Popular photo editing app Pixelmator Pro was today updated with an overhauled set of AI-powered masking tools that make it easier than ever to make selective edits. Masking was "reengineered from the ground up" in the new 3.6 version of Pixelmator Pro, so it's quicker to create and refine masks.
There is a new Hide Background option that uses AI to nondestructively remove the entire background from an image with a click. The tool detects the subject of the image and adds a background mask to hide the rest of what's in the photo.
Masking a layer or creating a mask from a layer can now be done with a double click on the canvas with the Arrange tool, and then there are controls available for resizing and repositioning the mask. Pixelmator says this makes it easier to do things like round image corners or crop individual layers in multi-layer compositions.
Tools for refining masks are now located at the bottom of the screen whenever a mask is selected or created, so it's faster to adjust transparency, change edge softness, invert the mark, add a new mask, and more.
Pixelmator has also gained support for vector masks, so layers can be masked into specific shapes. Adding a vector mask causes the area inside the vector shape to remain visible, while other areas are hidden. Masking a layer can be done by selecting a shape from the Mask menu at the top of the layers sidebar or creating a mask with the Pen tool. Vector masks are editable, so each point can be adjusted just like a regular shape.
The new features are available for free to current Pixelmator Pro users. Pixelmator Pro is priced at $50 and it can be downloaded from the Mac App Store. [Direct Link]
Top Rated Comments
Pixelmator Pro is $50, and is immensely powerful. It is how third-party software should be. Apple Photos is a totally different program for doing different things. The simple editing tools in Photos aren't supposed to compete with real editing programs.
Apple DOES need to catch up... to iPhoto.