Clipping Masks vs Opacity Masks in Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator offers different ways to control visibility and masking. Clipping Masks and Opacity Masks are both used to hide or reveal parts of artwork, but they work in different ways. This tutorial will walk you through how to use each and highlight their differences.

Creating a Clipping Mask

Select the object you want to use as the mask (on top of the content you want to clip).

Go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Ctrl + 7 / Cmd + 7).

The top object will define the visible area. Anything outside the shape will be hidden.

Editing a Clipping Mask

To change the mask or contents, select the object and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Edit Contents or Edit Mask.

Use the Layers panel to rearrange or isolate masked items as needed.

Creating an Opacity Mask

Select the object to be masked. Then open the Transparency panel (Window > Transparency).

Click the menu in the top-right corner and choose Make Opacity Mask.

A white shape reveals content, black hides it. You can use gradients or grayscale for soft transitions.

Editing an Opacity Mask

In the Transparency panel, uncheck Clip if needed and select Invert Mask to reverse the effect.

Click between the object thumbnail and mask thumbnail to toggle editing either the artwork or the mask.

Key Differences

Clipping Mask: Uses shapes to crop art sharply.

Opacity Mask: Uses grayscale values for smooth transparency and fades.

Clipping is better for sharp graphic cutouts. Opacity is better for soft blends and effects.

Last updated by Abigail Green - May 2025