Adjust transparency using opacity masks

Use the Selection tool to select the object or group on the canvas.

Select Window > Transparency. The Transparency panel appears with a thumbnail of the selected object or group, and a placeholder to its right for the masking object’s thumbnail. If you don’t see the thumbnails, select Show Options from the panel menu .

Double-click the thumbnail placeholder. Illustrator fully masks the selected object or group on the canvas, indicated by a black color fill in the placeholder thumbnail, and automatically enters mask-editing mode.

Add or draw a masking object and position it over the masked object.

Add Fill or Stroke, or apply a gradient to the masking object, as needed. Illustrator converts the colors to grayscale to calculate opacity levels. White areas in the masking object reveal the masked object, black areas hide it, and gray areas create varying levels of transparency.

Use the following options in the Transparency panel, if needed:

• Deselect Clip if you don’t want to limit the masked object’s visibility to the shape of the masking object.
• Select Invert Mask to swap the light and dark areas of the opacity mask.
• Option-click (macOS) or Alt-click (Windows) the masking object’s thumbnail (right thumbnail) to see the masking object in grayscale, and to hide all the other objects in the document. Repeat the shortcut to unhide the objects.

Select the masked object’s thumbnail (left thumbnail) to exit mask-editing mode. You can enter mask-editing mode and edit the mask at any time after exiting it.

Select the masking object on the canvas, right-click it, and select Arrange > Bring to Front.

Select the object, group, or layer to be masked, and the masking object.

Select Window > Transparency. The Transparency panel appears with a thumbnail of the selected objects. In case you don’t see the thumbnail, select Show Options from the panel menu

Select Make Mask in the Transparency panel. A thumbnail of the masking object appears, and the thumbnail on the left stops showing the masking object.

Select the masking object’s thumbnail (right thumbnail) to enter mask-editing mode and make the necessary adjustments to the mask.

Select the masked object on the canvas.

Select the left thumbnail in the Transparency panel to ensure that you’re not in mask-editing mode.

In the Transparency panel, unlink or relink the masked object and the masking object.

• To unlink them, select the link icon between the thumbnails.
• To relink them, select the link icon between the thumbnails.