Layering Masks

1: Background Mask

This is one of the simplest methods of masking. It relies on placing blocks over the background in order to only have the effect/background visible within the structures.

Setup#

1. Place plain blocks everywhere besides the structures. These blocks will serve as masking blocks. For spikes, use the long slopes scaled down to 0.50x size.

2. Place a design or an effect into the editor and layer it under the masking blocks.

Pros#

• Simple
• Infinite design possibilities

Cons#

• Background is limited to one color

Examples#

• Auditory Breaker by Manix648 and Lazerblitz

• Impasse by G4lvatron

2: Equal Color Mask

Being relatively simple as well, this mask relies on the design or effect pattern being hidden by a background or a block of the same color. This works regardless of opacity.

Setup#

This mask is more straightforward than it may sound. The only aspects that need to be checked are that the structures are placed in a layer below the designs and that the designs and effects patterns are the exact same color as the background.

• As in the picture below, the lines that are the same color as the background look invisible until a block is placed under it.

When this concept is applied to a block design, as seen here, you get this. Because the design is the same color as the background, the part of the design outside of the block remains perfectly hidden.

Pros#

• Simple
• Can be combined with other masks

Cons#

• Background is limited to one color

Examples#

• Curl Up by ilrell and Millepatte

• Come Back To Earth by Wulzy

• Invinciwolf 2 by Werewolf GD (background)

3: Color Pair Mask

This mask is a little more difficult than the previous two. It’s created by putting together different shades and opacities of colors, allowing objects to look either darker or lighter depending on the part of the mask that lays above them.

Setup#

1. Place a background and objects in the editor.
2. Select a hue for both background and objects. Make the background darker than the objects.

3. Make another background that combines a light version of the colors chosen with a low opacity black overlay.

Tweak the brightness of the objects and backgrounds, as well as the opacity of the black overlay, until it looks similar to the picture below.

Here’s how this looks when applied to a block design.

You can also combine this mask with other animations and visual effects, like this.

Pros#

• Colors are easy to work with
• Flexible in terms of patterns and designs

Cons#

• Does not allow overlapping
• Setup is a little tedious

Examples#

• Glyph by Optical

4: General Layering Mask

This mask uses multiple layers to create a pattern when a block is layered in between. Think of it as “sandwiching” a layer between two other layers to show the pattern. It also allows for many different masks at once.

Setup#

1. Begin by making a set of blocks and setting them to low opacity. Select a pattern out of these blocks and add it onto a higher layer than the rest of the blocks.

Make your block structures. Ensure that they are in between the two layers of the pattern.

Additionally, there is a glow mask variant that can be created:

1. For this, you’ll have to create a large glow object, but put the glow pieces on a higher layer than the blocks.

2. From here, make your block design. Ensure that it’s in between both layers of the glow.

3. Finally, add some of the glow blocks you made for the effect. For example, the picture below has a large tan piece of glow in the middle for visuals.

Pros#

• Works well with other masks
• Works well with blending colors

Cons#

• Background can look faded
• Mask patterns cannot contain overlapping

Examples#

• Invinciwolf 2 by WerewolfGD (block structures)

• Next Yesterday by ilrell (both old and new versions)

5: Color Combination Layering Mask

This mask uses transparency and color combination techniques to make masked designs appear invisible in the background. Think of it as using two general layering masks at once.

This masking technique also allows you to make multiple masks at the same time.

Setup#

1. Make two blocks and set them with an opacity of less than 1.00, and with different colors. Put these blocks on a layer.
2. Make two other blocks and set them to the same opacity, but with different colors. Put them on a lower Z layer than the first two blocks.
3. Since these blocks are being added to the top blocks, adjust these colors so that the combinations result in the same color, like below.

4. Make a pattern out of the color combinations. The pattern cannot overlap at all, otherwise the mask will show through in the background. The example provided below is a checkerboard pattern.

As seen below, when an object is placed in between these two designs, the checkerboard becomes visible.

Here’s how this looks when applied to a block design:

It’s easy to see how the pattern is only visible within the blocks. This can also, however, make the background appear faded. To mitigate this, increase the brightness by using some blending glow to make an overlay.

Pros#

• Allows for many masks
• Allows for many color combinations Works well with blending colors

Cons#

• Setup can be tedious
• Background can appear faded if not dealt with
• Patterns cannot overlap
• Object-heavy

Examples#

Grapheme by Optical

Curl Up by ilrell and Millepatte

6: Spu7nix’s Old Mask

This is an old mask Spu7nix used back in Update 2.0. It uses the same principles as the Background and Equal Color Masks.

Although outdated, it’s an interesting method of masking.

Setup#

1. Begin by making a cutout of the gameplay in similar fashion to a background mask.
2. Within the empty areas, add some black blocks at 0.12x opacity. Layer these blocks above the other blocks.

3. Make a pattern with different colors. This will serve as the background.

4. Add the same pattern on a layer above but with the colors reversed and at 0.35x opacity. You should end up with a pair of equal colors. Tweak the colors around until an ideal combination is reached.

Pros#

• Allows for a large range of color combinations

Cons#

• Outdated
• Neither blocks nor patterns can contain overlapping
• Setup is tedious in terms of perfecting

Examples#

• Hallucion by Spu7nix

Summary#

• Layering masks make use of how Z layers work to make certain visual effects easily.
• It is certainly a wise decision to take note of these masks and attempt to use them in projects, especially beyond the uses shown here.

Credits