A clipping mask doesn't have to be rectangular. In this video we'll make a clipping mask circle and learn something very important about using layer styles with clipping masks.

Open two files from your Part 4 lesson three practice folder, a layered file called all-boy.psd, and an image called blue-eyed-boy.jpg. We'll start by creating a clipping mask on the layered PSD file. Get the Shape tool and open Tool Options and this time, choose the Ellipse tool. We'll use black for the color, open the menu and choose circle, and we have create nNew Shape Layer chosen.

You have the option to choose From Center but I'll leave that unchecked. Close Tool Options, and on your document, click and drag to create a circle. Get the Move Tool and move the circle into place. I'll leave part of the circle outside the document boundary which is fine. Open the Photo Bin and drag the blue eyed boy image over the circle so it will land above the circle layer in the Layers panel.

But now I see a problem. When I drag from the Photo Bin, it automatically resizes the photo to fit within the bounds of the document. I want my image to be the actual size. So I'll close the Photo Bin and click Undo. And this time I'll activate the photo and use the Move tool to move it on to my document via the tab. There that's much better.

In the Menu Bar, choose Layer, Create Clipping Mask. Now you can access the Transform tool, Ctrl T in Windows or Command T on a Mac, and resize the photo. To see all four corner handles I'll press Ctrl zero in Windows, command zero on a Mac. To rotate an image, move your mouse outside the transform outline until you see a curved double arrow, then click and drag in the direction you want it to go. I just want to straighten this up a little bit. And I'm going to also press Alt in Windows or Option on a Mac and click and drag from a corner handle to make that a little bit bigger.

I also want to flip the image so I'll right click on the image to get a menu and choose Flip Layer Horizontal, move it into place and then commit the Transform. Now I can press Ctrl zero on Windows or Command zero on a Mac to make my document fit available desktop.

To give my photo more definition, I'd like to add a stroke outline and a drop shadow. We went over how to do that in a previous lesson, so let's try it. I have my photo layer active in the Layers panel. So in the Menu Bar, I'll choose Layer, Layer Style, Style Settings. I'll click on Stroke, but nothing happens. So I'll click on Drop Shadow, and still nothing happens. What's wrong? Let's click Cancel. And I'll tell you what's wrong.

When a photo or any other kind of layer is clipped to a clipping mask and completely covers the mask, you will not be able to see the layer style. Instead add the layer style to the clipping mask and it will show through to the layer above. Let's try it. I'll click on the clipping mask shape layer to make it the active layer and choose Layer, Layer Style Style Settings. I'll click on Stroke and adjust the size to 35 and choose Inside for the position. If your color isn't white, click on the color chip to get the Color Picker and click and drag into the upper left corner to get white. Now could you choose another color? Sure, I could sample the truck to match the yellow color. But this is rarely a good idea. White draws more attention to your photo, whereas yellow draws attention to itself. Sometimes another neutral color such as black or gray can work okay, or I can click slightly to the right of white to tone it down just a little bit. But 99% of the time, I just use white. Click OK to close the Color Picker. I'm also going to click on Drop Shadow and give this a size of 10, a distance of 8, and an opacity of 40. And then when you're satisfied, click OK.

So that's how you add one or more layer styles when you're using a clipping mask. You add them to the clipping mask, not the photo. And here You see the Effects icon that tells you this layer has a Layer Style.

There's one other thing you should know about Clipping Mask styles. If you resize the clipping mask, the styles stay the same size. I'll press Shift and click on the photo to select the photo layer along with the clipping mask layer. And then I'll resize both layers with the Transform tool. I'll need to press Ctrl zero in Windows or Command zero on a Mac to see the corners. And then I'll press ALT and windows or Option on a Mac and resize all four corners at the same time. When I commit the Transform, and zoom in to full size, you can see that the style appears a little large for the smaller circle. Double click on the Effects icon on the clipping mask layer to get the Layer Style dialog box. And you can see that the styles did not get smaller, they're exactly the same size as before. So if you resize a clipping mask layer, you may need to adjust the style. I'll change the stroke to 20. And that looks much better. I could also change the drop shadow let's chang the size to 8 and the distance to 5 and then click OK.

So that's how to create a clipping mask circle and now you know the secret of adding a layer style. You must add it to the clipping mask. Not the photo.