[ken]

okay, here's a paintshop pro (!) feature i can't seem to replicate in photoshop 5.5. in psp you can create a mask using an image's existing transparency or luminosity.

so if layer A has a partially transparent bubble on it or something, and i have a fully opaque apple on layer B, how to i map layer A's transparency onto layer B? er... so my apple looks like a bubble?

i'm guessing ps has some uber way of doing this, probably using channels because i have no idea how to use them...

-Ken

[Frog]

Control (command on the mac) click on the layer whose transparency properties you want to use, this creates a selection based on that layer's transparency.

Then go to the layer that you wish to edit, go to the layer menu and select "add layer mask" ---> "reveal selection". Voila. You can still edit that mask and it doesn't affect the underlying image.

PS: don't be afraid of channels, if you know masks then that's all channels are!