanks!