Web Development: September 2024

How to add a mask in Affinity Designer

In the previous Affinity Designer tutorial, we learned how to use the Artistic Text Tool. We're close to the end, but first, let's discover how to add a mask in Affinity Designer.

You can also learn all the basics of this software in our ultimate Affinity Designer tutorial for beginners. Here, we're going into full detail.

If you're more of a video tutorial kind of person, check out the free course below from the Tuts+ YouTube channel.

Watch the lesson: How to add a mask in Affinity Designer

Let's add a mask to our Affinity Designer project. To do that, take the text and drop it on the layer's thumbnail.

Now, we're using the text as a mask. We can have multiple masks on a single image.

Now, duplicate the image from the Layers panel by selecting it and hitting Command-J. Expand the duplicated image layer and delete the mask. Bring that layer back behind the text layer.

Drop the text on the layer's thumbnail

Delete the mask from the duplicated layer

Bring it behind the text layer

We'll use a Blend Mode trick to create the effect of the image bleeding out of the mask. So select the image, go to Blend Mode, and choose Divide from the dropdown menu.

Affinity Designer tutorial for beginners: Use the Divide Blend Mode.

Blend modes require some sort of color behind the object in order to blend. We'll follow some steps to achieve that.

Let's go ahead and turn this into an artboard. We'll go to the Artboard Tool, click Insert Artboard, and give it a fill color from our color panel.

Affinity Designer beginner tutorial: Select the Artboard Tool.

Go to the Artboard Tool

Click "Insert Artboard"

Apply any color by dragging the sliders. Darken the background for better visibility of the image. Note that it's starting to bleed in some spots.

Affinity Designer tutorial for beginners: Blend effect on the image.

Now that we've done that, let's bring "Futura" back. It's hard to see the word, so we'll create a rectangle to frame it. Select the Rectangle Tool and drag the shape out.

It doesn't matter what size it is. Later I'll show you a handy trick to make it exactly the size of our text in just a couple of clicks.

Select the Rectangle Tool

Affinity Designer beginner tutorial: Add the rectangle.

Drag the rectangle out

Select the rectangle. Use the color picker to make it the same red as the one in the original image. Get rid of the stroke. Go back to the fill and change the color of "Futura" to white.

Affinity Designer basic tutorial: Change the color of the Futura text to white.

It's still hard to read, so bring the rectangle up above everything else. Now, we'll make sure the rectangle is sized exactly to our text.

Whatever we select first is going to be the thing that everything else gets scaled to. If we select the text first, that means the rectangle will be scaled to the text size, not the other way around.

So select the text first. Hold Shift, and then select the rectangle. Go up to the Align panel, centering it vertically and to Selection Bounds.

Below you'll see the Make Same option. As the name suggests, this helps you make the shape the same width and height. Finally, just click Apply.

Alignment panel

Align vertically

Selection Bounds

Use the Contour Tool to add a bit of padding. Let's also make the corners sharp.

Affinity Designer tutorial for beginners: Use the Contour Tool.

Select the Contour Tool

Affinity Designer tutorial for beginners: Give the shape sharp edges.

Make the corners sharp

For the last part, let's give the rectangle some texture. Go up to the Fill. In the Gradient tab, select the red color and add a bit of noise.

Go to Fill

Select the Gradient tab

Add some noise

Use the color picker, select a color from the rectangle, and apply it. It doesn't really matter if it's the same—we just want to add a bit of texture here.

Perfect! We've got our noise applied, and we're ready to move on.

Explore our best Affinity Designer tutorials

You're now one step closer to becoming an Affinity Designer guru. There's still so much more you can learn from our Envato Tuts+ and Envato Blog tutorials.

And if you don't feel like starting from scratch, go get a professionally designed template from the Envato library. A subscription will give you access to millions of creative resources!

Check out more of our best Affinity Designer tutorials: