Need to isolate and remove specific parts of an image? Let’s look at how to create clipping paths in Photoshop.
Through clipping masks, Adobe Photoshop makes it possible to isolate certain parts of an image without permanently changing the layer.
Clipping paths allow you to tweak the image at any point in the creative process — and to quickly undo your edits if you ever change your mind. This type of “non-destructive” editing is essential to a professional workflow.
Below, we’ve shared how to do a clipping path in Photoshop, using any image that you like.
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Video: Creating a Clipping Path with the Paths Panel
Check out this brief video tutorial to learn how to create clipping paths in Photoshop.
How to Create a Clipping Path in Photoshop
Here’s how to use the Pen tool to create a new clipping path:
- Launch Photoshop and load the image you’d like to edit.
- Select the Pen tool from the main toolbar and start drawing around the object that needs to be isolated. Be sure to fully close the path.
- Once you’ve drawn a complete path around the object, go to the Paths panel and click the menu in the upper right. Select Save Path and name your path.
- Click into the same menu and then select Clipping Path.
- Save your clipping path by going to File > Save As and selecting a file type that supports clipping paths: TIFF, JPG, PSD, or Photoshop EPS.
Now that you’ve saved your clipping path, you can open the file in other programs like InDesign and Illustrator and will see the clipping path. Using the Direct Selection tool, you can even drag the anchor points of the path to continue editing it.
Why Use a Clipping Path?
Clipping masks are often used to remove images from their backgrounds. Let’s pretend you’ve uploaded a photo of a white horse on a dirt trail, but you want to cut the horse out of the image and place him in a completely new scene. Clipping paths allow you to do so — and to then use that file across other programs.
For a quicker and easier method of removing backgrounds, however, try Create’s Background Remover!
Cover image via StonePictures.
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