how do i cut a pic out using wand tool

[macro junkie]

is there a way of cutting this mantis body out using the wand tool..if so can u guys tell me how i do it?~oi know some cut it out manually but is there way to do it faster using wand?i want to layer this pic on to a different background

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/2177828973_6882a33724_b.jpg

[Anke]

Maybe convert to B&W or really whack up the contrast to just have a definitive edge for the wand to grab on to, then save the selection and load into the original image. That or don't use the wand, use one of the other selection tools.

[macro junkie]

whats the fastest way to cut it out?

[poloman]

I think the most direct and accurate way is to use the pen tool. You would do well using contrast to cut out the part with the black background but the lower part will be hard. You create a new layer...trace the shape at high magnification with the pen tool and then make a selection. You can now refine the job you did with the pen. Grab the insect and drop it onto a background of your choice.
I saw a tutorial on using the pen a while back (try searching here) and really doubted that it would be easier or faster. It is both in practice in most cases.

[HyperYagami]

once you get used to it pen tool is the fastest, but it will take a lot of pain to learn. the wand tool will get you maybe the wings but definitely not the legs and feet area.

[Damo77]

Homer: From now on, there are three ways to do things: the right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way.
Bart: Isn't that just the wrong way?
Homer: Yeah, but faster!

Sorry macrojunkie, there's no quick way to do it, unless you're prepared to settle for very crappy results.

As the other posters have said, learn the pen tool or Quick Masking, it will be well worth it in the long run.

[macro junkie]

Homer: From now on, there are three ways to do things: the right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way.
Bart: Isn't that just the wrong way?
Homer: Yeah, but faster!

Sorry macrojunkie, there's no quick way to do it, unless you're prepared to settle for very crappy results.

As the other posters have said, learn the pen tool or Quick Masking, it will be well worth it in the long run.
yer i need to get a few books on it

[PhotosGuy]

That mantis has mostly hard edges, so try this first. I expect that it will work much better than the wand.
Selecting areas in PS. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=39994)

[ivalcordo]

this might help
http://www.sitepoint.com/print/masking-techniques-photoshop

[Damo77]

Nice link - thanks ivalcordo!

[macro junkie]

im getting there;;need to read that thread u just posted..i had quick read and this is what i done..lmfao

i need to learn this so bad u will not believe.

[Anke]

Perhaps try Damo's suggestion of Quick Mask mode, then try painting over your bug with a soft brush. Give it a go.

[rammy]

I use the pen tool a lot. Once you have the controls down without having to look them up then you can cut out a complicated pic very quickly.

Here is a beginners tutorial on it:

http://www.melissaclifton.com/tutorial-pentool.html

[macro junkie]

i copyed that link above but done few things wrong..il try again later..and il read that other thread on the pen tool..thansk guys for all your help

[mrbez]

Hello Macro,

As others have already mentioned, your best bet would be the pen tool, and then use an eraser with slight opacity to get clear edges.

Here is something that I just did over the last 5 minutes:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2146/2182320197_83149d958c_o.jpg

Regards,

Craig.

[PhotosGuy]

Quick Mask mode, then try painting over your bug with a soft brush. Tried that, & my method with the PLT I suggested above works faster & better. I use the pen tool a lot. Once you have the controls down without having to look them up then you can cut out a complicated pic very quickly. That should only take a month or so, & it's not something I'd recommend to a beginner. and then use an eraser with slight opacity to get clear edges. Better to use a layer Mask so that you can make changes/adjustments later: Tough Exposure question (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=421009)

[cory1848]

Like others have said, use the pen tool, it will give you adjustment points that you can later correct. Create a duplicate layer and use that, after outlining, create a path with it, select the path and inverse the selection, then delete. Outlining is PITA, there is no "quick" way or shortcut to get a good result. It takes patience.

[macro junkie]

Tried that, & my method with the PLT I suggested above works faster & better. That should only take a month or so, & it's not something I'd recommend to a beginner. Better to use a layer Mask so that you can make changes/adjustments later: Tough Exposure question (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=421009)
25 thousand posts..WOW u have click that reply button over 25 thousand times..lol.mad.

[PhotosGuy]

25 thousand posts..WOW u have click that reply button over 25 thousand times..lol.mad. Just trying to protect the newbies from the measurebaters! :D

[macro junkie]

while i try and dop it today im about to start now but i bet 1 of u could knock one up in 10 mins..well im off to try again..bbs hopefully with finished pic..im going with ivalcordo method..wish me luck..:)

[macro junkie]

wooo i done it..i know its crap how i done it and it looks real fake but now i know what to do i can practice..i have few ideas..:)thanks for all your help

[rammy]

Which method did you use, the Extract Filter?

Here is my extraction done with the pen tool. It took about 15 mins with it being fiddly :-)

234769

[canonloader]

Ya know, we've all done this a number of times, and I don't care what anyone says, it's always tedious. ;)

[rammy]

Ya know, we've all done this a number of times, and I don't care what anyone says, it's always tedious. ;)

Yeah it is! :-) There is no magic formula, silver bullet or golden rule :(

[400dabuser]

have you tried the magnetic lasso? its a bit tricky, but im sure you will get used to it

[macro junkie]

Which method did you use, the Extract Filter?

Here is my extraction done with the pen tool. It took about 15 mins with it being fiddly :-)

234769

i use the erase..lol.and done it by hand thats why mine looks a mess and yours looks perfect..theres another thing i want to learn..u know the mantid that i want to layer on to a blank white canvus,,well before i put the mantid on the blank canvus i want to set lighting effects and spot light..im trying to get shots same as this guy which does the same as im trying to do.look at this pic..see the faint lighting under the mantis?hes used lighting efftec for that..also 1 thing i dont get..hows he keeping the shadow do u think?

ps u done really good job of cutting that out.. http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6224448

[rammy]

i use the erase..lol.and done it by hand thats why mine looks a mess and yours looks perfect..theres another thing i want to learn..u know the mantid that i want to layer on to a blank white canvus,,well before i put the mantid on the blank canvus i want to set lighting effects and spot light..im trying to get shots same as this guy which does the same as im trying to do.look at this pic..see the faint lighting under the mantis?hes used lighting efftec for that..also 1 thing i dont get..hows he keeping the shadow do u think?

ps u done really good job of cutting that out.. http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6224448

Are you looking to place it on a background "similar" to that link then? With shadow effects?

Well I think the background and shadow effect is hand drawn. Here is my sample:

234807

If ok for you then Let me know if want the detailed steps.....

[rammy]

BTW- I think because they do not have any harsh lighting on the subject then it works. Unlike this one. You can't get it with lighting effects or the Render..Lighting Effects filter.

Just make sure you take a shot which has a lot of diffused lighting, then it will "work" better.

[Galaxy99]

Are you looking to place it on a background "similar" to that link then? With shadow effects?

Well I think the background and shadow effect is hand drawn. Here is my sample:

234807

If ok for you then Let me know if want the detailed steps.....

That is nice work done. I would like to know how too...

[Choderboy]

Hey MJ , forgive me if you already know this , but I think I saw you asking how to get rid of the background for this pic in the macro section.
A bit different from cutting the Mantid out completely , but still useful for a quick clean up of a few unwanted background distractions just using the clone tool, very fast:

So just ignore me if you are already a master of the clone tool....

[rammy]

That is nice work done. I would like to know how too...

There are so many ways of doing this; this is one (or two) way's:

Well here we go:

First of all cut out the subject using your preferred method. I used the Pen Tool. I love it and have been using it for many years and will only ever use it. I do not use any other method.

So now you have the subject on a transparent background.

To add the gradient background, as the sample shown:

Keep the subject layer switched on so you can see where you want the edges of these fills to end:

1) Create a white filled layer.
2) Add another layer and create a colour to transparent fill from the top down.
3) Add yet another layer and create another colour to transparent fill from the ground up.

This is your background, for example.

To add the shadow:

1) Create a copy of the subject as a layer
2) Ctrl-Click the new subject layer to select it and fill it with black.
3) Use the Transform tool and distort this selection. You want to compress it down underneath the subject.
4) Transform it again and use the distort effect again to match up the shadow points for the legs. Rotate and distort as you need to.
5) Make 2 copies of this distorted shadow (which is 100% black at this point)

At this point you have the background, subject and 3 layers of a distorted shadow that is 100% black. Now we are going to blur and blend...

Of the 3 "shadow" layers, the bottom one, blur it slightly for the legs. Mask out everything but the legs

The second one up, blur it a bit more for the outside of the torso.

For the top one, blur it even more for the body shadow.

Now go back with a soft brush a blend each of the three shadow layers to make them smooth and blend together. Use a mask on each layer to do this.

Lower the opacity of all the three shadow layers individually for the result you like.

[macro junkie]

Are you looking to place it on a background "similar" to that link then? With shadow effects?

Well I think the background and shadow effect is hand drawn. Here is my sample:

234807

If ok for you then Let me know if want the detailed steps.....
your bloody good..thats almost what im trying to do..theres only 1 thing on that pic u have done that i dont like and was wondering why its like that?u know the background u have used as blank canvus.behind the mantid..how comes theres horizontal lines running across it?

[macro junkie]

i was just looking again,,u really know your stuff..hopefully i can learn this technique form u with a bit of reading

[macro junkie]

sounds very complicated..going to take me some time to learn this but i want to do it so bad im willing to put the time in.

[macro junkie]

this guy must of saw our thread..lol http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6827505

[slappy sam]

You can try using the polygonal lasso tool. It's not bad for things with fairly straight edges. With that said, the pen tool is by far THE BEST for doing this. It takes a bit of practice to learn to use but it is widely regarded in the graphics design community (at least all the ones I've been in) as the most useful tool in photoshop.

[macro junkie]

how do i Create a white filled layer.?
how do i Add another layer and create a colour to transparent fill from the top down.?
how do i Add yet another layer and create another colour to transparent fill from the ground up.?

i dont know what this means. :(

[slappy sam]

how do i Create a white filled layer.?
add a new layer and use paint bucket (with white selected as foreground color) and fill layer... or use edit --> fill
how do i Add another layer and create a colour to transparent fill from the top down.?
add another layer (using layers palette of course) and select the gradient option in the tools menu and up top on the toolbar select foreground color to transparent. select a foreground color and drag the gradient from top to bottom
how do i Add yet another layer and create another colour to transparent fill from the ground up.?
same as above but drag from bottom to top, and select a new color
i dont know what this means. :(
if you dont understand what this means... then im bad at explaining. its pretty simple

there ya go hope it helps

[rammy]

I'm not sure why that banding has occurred, looks ok in PS.

This is what my layers palette looks like.

I merged the two fill layers, didn't really need them on a layer each but it helps to have them on separate layers first.

The "distorted mantid" layer is me Ctrl-clicking the top layer (of the cut out mantid) and filling it with black. Ctrl and Backspace fills with the current background colour Alt and Backspace fills with the current foreground colour. I then use the Transform Tool (Ctrl-T) to then distort the black filled one and squash it down. I also rotated it slightly and stretched it so the leg shadows matched up.

The 3 layers on top of this one, with the layer masks, are copies of the distorted layer, blurred and masked. The bottom of the three is the legs. The second one is the outer part of the body and the next one is a subtle masking of the inner part of the shadows. All three have had their opacity lowered.

234960

[macro junkie]

sory to be dumb but im new to this..please help me.

iv opened the cs2 up with no pic.i go to new layer but its not highlighted,.,why is this..?do i need to make some sort of canvus for layer to go on?

[macro junkie]

got it i think.. file - new - then new layer

[macro junkie]

Are you looking to place it on a background "similar" to that link then? With shadow effects?

Well I think the background and shadow effect is hand drawn. Here is my sample:

234807

If ok for you then Let me know if want the detailed steps.....
very hard this is when u dont know what some of the lingo is..im still trying tho

[rammy]

very hard this is when u dont know what some of the lingo is..im still trying tho

PM me where you are getting lost and I will give you a full step by step guide.... I'll see if I can try and put together an "every button press, mouse click" tutorial for here too.

Can you atleast "cut out" the subject?

EDIT: Will the moderators please let me post multiple images on this thread for a tutorial? It might help others too?

[lnterestlng]

Just mask it out. 50 different ways to make a mask. Google masking in PS. Should look similar to this... more accurate if you care about it.
235785

[macro junkie]

yes i have scott kebeys cs2 book..i read the bit about cutting out backgrownds..so that bit is sorted now..its the other bit i found inposiball cause iv only been using photto shop sinse the summer time..i really appreciate your help..

[macro junkie]

Just mask it out. 50 different ways to make a mask. Google masking in PS. Should look similar to this... more accurate if you care about it.
235785
ok..il look at google

[PhotosGuy]

with no pic.i go to new layer but its not highlighted No pic = no layer.

[macro junkie]

ok i went to new so i now have white filled layer..but how do i Add another layer and create a colour to transparent fill from the top down.?

[rammy]

ok i went to new so i now have white filled layer..but how do i Add another layer and create a colour to transparent fill from the top down.?

I've sent you a couple of emails with steps, see how far you get and reply so I can then detail the next steps....

[macro junkie]

what do u guys think for 1st attempt?got alot of help from rammy..thanks buddie.hey see the lines going horizontal in the background..same as what happened to u?why do u think?

1 thing i dont like is i used the pen tool to cut it out but the ended look to sharp?how do i make it so there not as sharp if u get my drift

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2168/2197316890_98e6c2a29e_b.jpg

[rammy]

what do u guys think for 1st attempt?got alot of help from rammy..thanks buddie.hey see the lines going horizontal in the background..same as what happened to u?why do u think?

1 thing i dont like is i used the pen tool to cut it out but the ended look to sharp?how do i make it so there not as sharp if u get my drift

Good job, practice more and it will get much easier.

Remember the part where you right click on the Work Path in the Path Palette and "Make Selection"? In that Make Selection dialog type in 1 or 2 for the Feather Radius and it will smooth the edges out.

[macro junkie]

sorted..u helped so much i owe u big time.il have enough go today..

[macro junkie]

how comes the lines are going horizontal on the background..have u worked out why we get this?looks ok on photoshop untill i save it then i see the lines?

[PhotosGuy]

looks ok on photoshop untill i save it then i see the lines? Lo-resolution image. I'd replace that purple with something more likely to be seen in nature.

[macro junkie]

yer il do better ones that was just a pratice..also one thing i need to learn..when i make a background how do i save it so when i take pics i can just cut them out and put them st5raight on the background with out having to make it again

[rammy]

how comes the lines are going horizontal on the background..have u worked out why we get this?looks ok on photoshop untill i save it then i see the lines?

Agree with Frank, I saved a hi-res image as TIF and JPG and it does not appear. You might be able to save a hi-res version of the image and a lo-res version. Then open the lo-res version of the background and use the Filter | Blur | Gaussian Blur to blur out those lines.

yer il do better ones that was just a pratice..also one thing i need to learn..when i make a background how do i save it so when i take pics i can just cut them out and put them st5raight on the background with out having to make it again

Very easy :-) you'll kick yourself... Create a blank canvas (File | New... option) and create your backgrounds. Then click File, Save and save it. That is it.

You can then open this background and open the image you want to cut out, select around the image using the pen tool, Make Selection of the path and then copy it (Edit, Copy) or Ctrl-C. Then go to your background image you opened and Paste.

Just a bit of lateral thinking :-)

[macro junkie]

right i have sussed the cutting out..cheack out this..i used the pen tool zoomed in at 400%..ok it took me about 1 hour but it looks good so im happy..I need your help again guys..somthing that really bugs me..i cut it all out then layed it on to a difrent backgrownd but look..see his anteners..it dosnt look like..such a shame it spoils the hole image.any idear how do get around this?

[rammy]

Post the original image to see what it looked like.

Can you just cut out the antenna by themselves and then lay it on a layer above this image and use the "Move Tool" to move the antenna into place?

[macro junkie]

i layed it on black backgrownd..save me the touble.i liked the green one better tho..which one do u like best?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2097/2200289520_25ca6242ba_b.jpg

[rammy]

I increased the brightness on your original to see if there was any pixel information for the antenna and unfortunately it has been lost.

I would leave this original pic as it is, looks ok, and next time, now that you have the experience to cut out and make your own background, either use a white background or a coloured background that will distinguish as much detail as possible.

[macro junkie]

ok thanks buddie..u been a big help

[rammy]

ok thanks buddie..u been a big help

You're welcome, happy to help :-)

If you are going to be doing this cutout stuff regularly then build up a stock of your own backgrounds. Get a colour wheel (search the internet for one) and choose complementary colours for your backgrounds. Opposite colours on a colour wheel, for example, match and is a good start.

Then just sit down for a few mins at a time and build a repository of these blended background colours.

Good luck!