Photoshop:render Extraction Three different techniques

[Phyre 0]

This tutorial will cover three techniques on how to extract pictures that are not on a single solid color. First of all, you need to find yourself a nice picture. I shall be using this one, which came with the Appleseed Fan Site Kit:

 

 

There are several ways we can cut the render of Deunan Knute out of the picture.

 

Technique 1

 

This technique is the easiest, but also the most time wasting. All you need to do is grab the Polygonal Lasso tool,

 

 

And go around the edges like so:

 

 

Tips: When lasso-ing [is that even a word?] rounded corners or edges, keep your selections small, short, and numerous. It gives the final product a much smoother edge. Also keystrokes to zoom in [hold down Cntrl + Space and click], zoom out [hold down Cntrl + Alt + Space and click], and to move around the screen [hold down space and drag] instead of using the Magnifying glass tool or the scroll bars. Using the other tools will disrupt the Polygonal Lasso selection.

 

Continue going around the edges with the lasso. Soon, you should have a marquee selection around the character or object you want to extract:

 

 

Just copy and paste it onto a new file and you're done

 

Technique 2

 

This technique shows you how to use the 'Quick Mask' tool in Photoshop. This technique is rather easy, and a whole lot less time consuming then the Polygonal Lasso tool, though it is a bit harder to get a perfect result.

 

The first staggering, headache-inducing step that may haunt you in your nightmares forever is to hit 'Q' on your keyboard. And if you managed to do that without throwing youself off of a very tall building into a suicidal plunge onto the sidewalk, then hit 'D' on your keyboard to reset your foreground and background colors to their default colors.

 

Next, grab your brush tool [make sure the foreground is set to black!] and paint on the area that you want to keep. It should appear red. I reccomend using a large soft brush for the majority of the render, and a small hard brush for details and sharp edges. Be sure to use a soft eraser to erase mistakes. You should have a result such as this:

 

 

Next, hit the 'Q' key again, and you should get a marquee around everything. Just hit Delete, and you've got your render!

 

Technique 3

This is the third technique that I know of. This technique can be VERY challenging and VERY frustrating, but you will be rewarded with a clean and nearly flawless extraction.

 

We want to whip out the 'Extract...' tool, which should be there somewhere under 'Filter' [Filter > Extract...]. You could also hit [Cntrl + Alt + X]. A window should pop up that looks like this:

 

 

You should now proceed to go around the edges of the object or character you would like to keep. Be patient. This is the hardest part, and I can guarantee you that it is a pain and that you will screw up more than once.

 

Tips: The right way to use the extract tool is to go along the edges OUTSIDE of the targeted object or character. Be sure to use the keystrokes I told you about earlier to move the image and to zoom in and out. Don't worry if you accidently stray a bit away from the edges. You can always fix it up later. Try to use a small brush, I use 10, and be sure to have Smart Highlighting turned OFF.

 

Once you have highlighted the edges of the object or character you want to keep, press 'G' to pull up your trusty ol' paint bucket and fill in the highlights. Next, press 'Preview' and see if it looks good. If not, hit [Cntrl + Z] to fix it up, if it does, then hit okay. You should now have the character or object cut out on the canvas, with some loose pixels here and there. No problem. Either go over it with a soft eraser, or just Polygonal Lasso it away.

 

If you're reading this, congrats. This tutorial hasn't bored you to death, and you now know three different techniques to cut out renders and such out of images.

 

Here's a quick tip: If you have some scunge [left over pixels from the image that you dont want] just select the whole cut-out, and go [select > Modify > Contract...] and type in 1 pixel. Then, right-click on the marquee and select "Select Inverse" and hit delete.

 

Let's take a look at my result:

 

 

Written by Phyre

[Shackman 0]

This is cool. I like this. However, I would also like to add another two methods that I use too.The First Method:This is the simplest and most easy method, even a threee year old can do it. However, it is the most difficult to get a perfect result unless the subject, or the thing you want to extract contrasts greatly with the background. Such as a photo portrait with a white background.It is using the Magic Wand Tool! Just click the magic wand button or hit 'W' on your keyboard for the hotkey and then click on the subject you want to extract. A dotted line sohuld appear. Copy it and open a new document and paste it. Ta da!!Remember to save it...Now for the next method. The Second Method:Using the Lasso tool. There are a variety of lasso tools...3 to be exact...to help you to extract your subject. The first one is the lasso tool. You must manually go around the object. It can be quite diffcult but the results are always the best among the three tools.Next is the Magnetic lasso tool. The polygonal lasso tool is covered in the above totorial so I will not touch on it.The magnetic lasso is also quite simple. You just need to run your mouse cursor around the subject and ta da! But the results are often not so perfect. However, better than the magic wand tool though.Okay...hope this tutorial helps you. It was something I typed in the spur of the moment....so don't blame this tutorial for being so lousy...-Shackman

[spacemonkey 0]

Very nice work. I hated using that Lasso all the time on large, intricate pictures. I guess I really odn't have any patience.At any rate, the Quick Mask is great. I'm learning more and more about Photoshop each day, and thanks to you, I learned something actually HELPFUL.Keep up the good work.

[Trystim 0]

nice work great tutorial and I passed it on to a site that I am a member of giving you credit of course. They do alot of sigs there and such so I am sure it is something they can use fully.

[Phyre 0]

You can pass it on to any place you like, just either put my name or place a link back to my site.