Help - How Do I Cut Out A Graphic

[Miss Chiff]

Hi, I'm new to this forum.

I am keen to learn how (and what software) is best to cut out images from graphics and paste them onto new backgrounds. I have found some techniques, such as using a lassoo, but my efforts are very rough to say the least. I have seen some done which are perfect - even the holes in lacey patterns match the new background. I know there must be ways to do this, but I'm yet to find them. Has anyone got any tips?

Thanks.

[urstwile]

What program are you using? Photoshop, I hope?

The art of tight selections takes a bit of practice, but there are a lot of different techniques. If you tell us what program you're using to achieve this, plenty of tips to be had, I'm sure.

[Miss Chiff]

I've used a variety of free programs such as Photo Impression - I guess that Photoshop is the way to go??

[urstwile]

That would be my recommendation, yes, and I'd say the recommendation of most on the forum.

[budafist]

I would agree too. Photoshop is the way to go.

You might find the extract filter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13QRSIyaJA) useful.

[furiouSPEED]

Pretty useful, the use of statue of liberty probably would be awesome than it instead :)

[gentlepurespace]

I would agree too. Photoshop is the way to go.

You might find the extract filter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13QRSIyaJA) useful.

maybe I'm mising something, but that seems like a less useful version of masking.

my favorite way to extract things these days tends to be with the pen tool. I love the control I get with it, and how I can keep adjusting it, then I use that pen tool path to make a mask and play with the smudge brush to smooth out the mask.

[m00nwater]

maybe I'm mising something, but that seems like a less useful version of masking.

my favorite way to extract things these days tends to be with the pen tool. I love the control I get with it, and how I can keep adjusting it, then I use that pen tool path to make a mask and play with the smudge brush to smooth out the mask.

Agreed. Perhaps I have not mastered the extract tool, but I'm old school in my way of thinking. I like to have control of what is being selected. Plus I don't like working in a destructive manner. By masking stuff instead of actually deleting it gives you a better environment to work in IMO.

Miss Chiff, masking and extracting takes a bit of finesse and practice. The more you do it, the better you get at it. There are several ways to mask things and it's a personal preference how you do it.

[Broacher]

Scissors work well. Start with larger shapes, refine.

Be careful when walking with them (pointy side down0 and of course, never, ever, run.

[DesignVHL]

I cut images out from their backgrounds often for product images. Photoshop, first of all, IS the way to go. There is a great little plugin for PS called Vertus Fluid Mask, and it rocks! Slight learning curve, but when you use it w/ the history brush, and eraser, you can get wonderful results. I do not suggest the extract filter....

My second method which I think gives the best accuracy, but takes longer to do is to create a new channel/mask. Then using a hard brush, with dynamics turned off and spacing at 1%, you can simply trace over the image, and use SHIFT to connect line to line. Zooming in gets you every detail covered....after you trace around the image, fill it in. Like this:

http://i32.tinypic.com/10y0vti.jpg

Then, you can select the mask, and then apply a layer mask to the image, copy and paste, or delete the bg completely...whatever your workflow desires. :)

Hope that helps!

Oh and btw, regardless of the method you use, I've saved a TON of time by using a wacom pen tablet for my masking....amazing how much i can save time.

[emucru]

Fluid mask also works as a stand alone. (Version 3+) so no Photoshop required.

[DesignVHL]

OOH I didn't know that! I bet it takes up less RAM that way...it IS a RAM HOG as a plugin! I suggest 4GIG!

[Broacher]

Fluid Mask is awesome. But 'little'? Hmm... it really sucks the resources on my system (which is due for an update). And if you've got a lot of high rez shots to do-- it often seems a lot slower than my old standby, Extensis MaskPro.

[DesignVHL]

Ha ha broacher we must have ESP! :) It really does suck up a lot of system resources... when I had 2GIG of ram it wasn't fun to use for the high rez images....but when I upgraded to 4GIG I have not run into any problems yet, and performs MUCH faster!

I haven't tried the Extensis MaskPro...how does it compare to Fluid?

[Broacher]

Well, it can be pretty quick for 'reasonable' masking candidates-- stuff that is too tricky for Pshop masking tools. It doesn't do so well on the complex areas as Fluid Mask. Actually, it does sorta behave like Pshop's Extraction function-- which is better than most people give it credit for (except for the fact that it doesn't generate a layer mask, only destroys the layer-- cured simply by working on a layer copy and transferring the results to a mask).

Speaking of Pshop tools, I've found CS3's new 'Refine Selection' tool a very handy tool.

One other thing I like about MaskPro: for clipping mask work, it's great because it has that other side ClipMask Pro (or something like that, I forget what it's called-- I just use it!)

Working in this mode, you can take a selection and quickly move to a good clipping path. It avoids bezier and sticks mostly to straight lines, which sounds dangerous-- but really, almost any rip can handle straight line clipping paths, even those with hundreds of points.

I'm using a very old edition of MaskPro so I have no idea what the new one is capable of these days.

[garricks]

LiquidLibrary had a tutorial on using the Extract Filter in Photoshop...I think it was sometime last year...I've had pretty good success with that as long as there's a pretty good edge between what you're cutting out and the rest.

[budafist]

Extract is best used for fluffy things. Otherwise pen tool is good as any.

[DesignVHL]

I used to use the pen tool, but found that using a brush, my wacom, and a channel mask is more accurate...but really its just what works best for you, and what your most comfortable using.

One thing I always make sure to do after duplicating a layer for masking is the History Brush. Perfect for the extract tool which sometimes takes away a bit more than you may want. So, its pretty easy to brush it back in. I almost always end up touching the cut out image up with the H brush and an eraser till I'm happy with it.

[Broacher]

^ I can't remember the last time I used the History brush (or palette). I know it's a key part of many exciting effects/techniques but I don't get into those too much either. I have re-assigned the hotkeys for backstepping to Ctrl-Alt-Z to restore the multiple undo feature but in the case of masking with the Wacom I always work with layer masks. Then it's a simple stab at the X key to move the brush colour from black to white and restore what I went over.

I've found a far more useful basic tool for mask retouching is the dodge and burn tools. If I any 'wisps' areas I missed, these clean them up pronto. Oh, at some point in my masking work, I almost always create a temporary bright solid colour layer under the layer I'm masking (usually a lime green) just so that I can actually SEE if I have any very light masking gunk there that I'm missing.

[Sphynx]

Talking about extract filters - are there any that one could download for Photopshop Elements 6.0?

I was looking all day yesterday, but did not find anything.