Masking your Mondrian Creations

Mondrian Maker's Mask function lets you quickly separate your level from the background to make transparent images in the photo or graphics editor of your choice! Check out this quick guide to learn how to use this powerful feature to make sprites, merch, and more!

Introduction to Masks

Masks, in graphic design terms, specify an area of an image that is designated to be transparent. Traditionally, they are a binary system, where white areas are visible and black areas are invisible.

In Mondrian Studio, the Mask function can be used to create true separations between your level geometry and the background image to help you create transparent results.

The Mask function itself can be found under the Visual Effects tab. Simply drag the slider to the right side to turn the Mask on.

Mask Settings

When the Mask is on, Mondrian Studio almost goes into different mode which disables some functions, while others create interesting results. Here are the ways you can mix up your masks:

Custom Framing

In the Custom Framing tab, selecting "Negative Only" or "None" under Visibility will, as always, hide the Frame, but you may want this in case you don't want the frame to interfere with your creation.

Visual Effects

In the Visual Effects tab, on top of toggling the Mask on and off, toggling Night Mode is also a quick way to invert the Mask. You may want this if your goal is to create a sprite or transparent version of your creation, rather than have your creation be a cutout in a background image.

Snapshot Capture

In the Snapshot Capture tab, the Logo Styles can also be set as a piece of your mask if you so choose.

Applying the Mask

Transparent Images/Sprites

Creating Sprites or Transparent Images using Mondrian Studio's Mask functions is a super simple process no matter what tool you're using! In this tutorial, we've kept the background image on, but generally, you'll get cleaner results if you turn the background image off before working outside of the game.

Copy the initial image in the Snapshot Capture tab, then press Alt-Tab to change windows to the photo editor of your choice. We'll be using Photopea.com for the purposes of this guide, as it is free, in-browser, and highly featured, but others such as Photoshop, Paint.net, and Gimp will work similarly.


In your photo editor, paste the initial image of your creation as the bottom layer. Go back into Mondrian - Plastic Reality, select the Visual Effects tab in Mondrian Studio, and turn on the Mask slider. Copy the black & white image in the Snapshot Capture tab, and paste it into your photo editor as the top layer.


With the black & white layer on top and visible, select the Channels tab (next to Layers, or go to Window > Channels), and click the dotted-line square, aka the "Selection" button ("Load Channel as Selection" in Photoshop). This will select the White areas of the image.


Back in the Layers tab, hide the black & white layer, and select your main image. Click the "Add Raster Mask" button ("Add Layer Mask" in Photoshop) with the channel selection still active. If the level becomes transparent and the background image is still visible, you will need to invert the mask. Simply select the layer mask and press Ctrl-I or go to Image > Adjustments > Invert.


Finally, right click the Mask thumbnail and choose "Apply" ("Apply Layer Mask" in Photoshop). This will make the masked pixels transparent, leaving only the pixels from the level geometry. Then, right click the Layer thumbnail and choose "Select Pixels." Go to "Image > Crop" to crop the image to your level. Go to File > Export > PNG (or File > Save As in Photoshop) to save it as a transparent PNG image that can be used anywhere on the web or even in other games!

Cutouts

Alternately, let's say you want to use your level as a cutout in another picture. Paste the black & white capture as the top layer of your picture, and perform the above steps to create the mask. Now, unlink the mask and the layer by clicking the chain icon in between the Layer and Mask thumbnails. You can then drag the mask around to wherever you'd like it! You can also resize, rotate, flip, and perform other Transform functions on the mask without affecting the Layer this way.