Ok, I agree. I wasn't quite clear. So.. let me explain it in more details. Imagine you have a canvas, on which you just create a pattern of PNG files with Alpha transparency (ei. background is transparent). Then you want to create a second pattern that is like - a second layer with another PNG. But you want to mask it (ie crop the layer with an rectangular shape) so you can move the contents of it inside the mask. Perhaps because my English is not great, I just created a small Flash demonstration that will give you an idea... I am not sure whether a normal canvas can mask like this.... have a look