Lecture of the MASKING Return to top
Lecture Topics
How to Mask : CP Mask : Combined Masks : How to Unmask : Types of Masks

Lecture Index


Types of Masks




FLMASK can accommodate the following 5 types of masking methods, and FLMac can accommodate two more extra methods.

Please carefully study and learn their advantages and disadvantages in order to select the proper mask method to best meet your needs.

Lecture Menu
Summary : Examples
Q0 Mask : WIN Mask : MEKO Mask : FL Mask
CP Mask : NIJIIRO Mask : Bx3 Mask


    Summary of Mask Types
    Comparison Chart

    Mask Type 256-Color Image JPEG Format Multiplex Masking Concealing Ability Disadvantages
    Q0 NG Good NG Poor Too many options, no uniformity
    WIN Good Poor NG Poor Mask Noise occurs with JPEG file
    MEKO NG Good Good Poor Difficult to mask small area
    FL Good Good Good Good Difficult to mask small area
    CP NG Good Good Excellent cannot treat 256-color
    NIJIIRO
    FLMac Only
    Good Good NG Excellent none
    Bx3
    FLMac Only
    Good Good NG Poor Poor concealment
    * Multiplex Mask (Multi-mask) is masking over part or all of an area already masked.
    * Q0 MASK in this case is with Negative-Positive exchange plus Glassy Effects.

    Examples of each mask treatment

    Original Image

    Following are examples of different mask treatments as applied to original JPEG image at left.

    Q0 MASK

    "Q0 Mask" is a well-known full-color image masking method developed by Mr."Kurakura" and used in his masking tool "Q0MASK".

    So called "Glassy Effects" and "negative-positive exchange" are characteristic.

    Q0 Mask has several options, and combination of these options make a variety of effects possible.
    However, because of this variety, it is difficult to maintain uniformity.
    Full-Color Image ONLY

    WIN MASK

    "WIN Mask" is a well known 256-color image masking method employed in Mr. Takaaki Tomura's "WinMask".

    This mask is characterized by vertical stripes.

    Since WIN Mask has no options, it is very easy to mask 256-color images.

    Please note that an unmasked image will have Mask Noise if an image processed with WIN Mask is saved as JPEG file.

    MEKO MASK

    "MEKO Mask" is a well-known full-color image masking method employed in Mr. Yoji Igarashi's "MekoMask".

    This mask exchanges blocked areas randomly.

    This mask has no options, and has a uniform masking method. Full-Color Image ONLY

    FL MASK

    This is a newly developed masking method especially designed for FLMASK.

    Its characteristic is that of masked areas with a whirlpool pattern.

    This mask has no options. A uniform masking method makes this process user friendly. (There are, however, some options to make it compatible with older FLMASK versions.)
    FL Mask supports both full- and 256-color images.
    The old version does not have Negative-Positive exchange function.

    CP MASK

    This mask process originated with Mr.Uchino, and was developed jointly with the author of FLMASK.

    In the masking process, a string named "Coded Pattern(CP)" is used for various masking patterns.
    In other words, Coded Patterns and masking patterns have a one-to-one correspondence.
    This mask has no options, and a uniform masking method makes this process user friendly. Full-Color Image Only.

    NIJIIRO MASK

    NIJIIRO mask is developed by an author of masking software for Macintosh. NIJIIRO means rainbow color in Japanese.
    This mask produces rainbow colors in the masked area using unit pixel of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32.
    Multiplex masing is not recommended. If combined with FL mask, the two masks have to be removed in reverse order to regenerate the picture.

    Bx3 MASK

    This mask makes skin color to pink. Because of the poor concealment ability, this mask should be used as a "Effect" rather than to hide something.

    Multiplex masing is not recommended. If combined with FL mask, the two masks have to be removed in reverse order to regenerate the picture.

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