Photoshop Top 40, Feature #31: The Brush Tool

The modest brush tool is one of the deepest, most versatile tools in Photoshop. It's not only a terrific painting tool, but it is also invaluable for masking, as this video demonstrates.

Photoshop Top 40, Feature #32: The Pen Tool

Newbies select images with the quick select and magic wand tools. Highly automated, but they rarely work. Experts use the pen tool. It's an art form unto itself, but it always works.

Photoshop Top 40, Feature #33: Calculations

One of the oldest, most abstruse commands in Photoshop, Calculations lets you merge two channels to create a new alpha channel. It's a tough nut to crack, but crack it you must if you want to master masking.

Bert Has Me Back on "Pixel Perfect"

"Photoshop CS4 Smart Objects" Begins

High-Res, Downloadable Masking Video and Layered PSD File

The Essential Approach to Masking

Channels & Masks Video Lesson 5: "Using the Image to Select Itself"