This tutorial was written by Ashley Zimmerman on 5/19/20
Any resemblance to any other tutorial is coincidental.

This was a request I had from the lovely
Pammy !
This is how I make a mask in Corel Paintshop Pro
Other people might do it differently!

Supplies I Used:
PSP – I used 2020 but any version will do
I used FTU Brushes you can find quite a few places with FTU Brushes
Just google it  ! One place I go to is
Brusheezy ! 

Let's get started ! 

First things first !
Most brushes are easily Imported into Paintshop Pro
But there are some that have to be converted ,
for that we use ABR Mate
Google ABR Mate and you can download the program!
You will know if your brushes need to be converted because when you
click File - Import - Custom Brush and the dialog box pops up
You click Open , then select your brush set it will NOT show in your box
that is when you know they have to be converted !
Here are screenshots of brushes that do not need to be converted!
Also this shows you how to Import your brushes below !
File- Import-Custom Brush
Open - Select your brush set
Click Add All
They will move to the Selected for Import
Then Click OK

Another quick tip !
Some brushes are already small enough for the
canvas you are working on.
But you will find that quite a few brushes are
very large in size for this we have to resize them
Also do NOT try to upsize a brush! This distorts the brush!
But you can downsize a brush !

In this screenshot you will see the size of the brush is 1200

When it is highlighted like that you can change the size
so in this screenshot you will see I changed the size to 700

Another Tip !
When you resize a brush and go straight back to your brush folder
it will bring you to the very top of your brush folder ,
if you don't want that to happen-
all you have to do is after you use the brush
click on your Pick Tool & then re-click on your Paintbrush tool
and when you reopen the brushes folder it will keep you in the same spot in the folder! 

Now 

Open a new canvas 800x800

Change your Foreground color to BLACK and flood fill your canvas!
Your Raster 1 Layer will ALWAYS be your BLACK Background Layer!
(All your Raster Layers after this will be your brush Layers!)

ADD a NEW Raster Layer
Change your Foreground color to WHITE

Click on your paint brush tool and select the brush that you want to use
place it where you would like on your canvas

If you want to add more to your mask
add another Raster Layer
and select a different brush and add that into your mask

**NOTE** say you want the brush you selected in two different spots
you can have those on the same raster layer before you add a new one
See the screenshot below

You can also Flip your brush you use
or mirror it to get different effects !

Also if a brush is light and you cant really see it on your canvas
 you can click it a few more times to darken it
or you can duplicate it !

After I have my mask made and am happy with it
I hold down the Ctrl key and select all my raster layers (besides my black background layer)
and Merge Selected - then align center in canvas
Now you can save your mask as JPG or PNG
I do save mine in both formats ! 

Here are screenshots of how I make a mask with multiple raster layers
As you can see in the first SS I have 5 Raster Layers with my brushes
on them my Raster 1 Layer is my Black Background layer

Also another way you can do it is
Open a new canvas 800x800

Change your Foreground color to BLACK and flood fill your canvas!

ADD a NEW Raster Layer
(WE WILL ONLY HAVE THIS ONE RASTER LAYERBesides our Raster 1 Black Background Layer!)

Change your Foreground color to WHITE

Click on your paint brush tool and select the brush that you want to use
place it where you would like on your canvas

Now if you do not want to add another Raster Layer you can continue working
on the Raster Layer you have BUT
Right when you use another brush you will NOT be able to move it because it is
already layered on that raster layer on top of the brush you used before!

Now you can click the undo button and replace it where you would like though ! 

Here is a screenshot of a mask that I only used one Raster Layer
As you can see in the Layer Palette I only have my black background and
my One Raster Layer

Majority of my masks are made with multiple raster layers !
Some are made only on one raster layer it just depends on what I am creating!

Hopefully this helps if you have any questions please feel free to contact me !