Page 305 - Xara Designer Pro X17

Transparency 305

The Opacity Mask system takes any object, or group of objects, and uses the color
(usually black to white shading) of these objects to define which parts of any other object
are transparent or opaque.

Original watch design Watch applied as an opacity mask to a rectangle
First draw the shapes you want to define the opacity (the opacity mask). It can be
anything from a simple shape, or blend, to a complex grouped drawing. Any black color
will become 100% transparent, while white will be 100% opaque and shades in-between
will create varying degrees of transparency.
You can apply the opacity mask to other objects in your design in two different ways
(both give the same results). Also if you use the SHAPE ERASER tool with a soft nib
setting, it will create an opacity mask using your erase strokes to achieve the erasing
effect on the selected objects.

Applying using the clipboard
Select the object which is to be the mask and copy it to the clipboard. Then select the
object, photo, or group to which you want to apply this mask and select EDIT -> PASTE
OPACITY MASK. There are two options, the first will position the opacity mask into the
center of the selected object. The second option 'Paste opacity mask in place' will paste
it into the selected object based on the original position of the mask.

Apply directly
Place the object to which you want to apply the mask behind the object(s) that you want
to apply as a mask. Then select both the mask object(s) and the object to which the
mask is to be applied, and select ARRANGE->APPLY OPACITY MASK.

The backmost object is taken as the target for the mask and all other objects in the
selection make up the opacity mask. So if you want to apply a mask to multiple objects
this way, you need to group them first and place them behind the mask objects.

You now have a special type of group called an 'Opacity mask group'.