Preserved Topic: best way to select key parts of photos

oh hi everyone i just got onto this board, its pretty cool and a lot of really great digiartists here!
i'm just taking the summer to try and learn some hardcore grafix =)

right now i wanna kno the best way to select something in a photo, say a person.. but theres all this stuff around the person so magic wand would be tedious. I use an eraser around whatever but i find that doesn't work well with detailed objects. Using the wand i get bad edges a lot.. so i''m hoping the pros have a little trick they can show me

sorry if this is double post or something- first post.

i'm a newbie =P be nyce

Welcome Stealth.. first thing I recommend is grabbing that handy manual that shipped with your copy of PS and reading it from front to back.. its yummy.. and you'd be surprised that it covers most of the in depth selection techniques you are asking about.. when you digested that beast of a manual .. pop back and we can get down and dirty ~the manual is included for a reason~



[This message has been edited by Soc-X (edited 07-06-2001).]

oh yah i kno the basics... i've been playing around with ps for about a year now... but just simple stuff and >eyecandy< which i know i'm gonna get comments about.

rite now i'm trying to go hardcore like you guys =P


i'm a newbie =P be nyce

well, if you wish to be hardcore, you should at least take off your clothes.

its okay, we're artists

the eraser method is a good one, better with a tablet, so eh if you have one great, if not hold shift (to brush straight lines) and work in small areas. there is extract, which is okay at times umm you can make channels and define shapes, there's density masking too, and there was a whole bunch of stuff just recently here about this, so mebbe do a search of the relevent archives etc

I usually use a Layer Mask for extracting. Copy the Layer and toss a New Layer inbetween to act as a mock background. If I have a general idea for what I want to use the extraction for, then that's what I use for the mock background, otherwise I use 50% gray. Then I get to work paint out what I don't need by hand. Usually with various brushes with the softness set anywhere between 85-95.

If I have a very specific goal for the extraction, then I'll toss the Layer into the doc in which I'm planning on using it for, Free Transform into place, then add the Mask and paint it out.

I generally prefer hand jobs, but there are other tools and techniques for getting the selection. Like Magnetic Lasso and Magnetic Pen. Even looking at the seperate Channels and using Levels or Curves is a good option for some applications. Well, after copying the conducive Channel into an Alpha of course.

No matter how you get the selection, it's a *very* good idea to use a Layer Mask because it's non-destructive.

Now, if you are talking about severe whispies, like crazy hair, that's whole new set of tricks.

quote:

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I generally prefer hand jobs...

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hehehe
I couldn't let that go Sorry.
I personally use the pen tool most of the time unless I'm trying to select something with a really fuzzy edge (like hair).

yeah, but hand jobs aren't what I'd consider hardcore......

I'll have to agree. Hand jobs pale in comparison to porcine colons and the disposal cavity of the canis familiaris.

[edit]You have no idea what this sounded like before I edited....lol[/edit]



[This message has been edited by silence (edited 07-06-2001).]

*Taking the summer to learn some hardcore grafix*

That`s kinda like * taking the weekend to carve the Venus de Milo * isn`t it ?

Maybe I`m just a slow learner.

Anyway I`d go with the mask, too. Leaves lots of room for repairs, and tweaks.



The more I learn about people, the more I like my computer.