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TKActions Basic V6
©2017 Tony Kuyper

TKActions Basic V6 ©2017 Tony Kuyper

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Table of Contents

Legal Notice / Acknowledgement 3

Overview 3

Unique Features 4

Very Important Information 4

Installation 5

Active Selection Indicator 5

Using the Basic V6 Panel 6

1. SOURCE 6
2. MASK 6
3. OUTPUT 7
Layer button 7
Selection button 8
Channel button 8
Apply button 8
4. Other Features 9

Troubleshooting 10

NOTE: Button names are underlined in the sections that follow.

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LEGAL NOTICE

The TKActions Basic V6 panel is copyrighted material (©Tony Kuyper). You may
use the panel for your personal work and enjoyment but transfer or sale is
prohibited. If someone is interested in using the panel, please have them visit my
website www.Goodlight.us to obtain it.

The terms TKActions, Rapid Mask and Luminosity Lock were coined by Tony Kuyper
and are trademarks of his products− TKActionsTM, Rapid MaskTM, Luminosity LockTM.

Thank you for respecting the time and effort it takes to develop these techniques
and for showing the appropriate consideration for the intellectual property of
others. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions, comments,
or suggestions.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The TK Basic V6 panel owes much to the many photographers who have
contributed suggestions and feedback. Sean Bagshaw, André Distel, Luca Libralato,
David Vercruysse, Antonio Prado, and Roy Yuan were the alpha-testers and have
provided valuable recommendations.

OVERVIEW

Since the publication of the original tutorial in 2006, luminosity masks have become
widespread and widely-accepted in the digital photographic community. Even
Adobe has now included them in the latest version of Light Room and Adobe
Camera Raw. While it's useful to finally be able to access pixel luminance in the
RAW converter, being able to make pixel-based masks for adjustment layers and
exposure blending, as well as pixel-based selections for luminosity painting, are the
areas in Photoshop where luminosity masks have always been most useful and
continue to shine.

The Basic V6 panel is meant to provide a convenient portal to allow photographers

the opportunity to access and explore luminosity mask. By quickly generating the
standard luminosity masks described in the tutorial, it's easy to start using them
and seeing what they can do.

The Basic V6 panel uses the same Rapid Mask engine that powers the more
comprehensive TK RapidMask2 module. This means that only two channel masks
are needed in order to generate a full spectrum of 16-bit masks. It also means that
new masks are created at near real-time speeds as different buttons are clicked.
Basic V6 provides a mask-based interface, so users see the masks as quickly as
they are generated and can make intelligent choices as to which mask to use.

TK Basic V6 has the same top-to-bottom workflow as RapidMask2 using numbered

sections to guide the user through mask creation. It also incorporates the same

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output options. Because its user interface, core process, and workflow are so
similar, Basic V6 is essentially RapidMask2-lite. It's a great way to not only learn
what luminosity masks can do for an image, but is also a great way to see how
easy it is to use them as the Rapid Mask engine does all the hard work in the
background. Luminosity masks need to be fast and intuitive in order to become a
standard part of a creative workflow. The Basic V6 panel makes this possible and is
the ideal tool for quickly getting up to speed with luminosity masks.

UNIQUE FEATURES

Rapid Mask engine. Fast, efficient process for quickly

generating 16-bit luminosty masks.
Mask-based interface. Users see luminosity masks as
fast as they're created in order to decide which one to use.
Intuitive layout. Top-to-bottom workflow with numbered
sections for creating and deploying masks.
Accent color interface. One accent color highlights
button rollovers and mouse clicks. This color can be easily
changed by the user.
Click-tracking. The last button clicked retains an accent-
colored shadow. Users always know which mask they last
generated.
Compact design. Small footprint so image area is not
obscured. The panel can also be conveniently docked
above any standard Photoshop panel.
Instant help. Roll the mouse over any button to receive a help message in the
window at the bottom of the panel.
Multiple languages. The panel comes with six pre-programmed language
interfaces (English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Chinese).

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION

1. Separate panels for Photoshop CC and Photoshop CS6. Extension panels

for PS CC and CS6 are not interchangeable. The CS6 Basic V6 panel looks slightly
different than the CC panel but does essentially the same thing.

2. Properly set up the working color space. There is a PDF called "Setting Up
the Color Working Space" in the download folder. It explains how to properly set
the color and gray working spaces in Photoshop. Be sure to read it and implement
its recommendations to get the best results when using luminosity masks. There is
also a video by Sean Bagshaw on this topic in the download folder

3. The actions are meant to be used in RGB and Lab color modes. While
some actions will work in Grayscale and CYMK, the buttons have only been tested
in RGB and Lab.

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4. Rapid Mask speeds will vary. The Rapid Mask engine significantly speeds up
the process of generating pixel-based masks, but speeds will vary depending on
factors such as computer speed, image size, and available memory. The initial
"Composite" mask takes longer to generate than spectrum masks in the MASK
section. Once a SOURCE has been selected, though, spectrum masks are
generated up to 90% faster than previous methods.

5. Give the actions time to complete their steps. While the panel increases
speed and efficiency or generating luminosity mask, it's important to keep in mind
that Photoshop is still executing numerous steps in the background each time a
button is clicked. Some of the multistep actions called by the panel are memory-
intensive and may take so time to execute. At other times, buttons will not work
because there is a condition, like an open dialog window, that precludes any
Photoshop function from running, including actions in the panel. While the panel
itself is nearly impossible to break, it is possible to push buttons too rapidly or at
the wrong time and end up creating error states in Photoshop. It should be
infrequent, but it's not impossible. If you do notice a predictable and repetitive
error, please contact me so I can fix it.

INSTALLATION

The user needs to manually install the V6 Basic panel. It's not hard. There are
step-by-step directions and illustrations for installing in the download folder. The
CS6 and CC panels have completely different installation methods, so be sure to
follow the correct install method for the version of Photoshop being used.

ACTIVE SELECTION INDICATOR (not present in the CS6 version)

The panel has a built-in active selection indicator. This

indicator turns on whenever there is an active selection. Its
purpose is to remind the user that an active selection is
present even if the marching ants have been purposely
turned off or if the degree of selection is not sufficient to
display marching ants, such as the Midtones-1 selection.

The settings window for the panel, accessed by

clicking the instant help window, includes three
options for displaying the active selection indicator:
Fixed, Animated, and Off.

"Fixed" is the default settings (image at left). In this

mode, the active selection indicator displays as a
series of red dashes across the top of the panel when
there is an active selection. The "Fixed" setting is a
good starting choice. It generally does not require
additional CPU resouces when it displays.

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The "Animated" option (right) displays as a scrolling

series of small black and white dashes similar to the
marching ants that surround selections in Photoshop.
The continuous movement associated with this option
makes it a more obvious reminder that there is an
active selection. However, the Adobe architecture for
extension panels requires more CPU resources to
display the moving gif image of the "Animated" option.

Using the Basic V6 Panel

The Basic V6 panel has three sections: SOURCE,
MASK, and OUTPUT. They are arreanged top-to-
bottom on the panel as this is the usual workflow for
creating and deploying a luminosity mask

1. SOURCE

The SOURCE section should be the starting point for

making any luminosity mask. The Composite button
here saves the pixel luminance of the current state of
the image in a new channel named "Lum Lock" on the
Channels panel. As the image is developed, pixel
luminance across the image will change. Clicking the
Composite button first when making a luminosity mask
ensures that the most up-to-date luminance
information is used to generate masks. The Composite
button also creates an initial Lights-1 Rapid Mask. This
is stored in the "Rapid Mask" channel on the Channels
panel and displayed onscreen.

2. MASK

The MASK section is the next step in creating masks. It provides quick access to
any luminosity mask in the Lights, Darks, and Midtones spectrum of masks.
Because pixel luminance has already been saved in the "Lum Lock" channel,
generating new masks in the MASK section is very quick. When any button in this
section is clicked, Photoshop calculates the corresponding luminosity mask, saves it
in the "Rapid Mask" channel, and displays it on screen. Depending on the size of
the image and the speed of the computer, this is very much a real-time process.
Users can quickly click different mask buttons to find the one that best matches the
parts of the image they want to adjust or reveal.

The +/- buttons in the upper corners of the MASK section toggle the creation and
removal of the corresponding series of masks on the Channels panel. This is for
people that to want generate all the masks in a series at one time. However, this is

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an older way of generating luminosity masks and the Rapid Mask engine essentially
makes it unnecessary. It's usually just as quick to click the different MASK buttons
and see the masks that way.

The Image and Mask buttons in the MASK section are a

way to alternate between seeing the Rapid Mask and the
actual image. This can sometimes be helpful for choosing
the correct mask.

It's important to keep in mind that the "Lum Lock" channel

saves pixel data as it exists when the Composite button in
the SOURCE section is clicked. But pixel values change as
the image develops, and so the saved "Lum Lock" data can
quickly grow stale. As such, be sure to always click the
Composite button each time a mask is needed at a new
stage in the development process. This makes sure the
freshest data is used to calculate masks.

3. OUTPUT

Once the user has created the Rapid Mask that looks right to them, the OUTPUT
section offers different options for actually using the mask. There is no "right"
output choice. It all depends on the development goal the user has in mind for the
mask. The OUTPUT section makes different alternatives readily available.

It's worth noting that the OUTPUT section is the best way to maintain the bit-depth
of the masks that are generated. The Basic V6 panel always makes masks whose
bit-depth matches that of the image. 16-bit images will always have 16-bit masks
because all the masks are made using Photoshop calculations. Older methods for
making masks involved successively intersecting selections. But selections are
always 8-bit by default, so using them permanently introduces an 8-bit quality to
the output mask, which can accumulate and be undesirable. With the exception of
the Selection output option, the OUTPUT section of the Basic V6 panel maintains
the 16-bit character of the Rapid Mask straight through to
its ultimate deployment destination.

Layer button

The Layer button always creates a new layer with the

current Rapid Mask as the layer mask. It opens a menu
where the user is presented four options−Curves, Levels,
Brightness/Contrast, and Hue/Sat. Clicking one of these
creates the corresponding adjustment layer on the Layers
panel with the Rapid Mask as the layer mask. The user still
needs to use the Properties panel to actually make an
adjustment to the new layer, but the mask will be in place
to control how this adjustment is revealed in the image.

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Selection button

The Selection button turns the Rapid Mask into an active selection. As mentioned
above, the Selection button is the only instance where the 16-bit calculated masks
become 8-bit. Selections are always 8-bit by Photoshop default, even on 16-bit
images. Since Basic V6 panel strictly avoids selections when creating Rapid Masks,
the selections produced by the Selection button are "first-generation" 8-bit
selections. There has been no cumulative degradation as a result of using
selections elsewhere in the mask-generation process. A first-generation selection is
essentially indistinguishable from what is selected by a 16-bit mask. This means
that the quality of selections produced by Basic V6 panel are as high as
possible...and there are times where selections definitely have a role in developing
the image. Luminosity painting and mask painting are the two most important
situations where painting through selections definitely has advantages over using a
masked layer.

Channel button

The Channel button in the OUTPUT section creates a new

channel on the Channels panel of the current Rapid Mask.
The "Rapid Mask" channel updates frequently. Every time
the Composite or a MASK button is clicked, the old "Rapid
Mask" channel is deleted and a new one created. The
Channel button provides a method to save a Rapid Mask
that has been particularly useful in case it is needed again
at some point in the future. The Channel button simply
duplicates the current "Rapid Mask" channel and then
provides the user the opportunity to give that channel a
new name.

Apply button

The Apply button applies the current Rapid Mask as a layer mask to the active layer
on the Layers panel. This provides an easy way to add a luminosity mask to any
layer to better confine that layer's effect to specific tones. It's also a great way to
experiment with luminosity masks to see how they perfectly blend layer contents
into the image and provide subtle control over what a layer reveals.

Important OUTPUT note: It is not necessary to actually be viewing the Rapid Mask
on-screen to use the buttons in the OUTPUT section. As long as there is a "Rapid
Mask" channel on the Channels panel, the OUTPUT option will find it and use it to
complete the chosen OUTPUT operation. This means that the same Rapid Mask can
be used for multiple OUTPUT actions. For example, a Layer option could be used to
create an adjustment layer with the Rapid Mask as the layer mask, and then the
Selection option could be used to create a selection of the same Rapid Mask in
order to do some mask-painting on the layer mask. The Channels panel is always
saving the current Rapid Mask in the "Rapid Mask" channel, and it is this channel
that is used anytime an OUTPUT action is called.

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4. Other Features

There is an X button in the upper right corner of the

SOURCE section. Its purpose is to clean the Channels
panel of any masks created by the Basic V6 panel.
User-created masks are not removed by the X button.
Only the various masks calculated by the panel ("Lum
Lock," "Rapid Mask," etc.) are deleted.

The bottom section of the panel serves two purposes.

The first is to provide instant help for any button.
Simply roll the mouse over a button and a help
message for that button appears in the bottom
window. These messages provide a quick method to
learn about the panel until the user becomes familiar
with the different functions.

Clicking the instant help section activates its second

function, which is to open the Settings dialog window
for the panel. Accent color, the type of selection
indicator, and the language can be chosen from here.
The TK button opens the default browser to Tony
Kuyper's website.

(See the next page for Troubleshooting tips.)

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TROUBLESHOOTING

The panel has been tested on Mac and Windows copmputers. There are
occasionally unexpected problems when using the panel. A few of the most
common problems and possible solutions are listed on the following pages. If you
have other problems, please contact me and I'll try to help.

1. Error message:
"The <panel name>
extension could not
be loaded because it
was not properly
signed."
This error means that
the contents of the
panel's installation
folder have been
altered. The panel has
indeed been properly
signed, but the signature chain, which guarantees unaltered code, is broken. This
can happen if the user accidentally or on purpose opens the installation folder, but
it also appears to happen spontaneously sometimes during routine installation or
periodic application updates by Adobe. The solution is to use the download link to
get a NEW download folder and then to replace the installation folder in the
"extensions" folder with the fresh copy from the download.

2. The panel has been installed but it does not show up in Photoshop.

There are a few possibilities to consider here.

a) Make sure to look under the menu command Window >Extensions to open the
panel in Photoshop. Installation is not enough to open panels in Photoshop. The
menu command is needed. Once a panel is open it will stay open and can be
docked to a panel dock or to the options bar at the top.

b) There is a preference setting that needs to be checked in order for extension

panels to be loaded. The check box "Load Extensions Panel" under the "Plug-Ins"
preferences needs to be checked (red box, image on next page).

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3. The masks generated by the panel are inverted (the "Lights" masks are
negatives and the "Dark" masks are positives).

This is NOT a problem caused by the

panel. If you create a selection using
one of the Photoshop's other selection
tools and then save the selection as a
mask, it will also be inverted. So this
is a Photoshop problem. There are
two possible solutions.

a) Double-click the Edit in Quick Mask

Mode button (rectangle with a circle
inside) near the bottom of the Tools
panel. From the pop-up window,
make sure the radio button for
"Masked Areas" is selected. If the
"Selected Areas" radio button is
selected, masks will be inverted.

b) If the first solution doesn't work,

it's possible the Photoshop
"Preferences" file is corrupted and
needs to be reset. An online video to
help do this can be found here.

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4. A recommendation to properly manage adjustment layers and layer

masks.

It's generally a good idea to

make sure Photoshop is
adding a layer mask
automatically when it creates
a new adjustment layer. To
check for this, first open the
Adjustments panel using the
Window > Adjustments
command in Photoshop.

Then open the fly-out menu

(four bars in upper right
corner) and make sure the
"Add Mask by Default" is
checked. If not, click on it to
toggle the check mark on.

Also make sure that "Clip to

Layer" is NOT checked. If it
is checked, click it to turn off
the check mark.

I hope the panel is useful to you and that it helps you achieve your artistic goals in
Photoshop. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, problems, or
suggestions.

TKActions Basic V6 ©2017 Tony Kuyper