CALayer with transparent hole in it

I have a simple view (left side of the picture) and i need to create some kind of overlay (right side of the picture) to this view. This overlay should have some opacity, so the view bellow it is still partly visible. Most importantly this overlay should have a circular hole in the middle of it so it doesn't overlay the center of the view (see picture bellow).

I can easily create a circle like this :

int radius = 20; //whatever
CAShapeLayer *circle = [CAShapeLayer layer];

circle.path = [UIBezierPath bezierPathWithRoundedRect:CGRectMake(0, 0,radius,radius) cornerRadius:radius].CGPath;
circle.position = CGPointMake(CGRectGetMidX(view.frame)-radius,
                              CGRectGetMidY(view.frame)-radius);
circle.fillColor = [UIColor clearColor].CGColor;

And a "full" rectangular overlay like this :

CAShapeLayer *shadow = [CAShapeLayer layer];
shadow.path = [UIBezierPath bezierPathWithRoundedRect:CGRectMake(0, 0, view.bounds.size.width, view.bounds.size.height) cornerRadius:0].CGPath;
shadow.position = CGPointMake(0, 0);
shadow.fillColor = [UIColor grayColor].CGColor;
shadow.lineWidth = 0;
shadow.opacity = 0.5;
[view.layer addSublayer:shadow];

But I have no idea how can I combine these two layers so they create effect I want. Anyone? I've tried really everything... Thanks a lot for help!

I was able to solve this with Jon Steinmetz suggestion. If any one cares, here's the final solution:

int radius = myRect.size.width;
UIBezierPath *path = [UIBezierPath bezierPathWithRoundedRect:CGRectMake(0, 0, self.mapView.bounds.size.width, self.mapView.bounds.size.height) cornerRadius:0];
UIBezierPath *circlePath = [UIBezierPath bezierPathWithRoundedRect:CGRectMake(0, 0, 2.0*radius, 2.0*radius) cornerRadius:radius];
[path appendPath:circlePath];
[path setUsesEvenOddFillRule:YES];

CAShapeLayer *fillLayer = [CAShapeLayer layer];
fillLayer.path = path.CGPath;
fillLayer.fillRule = kCAFillRuleEvenOdd;
fillLayer.fillColor = [UIColor grayColor].CGColor;
fillLayer.opacity = 0.5;
[view.layer addSublayer:fillLayer];

Swift 3.x:

let radius = myRect.size.width
let path = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: self.mapView.bounds.size.width, height: self.mapView.bounds.size.height), cornerRadius: 0)
let circlePath = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 2 * radius, height: 2 * radius), cornerRadius: radius)
path.append(circlePath)
path.usesEvenOddFillRule = true

let fillLayer = CAShapeLayer()
fillLayer.path = path.cgPath
fillLayer.fillRule = kCAFillRuleEvenOdd
fillLayer.fillColor = Color.background.cgColor
fillLayer.opacity = 0.5
view.layer.addSublayer(fillLayer)

Swift 4.2 & 5:

let radius: CGFloat = myRect.size.width
let path = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: self.view.bounds.size.width, height: self.view.bounds.size.height), cornerRadius: 0)
let circlePath = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 2 * radius, height: 2 * radius), cornerRadius: radius)
path.append(circlePath)
path.usesEvenOddFillRule = true

let fillLayer = CAShapeLayer()
fillLayer.path = path.cgPath
fillLayer.fillRule = .evenOdd
fillLayer.fillColor = view.backgroundColor?.cgColor
fillLayer.opacity = 0.5
view.layer.addSublayer(fillLayer)

To create this effect, I found it easiest to create an entire view overlaying the screen, then subtracting portions of the screen using layers and UIBezierPaths. For a Swift implementation:

// Create a view filling the screen.
let overlay = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, 
    UIScreen.mainScreen().bounds.width,
    UIScreen.mainScreen().bounds.height))

// Set a semi-transparent, black background.
overlay.backgroundColor = UIColor(red: 0, green: 0, blue: 0, alpha: 0.85)

// Create the initial layer from the view bounds.
let maskLayer = CAShapeLayer()
maskLayer.frame = overlay.bounds
maskLayer.fillColor = UIColor.blackColor().CGColor
       
// Create the frame for the circle.
let radius: CGFloat = 50.0
let rect = CGRectMake(
        CGRectGetMidX(overlay.frame) - radius,
        CGRectGetMidY(overlay.frame) - radius,
        2 * radius,
        2 * radius)

// Create the path.
let path = UIBezierPath(rect: overlay.bounds)
maskLayer.fillRule = kCAFillRuleEvenOdd

// Append the circle to the path so that it is subtracted.
path.appendPath(UIBezierPath(ovalInRect: rect))
maskLayer.path = path.CGPath

// Set the mask of the view.
overlay.layer.mask = maskLayer

// Add the view so it is visible.
self.view.addSubview(overlay)

I tested the code above, and here is the result:

I added a library to CocoaPods that abstracts away a lot of the above code and allows you to easily create overlays with rectangular/circular holes, allowing the user to interact with views behind the overlay. I used it to create this tutorial for one of our apps:

The library is called TAOverlayView, and is open source under Apache 2.0. I hope you find it useful!

Accepted solution Swift 3.0 compatible

let radius = myRect.size.width
let path = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: 0.0, y: 0.0, width: self.mapView.bounds.size.width, height: self.mapView.bounds.size.height), cornerRadius: 0)
let circlePath = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: 0.0, y: 0.0, width: 2.0*radius, height: 2.0*radius), cornerRadius: radius)
path.append(circlePath)
path.usesEvenOddFillRule = true
            
let fillLayer = CAShapeLayer()
fillLayer.path = path.cgPath
fillLayer.fillRule = kCAFillRuleEvenOdd
fillLayer.fillColor = UIColor.gray.cgColor
fillLayer.opacity = 0.5
view.layer.addSublayer(fillLayer)

I took a similar approach as animal_chin, but I'm more visual, so I set most of it up in Interface Builder using outlets and auto layout.

Here is my solution in Swift

    //shadowView is a UIView of what I want to be "solid"
    var outerPath = UIBezierPath(rect: shadowView.frame)
    
    //croppingView is a subview of shadowView that is laid out in interface builder using auto layout
    //croppingView is hidden.
    var circlePath = UIBezierPath(ovalInRect: croppingView.frame)
    outerPath.usesEvenOddFillRule = true
    outerPath.appendPath(circlePath)
    
    var maskLayer = CAShapeLayer()
    maskLayer.path = outerPath.CGPath
    maskLayer.fillRule = kCAFillRuleEvenOdd
    maskLayer.fillColor = UIColor.whiteColor().CGColor
    
    shadowView.layer.mask = maskLayer

Code Swift 2.0 compatible

Starting from @animal_inch answer, I code a little utility-class, hope it will appreciate:

import Foundation
import UIKit
import CoreGraphics

/// Apply a circle mask on a target view. You can customize radius, color and opacity of the mask.
class CircleMaskView {
    
    private var fillLayer = CAShapeLayer()
    var target: UIView?

    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.grayColor() {
        didSet {
            self.fillLayer.fillColor = self.fillColor.CGColor
        }
    }
   
    var radius: CGFloat? {
        didSet {
            self.draw()
        }
    }
    
    var opacity: Float = 0.5 {
        didSet {
           self.fillLayer.opacity = self.opacity
        }
    }
    
    /**
    Constructor
    
    - parameter drawIn: target view
    
    - returns: object instance
    */
    init(drawIn: UIView) {
        self.target = drawIn
    }
    
    /**
    Draw a circle mask on target view
    */
    func draw() {
        guard (let target = target) else {
            print("target is nil")
            return
        }
        
        var rad: CGFloat = 0
        let size = target.frame.size
        if let r = self.radius {
            rad = r
        } else {
            rad = min(size.height, size.width)
        }
        
        let path = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRectMake(0, 0, size.width, size.height), cornerRadius: 0.0)
        let circlePath = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRectMake(size.width / 2.0 - rad / 2.0, 0, rad, rad), cornerRadius: rad)
        path.appendPath(circlePath)
        path.usesEvenOddFillRule = true
    
        fillLayer.path = path.CGPath
        fillLayer.fillRule = kCAFillRuleEvenOdd
        fillLayer.fillColor = self.fillColor.CGColor
        fillLayer.opacity = self.opacity
        self.target.layer.addSublayer(fillLayer)
    }
    
    /**
    Remove circle mask
    */
  

  func remove() {
        self.fillLayer.removeFromSuperlayer()
    }

}

Then, wherever in your code:

let circle = CircleMaskView(drawIn: <target_view>)
circle.opacity = 0.7
circle.draw()