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Every now and then you need to make a mask and rather than making a selection first, or using
a vector mask, you decide to just paint it because it'll be faster.
While that technique certainly works, it sometimes doesn't give the result you were hoping for,
especially when you use the layer in a stack and change the blend mode. You sometimes then end up
with spots on your image resulting from the use of a brush.
There are a few ways to get rid of those spots, the most well-known probably being increasing or
decreasing the size of the mask by Ctrl-clicking the mask and using
Select > Modify > Expand or Select > Modify > Contract.
However, that also enlarges or shrinks the parts of the mask you don't want changed, so here's a better way...
What you'll need:
- Adobe Photoshop (CS or higher)
Start by making a canvas that's 300 x 300 pixels, RGB with a white background.
Duplicate the background layer by pressing Ctrl + J or dragging the Background layer to the New Layer
icon at the bottom of the Layers palette.
Invert Layer 1 by pressing Ctrl + I, or going to Image > Adjustments
> Invert
Add a mask to Layer 1 by clicking on the Add Layer Mask icon
( ) at the
bottom of the Layers palette.
Press D to reset the foreground and background colors to black and white.
Select the Brush Tool 
(B) in the toolbox.
Adjust the brush settings so it's 80% to 85% hard with a fairly large size (35-40 pixels).
Now paint on the mask. Any shape will do, just don't paint the entire mask.
Next, go to the Layer Styles icon ( )
at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose Stroke
Reduce the stroke width to 1 pixel, and change the Position to Center.
Then click OK to close the Layer Style dialog
Make sure the mask is still selected and paint over the areas that have a red outline that should've been masked.
When you're done fixing the mask, simply drag the Layer Style icon from Layer 1 to the trash can icon
( ).
Depending on how well you made your brush strokes, there may have been very few areas to clean up, or a lot of
single pixels.
If you'd been masking a somewhat complex object, chances are you'll find some strokes and a bunch of pixels
that need removing.
This technique is also very useful to find out if your edges are nice and clean. Any gaps or protrusions in the
edge can easily be spotted and fixed when you have a stroke that's contrasting with the layer's contents and that
of the layer below the one you've masked.
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