I recently downloaded a mask for use on poser textures, it has areas of black, white and grey and is intended to be loaded into a paint programme as a mask so you can simply use the paint bucket tool to add stockings to a figure, you know, pale tone on legs dark tops etc. The problem is I can't figure out how to use it, I've loaded it as a channel and it shows as a range of red tones as a mask should but I can't apply it. Applying channel as mask doesn't produce a range of tones, can any one help? Not sure I've explained it too well :o) I'm using Photoshop4 Baz

Hi Baz!- Your halfway there, now you have to go back to regular mode (click on the RGB channel in the channel palette), and pull down from the top menu bar Select, Load Selection, and pick your channel. You should now see the marching ants all over the picture (CTRL H toggles them off, incidently), now use EDIT, FILL and fill with the foreground color that you have previously picked.

Thanks Jim! Works perfectly, I was getting confused because the marching ants only surrounde the lightest parts of the mask, but the rest of it was working anyway! Thanks again Baz

Your welcome! Yeah, the marching ants can be confusing, you have to remember they don't really show what is selected, they show what is 50% (or more) selected.