Just as no one hammer or saw will work for every job neither will one graphics application provide all the tools and effects needed by today's graphic artist. They both can do things the other can't do or one can do better than the other. Just what these differences are, is what these articles will be about. Because image editing is the power of each of these applications, we will begin with a comparison of each programs' masking tools. Masking is the essence of image editing.
Masks allow the user to isolate specific areas of an image.
Once an area is defined with a mask the user can do all kinds of things like adjusting color or applying effects to the area within the mask or outside the mask. Lifting the mask area out of the image and using the area as a floating selection or object is another common use of masks. This number is somewhat misleading, as there are numerous variations for most of the tools. Let's just say the number of ways to mask and image is about equal in both applications. While the function of each masking tool is similar between the two applications, the functionality and the ability to quickly modify a mask is what separates the two.