Replacing Sky

[colliewalker1]

Skies can be replaced in Paintshop Pro using 'Magic Wand, Copy and Paste' a very simple process not needing the creation of layers - my 'bete noir'!!:cry:

However, a problem I have come across arises where the sky is, in effect, divided into sections by various objects intruding into the skyline so that the sky can't be selected in one move; this can be very 'fiddly' in some cases.

Does the layer method overcome this problem?

[Scottes]

The layer method overcomes ALL problems, and allows for manipulation far beyond cut&paste and Select. You don't have to do a lot of fancy stuff, but you can.

[ssim]

Scottes put a tutorial in the sticky on this subject that is very good. You can find it here

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=35368

It is more specifically related to photoshop but I'm sure the concepts are the same for Paintshop.

[chris.bailey]

Layers and layer masks is the way to go. It might take a little longer but the results are more convincing and it is far more flexible,

[colliewalker1]

Layers and layer masks is the way to go. It might take a little longer but the results are more convincing and it is far more flexible,

The replies are convincing as regards the superiority of Layers and Masks- I find that tutorials realated to tasks involving Layers and Masks though, tend to assume basic knowledge of these tools - which is where I get lost:cry: I will have to start right at the beginning and find out how to use them before APPLYING them!

[Scottes]

Well, a simple way to start with layers is to not Paste into the background layer. Create a new layer and Paste into that. You'll now find that you can do things like erase the edge of that Paste and blend it better. Or you can now blend the edges so the new layer kinda fades into the background layer. Or let's say the Paste would normally end up covering something important, like a tree that sticks above the horizon. You can now erase the new layer wherever the tree should show through.

One huge tip - layer opacity is your friend. If you paste into a new layer it will normally be at 100% opacity which will completely cover the background layer. Reduce the opacity of the new layer so you can see through it enough to see the background layer. Now you can line it up better, and now you know where to erase to get that tree to show through.