In the world of web design, masking in CSS is a very effective technique used to create various appealing and attractive effects on websites. Generally, masking allows you to define parts of an image based on a predefined masking panel or indication. This capability can be used to create beautiful combinations of images and graphics on your sites.
When masking, images in PNG or SVG format that have transparent sections are used as masks. This means that the transparent parts of these images can indicate part of the underlying image.
One of the common uses of this technique is to create beautiful visual overlays with different images that can add a very attractive visual appeal to your content.
Masking is more commonly used for creative tasks. This feature allows digital artists and modern designers to create user interaction shapes based on user behavior. One of the best uses of masking is in interactive elements and creating beautiful motion effects.
Implementing masking in CSS is quite simple. By using the mask or -webkit-mask property, you can apply your mask. This feature works similarly to background-image but for masks.
Example Masking Code with CSS
<style>
.masked-image {
width: 300px;
height: 300px;
background-image: url('image.jpg');
mask-image: url('mask.png');
-webkit-mask-image: url('mask.png');
}
</style>
<div class="masked-image"></div>
Line by Line Code Explanation
<style>: In this line, we define our own CSS styles.
.masked-image: This class is applied to our div element to allow specific styling.
width: 300px; and height: 300px;: Define the size of the element in pixels.
background-image: url('image.jpg');: This applies an image to serve as the background of the div element.
mask-image: url('mask.png');: This applies an image as a mask for the div element to create the masking effect.
-webkit-mask-image: url('mask.png');: Due to issues with non-standard browsers, this line ensures that the masking effect works on Webkit browsers like Safari.
<div class="masked-image"></div>: An HTML element that has the class masked-image and shows the mask effect.