Textures have a world of uses whether you're editing or digitally painting. Did you know they could be used as CLIPPING MASKS? I'll show you how using Adobe Photoshop and (in my case) a Wacom Intuos Pro medium tablet. However, you don't even need a Wacom tablet for this edit! Adobe describes a clipping mask as a group of layers to which a mask can be applied. The caveat - it must be greyscale just like masking but in this case whatever is black will show your image. The black shape must be on a transparent layer, not a black and white solid layer. How do you do this with your greyscale textures such as the recently released Alla Primas 3 & 4 Collection? I'm glad you asked! Let's dive in!

In Adobe Photoshop open an Alla Prima texture document. Double click to unlock the layer. Double click on the grey part of the layer (not the name) to open the Layer Style dialogue. Move the "Current Layer" BLEND IF white sliders until all the white area has disappeared. To achieve this cleanly...