Masking and Clipping in Figma

Masking and clipping is an advanced technique used in Figma to control the visibility of elements in a particular design to give the design an aesthetic touch. masking and clipping techniques are essential for a complete design these techniques allow designers to creatively change and constrain how content is displayed to the user which is very necessary for creating polished, clean, and attractive designs.

What is Masking?

The mask is a shape in which the user wants to display a particular object, so a mask is placed on top of the object and when we cut the object will come in the form of a mask. This simple technique of reshaping the object or group of objects in the form of a mask is called masking.

How to Mask in Figma?

Step 1: Create a Shape

Choose or Create Shape according to requirements.

Step 2: Add an image

Insert image that you want to mask.

Step 3: Duplicate the layer of image and shape (Vector).

Select the middle layer one of image and other layer of Shape.

Step 4: Select masking option

Click mouse right button and select option use as Mask.

Step 5: Crop to the size of the shape

Select the unmasked image layer and crop to the size of shape by pressing ctrl.

Step 6: Here is the final layer

Final Result after cropping unmasked Image layer.

What is Clipping?

Clipping is a technique in Figma which is mostly similar to masking. In clipping, we use frames to limit the visibility of content within it. In clipping simply, we can view only the content that is in the frame and the remaining content can be visible by scrolling.

Step 1: Create a frame

Select or create a frame for your content.

Step 2: Insert Scrollable content/Image.

Step 3: align images inside the frame.

There is check box for clipping content in Right side in black border box.

Step 4: Click on the check box for clipping excess content that is not in frame.

Key Tips for Masking and Clipping

• Layer Order: The order of layers and mask should be placed in correct order.

• Editing Masks and Frames: we can edit the mask shape or frame dimensions after applying the mask or clipping.

• Combining Techniques: For complex designs use masking and clipping together, such as masking an image within a clipped scrollable area.

Conclusion

The techniques of Masking and clipping are powerful techniques in Figma that allow designers to control the visibility of content with their creative design frames and thought processes. When we understand how to use this techniques then we can make our design look good and professional. These also help us to create unique elements for our design which attract more users.