Masking and hidden edges
Coming from desktop animation software, you may reach for a group mask to clip shading and highlights inside an outline. The plain fact: group masking is not present in FoundryInk's vector editor. That is not a dead end. This page teaches the tools that are here, Hidden Edge and overlapping shapes, to get the exact same clean read, plus the reference-dimming toggles that look like masks but are not.
1What masking is, and what people use it for
In some desktop animation tools, a group mask clips everything inside a group to the outline of a base shape, so shadows and highlights you paint sloppily get cropped neatly to the character's edge. It is a real convenience: paint loose, let the mask tidy the overspill. People rely on it for cheek blush, rim light, and cast shadow that must stay inside a limb. It is worth understanding the goal before we reach for the FoundryInk way to hit it.
2The gap: no group masking here
Plainly, so you do not hunt for a button that is not there: FoundryInk's vector editor has no group masking: there is no control that clips one group of shapes to the outline of another. If a tutorial from another program tells you to add a mask layer, that step has no equivalent here. Everything that follows on this page is the real, supported way to get the same look without one.
3Your two real tools
You will lean on exactly two things to replace masking. The first is Hidden Edge, which hides or shows the visible edge running through a point on a filled shape, letting you tuck seams so overlapping pieces read as one. The second is overlapping filled shapes, where you shape a shadow to sit neatly inside a limb and stack it on top. Between them, they cover almost everything a mask would have done, with more direct control.
4Hidden Edge, up close
Hidden Edge is in the Fill group. Pick it, then click a point on a filled shape and the edge running through that point is hidden, so that stretch of drawn outline disappears while the fill stays exactly where it was. Click again to show the edge once more. It is a per-point switch on the shape's own outline, giving you fine control over which segments of a line are visible.
5Tuck a seam where two shapes meet
The classic use is a join. When a sleeve overlaps an arm, or a hairline sits over a forehead, the two outlines cross and leave a visible seam. Stack the shapes with Raise and Lower so the right one sits in front, then use Hidden Edge to hide the outline segment that runs along the join. The two shapes now read as one continuous form, with no distracting line where they meet.
6Fake clipping with an overlapping shape
Now the big one, replacing a mask for shading. Instead of painting a loose shadow and clipping it, you draw the shadow to fit. Shape a filled shape whose outline follows the inside of the limb exactly where the shadow should end, then stack it on top with Raise. Because you drew it to the right size, it never spills past the edge, which is the same clean result a mask would give, achieved by drawing rather than clipping.
7Borrow the base shape's edge
One trick makes overlapping shapes look pixel-perfect. Along the side where your shadow meets the limb's outline, place your shadow's points right on the base shape's edge, following the same curve. When the shadow's boundary shares a line with the limb, the two edges land exactly together and the clip looks flawless. You are hand-drawing the crop line that a mask would have computed for you.
8Highlights and rim light, same method
Everything you just did for a shadow works for a highlight or a rim light, only lighter. Draw a filled shape in a pale colour, shaped to sit exactly where the light catches, and stack it on top of the base with Raise. A gradient fill can soften a highlight so it fades rather than ending in a hard line. Layer a shadow shape underneath and a highlight shape on top of the base, and a flat limb suddenly has form.
9The reference-dimming toggles are not masks
You may notice Rows below and Rows above reference-dimming toggles and wonder if they clip your art. They do not. They only dim other layers so you can see the layer you are drawing on, purely a display aid while you work. Nothing they do is saved into the artwork, and they never crop or clip a shape. Use them to focus your eye, but do not mistake them for masking.
10Order of operations for a clipped look
Put it together in sequence. Fill and style the base shape first, the limb or the face. Draw your shadow shape to fit inside it, sharing the limb's edge along the join, and Raise it above the base. Draw your highlight shape the same way and Raise it above the shadow. Finally, tuck any visible seams with Hidden Edge. Base, shadow, highlight, then hide the seams: that order gives you a clean, masked-looking result every time.
11When the shape moves in a rig
A real advantage of drawing shading as its own shape shows up when you rig. Because your shadow and highlight are actual shapes made of points, bones can grab and bend them right alongside the limb they sit on. Bind the shading points to the same bone as the limb and they move together, staying in place as the arm swings. A mask would have needed its own handling, but here the shading is just more art the skeleton already understands.
12What good looks like
A well-built clipped look has three tells of quality. The shading never spills past the limb, because you drew it to the edge, not near it. The seams where shapes overlap are invisible, because Hidden Edge tucked them away. And the whole thing moves as one piece when rigged, because every shape is bound to the right bone. Hit those three and no reader will ever guess there was no mask involved, which is exactly the point.
13Common mistakes to avoid
A few traps catch people replacing masks. Drawing a shadow that floats slightly off the limb's edge instead of sharing it looks sloppy, so always trace the shared edge. Forgetting to Raise the shadow leaves it hidden behind the base, so check the stacking order. And reaching for the reference-dimming toggles expecting them to clip will only disappoint, since they merely dim. Avoid those three and the workaround is smooth sailing.
Build a clipped look without masks
The workaround, start to finish. Links into the app. Saved on this device.
Masking questions
There is not one. FoundryInk's vector editor has no group masking, so there is no control that clips a group of shapes to a base outline. Use Hidden Edge for seams and overlapping filled shapes for clipping instead, which give the same clean read.
Draw the shadow as its own filled shape, shaped to fit exactly where the shadow should end, with its points placed right along the limb's own edge where they meet. Then Raise it above the base. Because you drew it to fit, it never spills, which is the same result a mask would give.
It hides or shows the visible edge running through a point on a filled shape. That lets you tuck the seam where two shapes overlap, so a sleeve over an arm reads as one continuous form. It affects only the drawn line, never the fill.
No. They only dim other layers so you can see the one you are drawing on, purely a display aid. They never crop or clip a shape and they are not saved into the artwork. Do not mistake them for masking.
It is below the base in the stacking order. Select the shadow shape and use Raise to move it above the base. Build base first, then Raise the shadow onto it, then Raise a highlight above that.
Yes, and that is an advantage. Because the shadow is a real shape made of points, bind its points to the same bone as the limb and it bends right along with the arm. A mask would have needed separate handling, but here the shading is just more art the bones already move.
Give the highlight shape a radial Gradient in the Shape style panel so it fades out rather than ending in a crisp line. Shape it to sit where the light catches, Raise it above the base, and the gradient does the softening.
It is a little more drawing up front, but you gain direct control and shading that rigs as real shapes. Once you get used to sharing the base shape's edge, it is fast, and the result is indistinguishable from a masked one. Readers never see the difference.
You can clip without a single mask
You know the gap and, better still, the real way around it: Hidden Edge for seams, overlapping drawn shapes for clipping, and the dimming toggles kept firmly in their display-only lane. Your shading reads clean and rigs as real art. Next, use the same overlapping thinking to combine whole forms and cut holes without booleans.