In CS3, there is a new selection tool and a new set of options to go with it. It basically takes many of the selection techniques in Chapter 3 and places them into a tool or filter menu.
The first is the Quick Selection Tool which is similar to both Color Range and the Magic Wand. But, the Quick Selection tool is more powerful than either of these. And, it can be controlled as if it were a brush...changing the size of the 'brush' changes the amount of area selected. It also has the features of the other selection tools because you can add to or subtract from a selection in the usual ways.
The other, Refine Edge, opens a window in which you get to the things similar to the Gaussian blur of the Quick Mask, the adding or contracting of Maximum and Minimum filters, etc. As you experiment with the sliders, you can see what happens to your selection in 5 ways: selection, Quick Mask, on black or white and as layer mask. You can check it out here:
Quick Selection Tool and Refine Edge and Quick Selection Part 1 and Replace Filter Tricks with Refine EdgePart 2
Idid use the filters with the Quick Mask to give myself a better understanding of what is involved, but from now on. Quick Selection and Refine Edges will take their places.
Select Menu Introduction
One just needs to open the Selection menu and there it all is! I did get very accustomed to another shortcut I had not been using and need often when working with selections, the Inverse:Ctrl+ Shift +i. Another important idea is the trim away unseen image information: Ctrl+A, Image>Crop.
All the example images are rollover images to reveal the before photo underneath.
All photos on this page are © R. Joanne Johnson.
Color Range
I did play around with Color Range and did this:
Feather
Feathering is fun for making dreamy edges on images. From now on, though, I will use Refine Edge to do it.
The Modify Menu
I did a couple with the Modify>Border and at first thought it not so useful, but later, down the page with a Refine Edges , found it very useful!
Curves to Expand and Contract
I wanted to try the Curves idea and it worked fairly well on this clipart, which was a fuzzy selection already. It helped to cover it up.
The before image shows the ©Dover image on its original white background.
Using Refine Edges and Quick Selection, aided by Border Selection
This is a photo of my tea kettle and the rollover image shows it on my stove. It was difficult, to near impossible, to get a pefect selection with Color Range (all the highlights and shadows)but Quick Selection made it a piece of cake! I cleaned up the edges with the Polygonal Selection Tool when Quick Selection took in too much. I have since learned about educating the tool! Maybe that would have helped. I also cleaned up with Refine Edge and the Border Selection.
Transforming a Selection
Very useful! My kitchen clock. I did add some Layer Style in the form of a Drop Shadow.
Moving Channels and Selections, Saving and Loading
Good information, especially about off-loading the Alpha Channels to control image size. I enjoyed the lesson and learned much!
Images and work are © R.Joanne Johnson unless tagged as images being used from The Creative Digital Darkroom website.
