Photoshop cs5 by steve Johnson part 13 potx

ptg Mastering the Art of Selection Introduction Mastering Adobe Photoshop requires skill in many diverse areas. While modifying an image's color, enhancing an old photograph, or removing dust and scratches may require dif- ferent skills, they have one common thread—selection. Without a selection, any changes you apply are made to the whole image. For example, if you choose to paint a black stroke, you would select the Paintbrush tool, choose the color black, and begin painting. Photoshop will let you apply black paint to any and all portions of the image. Selections are your way to instruct Photoshop what portions of the active document you want to change and which you want to protect from change. The Marquee tools are considered Photoshop's "good old" selection tools. In fact they've been a part of Photoshop since the early days. Where the marquee tools let you select areas of an image in a structured way (using squares, circles, lines), the lasso tools add a bit of freeform selection to the mix. Lasso tools require a certain amount of hand/eye coordi- nation. For example, you can use the lasso tool to create a customized selection area around just about any object in a document, be it an animal, vegetable, or mineral. It just requires a good eye, a steady hand, and a really big mouse pad (I hate it when I run out of mouse pad). Creating a selection lets you influence a specific area of the image. For example, If you are changing the color of a car from red to blue, this is where making a selection really shines. When you select an area of a Photoshop document, the selection becomes the work area—filters, adjustments, and brushes will only work within the selection boundary. Since selection is such an important aspect of controlling what happens in a document, Photoshop gives you many ways to create your desired selection. Mastering the art of selection gives you control over not just what you do, but where you do it. 4 4 What You’ll Do Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool Use the Single Row and Single Column Marquee Tools Use the Lasso Marquee Tool Use the Magnetic Lasso Tool Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool Use the Quick Selection Tool Use the Magic Wand Tool Select by Color Range Refine a Selection Edge Add, Subtract and Crop a Selection Use Channels to Create and Store Selections Modify an Existing Selection Copy and Paste a Selection Use Free Transform and Transform Use Puppet Warp Use Content-Aware Fill and Scaling 77 From the Library of Wow! eBook From the Library of Michele Renth ptg 78 Chapter 4 The Rectangular Marquee tool lets you create rectangular and square selection marquees. The Rectangular Marquee tool is excellent for a quick crop, or selecting and moving blocks of image information. Select the Rectangular Marquee tool on the toolbox from the available Marquee options, and then drag the tool using the mouse (or drawing tablet) to control your movements. To further control a selection, hold down the Shift key to produce a perfect square, and hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key to create a selection marquee that starts from the center and moves outwards. Releasing the mouse instructs the Rectangular Marquee tool to create the selection. Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool Select the Rectangular Marquee tool on the toolbox. Click the Tool Preset list arrow, and then select from the available tool presets. Use the selection options on the Options bar to create a new selection, or add to, subtract from, or intersect with an existing selection. Enter a numerical value (0 to 250) in the Feather box to create a feathered selection edge or click the Refine Edge box to visually fine-tune your feather size. Click the Style list arrow, and then select from the available styles: ◆ Normal. Lets you create freeform rectangular, or square marquee selections. ◆ Fixed Ratio. Lets you create selections using a specific ratio, such as a 2 to 1 ratio. Enter the Fixed Ratio values in the Width and Height boxes. ◆ Fixed Size. Lets you create selections based on an absolute size such as 30 pixels by 90 pixels. Enter the Fixed Size values in the Width and Height boxes. Drag the selection area you want. 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 Selecting Areas for a Standard Monitor If you are selecting areas of an image and plan to display them on a standard monitor (not DVD), then click the Fixed Aspect Ratio option on the Options bar, and then enter a width value of 4, and a height value of 3. Since a normal computer monitor (regardless of resolu- tion) has a 4 by 3 ratio, then the selection you make will fit a com- puter monitor perfectly. For Your Information From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 4 Mastering the Art of Selection 79 Using the Elliptical Marquee Tool Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool Select the Elliptical Marquee tool on the toolbox. Click the Tool Preset list arrow, and then select from the available tool presets. Use the selection options on the Options bar to create a new selection, or add to, subtract from, or intersect with an existing selection. Enter a numerical value (0 to 250) in the Feather option to create a feathered selection edge or click the Refine Edge box to visually fine-tune your feather size. Select the Anti-alias check box to create a softer selection. Click the Style list arrow, and then select from the available styles: ◆ Normal. Lets you create freeform elliptical or circular marquee selections. ◆ Fixed Ratio. Lets you create selections using a specific ratio. Enter the Fixed Ratio values in the Width and Height boxes. ◆ Fixed Size. Lets you create selections based on an absolute size. Enter the Fixed Size values in the Width and Height boxes. Drag the selection area you want. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The Elliptical Marquee tool lets you create oval or circular selection marquees. When used with the Layer Mask option, and a couple of creative filters, you can create some awesome vignettes. Select the Elliptical Marquee tool on the toolbox from the available Marquee options, move into the document, and then drag with the tool using the mouse to control your movements. To further control a selection, hold down the Shift key to produce a perfect circle, and hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key to create a selection marquee that starts from the center and moves outwards. Releasing the mouse instructs the Elliptical Marquee tool to create the selection. 2 3 4 6 5 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 80 Chapter 4 The Single Row/Single Column Marquee tools let you create a 1-pixel wide horizontal or vertical selection. Select the Single Row or Single Column Marquee tool on the toolbox from the available Marquee options, and then click the tool within the active document to create a single-pixel horizontal or vertical selection. To move the selection, place your cursor on the selection; when you see the cursor change to an arrow, then click and drag. Release the mouse when you have the selection correctly positioned. For precise positioning, press the arrow keys to move the selection 1 pixel at a time. Using the Single Row and Single Column Marquee Tools Use the Single Row and Column Marquee Tool Select the Single Row Marquee or Single Column Marquee tool on the toolbox. Click the Tool Preset list arrow, and then select from the available tool presets. Use the selection options on the Options bar to create a new selection, or add to, subtract from, or intersect with an existing selection. Drag the selection area you want. 4 3 2 1 2 3 Single row Single column Did You Know? The Column Marquee tools don't have an Anti-Alias option. The reason is that a monitor displays digital information using pixels. Since the pixels fit together just like bricks in a wall, and the Column Marquee tools can only draw vertical or horizontal lines, there is no need to make them look smoother because they're following the horizon- tal and vertical lines of the pixels. Creating Customized Guides Have you ever needed a 45-degree angled guideline? Create a new layer, select the single row (or column) marquee tool, and then click to create a selection in the active document. Now, select black (or any other color) and press Alt+Backspace (Win) or Option+Delete (Mac) to fill the 1-pixel selection with the default color. Click the Edit menu, point to Transform, and then click Rotate. Enter a value of 45 in the Angle option on the Options bar and then you'll have an instant 45-degree guide. Since the guide is in a separate layer, you can use the Move tool to reposition it anywhere it's needed. For Your Information From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 4 Mastering the Art of Selection 81 The Lasso Marquee is a freeform tool that requires a bit of hand-to-eye coordination. Select the Lasso tool on the toolbox from the available Lasso options, move into the active document, and then drag the tool, using the mouse (or drawing tablet) to control your movements. Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then drag to draw straight- line segments. Releasing the mouse instructs the Lasso tool to close the selection shape. That's all there is to it. I did mention that it requires good hand-to-eye coordination, didn't I? When you use this tool, don't drink too much coffee, and have a really big mouse pad. Using the Lasso Marquee Tool Use the Lasso Marquee Tool Select the Lasso tool on the toolbox. Click the Tool Preset list arrow, and then select from the available tool presets. Use the selection options on the Options bar to create a new selection, or add to, subtract from, or intersect with an existing selection. Enter a numerical value (0 to 250) in the Feather box to create a feathered selection edge or click the Refine Edge box to visually fine-tune your feather size. Select the Anti-alias check box to create a softer selection (useful with intensely rounded or curved selections). Drag the selection area you want. 6 5 4 3 2 1 3 5 2 4 Did You Know? You can temporarily convert the Lasso tool into a straight-line drawing tool (called the Polygonal Lasso tool). Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, then release the mouse, move to a different area of the document window and click to draw a straight line between the two points. From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 82 Chapter 4 The Magnetic Lasso creates a selection by following along the edge of a visible object. For example, it will follow around the edge of a building set against a bright blue sky. In reality there are no edges in a photo- graphic document, so the tool follows along the shifts of brightness created when one tonal value is next to another. Select the Magnetic Lasso tool in the toolbox from the available Lasso options. Click on the visible edge of an object within your image, and then move (don't drag) around the object. The Magnetic Lasso will follow the visible edge of the object, occasionally adding anchor points to the line as you move. Double-clicking the mouse instructs the Magnetic Lasso tool to close the selection shape. Using the Magnetic Lasso Tool Use the Magnetic Lasso Tool Select the Magnetic Lasso tool on the toolbox. Click the Preset Tool list arrow, and then select from the available tool presets. Use the selection options on the Options bar to create a new selection, or add to, subtract from, or intersect with an existing selection. Enter a numerical value (0 to 250) in the Feather box to create a feathered selection edge or click the Refine Edge box to visually fine-tune your feather size. Select the Anti-alias check box to create a softer selection (useful with intensely rounded or curved selections). Enter a Width value (0 to 256) to instruct the Magnetic Lasso tool how many pixels to consider for the edge. 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 4 6 3 5 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 4 Mastering the Art of Selection 83 Enter an Edge Contrast value (0% to 100%) to instruct the Magnetic Lasso how much of a shift in the brightness values to use in determining the edge. Enter a Frequency value (0 to 100) to instruct the Magnetic Lasso where points are added to the selection line. Click once to create an anchor point, and then move the pointer along the edge you want to trace. If the border doesn't snap to the desired edge, click once to add a anchor point manually. Continue to trace the edge, and add anchor points as needed. Double-click or click the starting point to complete the selection. 11 10 9 8 7 8 7 Magnetic Lasso selection Did You Know? You can remove anchor points. When you're using the Magnetic Lasso tool and you want to reverse the selection, simply backtrack the mouse all the way back to the last anchor point. To move even farther backwards, press the Backspace (Win) or Delete (Mac) key to remove the last anchor. You can temporarily use the Magnetic Lasso tool as a freeform Lasso tool. Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then drag to draw. Release the mouse to return to the Magnetic Lasso tool. From the Library of Wow! eBook . protect from change. The Marquee tools are considered Photoshop& apos;s "good old" selection tools. In fact they've been a part of Photoshop since the early days. Where the marquee. the color black, and begin painting. Photoshop will let you apply black paint to any and all portions of the image. Selections are your way to instruct Photoshop what portions of the active. ptg Mastering the Art of Selection Introduction Mastering Adobe Photoshop requires skill in many diverse areas. While modifying an image's color, enhancing