Extracting is another method for selecting and drawing out a subject from your image or object for further compositing. You can extract the object in 4 steps: Draw boundary, Extract object, Adjust degree of extraction, then Refine object.
Step 1 of 4: Drawing the boundary
1. Select Object: Extract Object.
2. In the Extract Object dialog box, set the Color and
Size of the brush.
3. Drag to trace the edges of the subject that you want to extract. Make sure that the subject you want to extract is enclosed by the brush strokes.
Tip: If you want to remove parts of the selection, click
Eraser then drag on the edges that you want to remove.
4. Click Next.
Note: Press[Ctrl] as you move a selection to preserve the base image even if Preserve Base Image is not selected.
Note: When selecting on several objects and the selection area includes areas that are not part of the group of objects, the areas that are not part of the objects will not be included in the selection.
Drag to trace the edges of the subject that you want to extract.
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Tip: Use the buttons at the lower-left hand side of the dialog box to change the zoom ratio of the image.
Step 2 of 4: Extracting the object
1. Click the area outside the boundary of the subject you want to retain to remove it. You will notice that the area outside the boundary becomes a checkerbox.
2. Click Next.
Step 3 of 4: Adjusting degree of extraction
1. Adjust the ExtractionDetail slider. The higher the value, the more details are selected when the object is extracted.
2. When satisfied with the results, click Next. If you do not need to refine the object, click
OK.
Step 4 of 4: Refining the object
1. Set the Size, Transparency and Soft edge of the brush.
2. Remove excess parts of the object by dragging on areas you want to remove. To recover areas from the original image, click +/- to add or remove.
Tips:
• Click Invert to switch the selection to the unselected areas. • Click Reset to revert to the original state.
Note: It is recommended to set the ExtractionDetail to a high value if the boundary you created contains details that are subtle but you want selected (e.g. hair strands). However, the higher the ExtractionDetail value, the longer it will take to process.
3. After you remove or recover parts you want from the extracted object, click OK. The extracted object in the image is automatically selected after the dialog box closes. You can save it in the UFO file format to retain the object as needed.
Mask Mode
Masking is a process where changes are applied to a selected area of an image, while the rest of the image is masked or protected from those changes.
Masking is particularly useful for selecting portions of the image that are not
distinguishable from the background. A typical use for the Mask Mode is to select portions of images that you cut out and paste into another image to create a collage. Also, since
Mask Mode has transparency options, it lets you blend more effectively one image object with another.
Mask Mode basically operates on a Grayscale buffer, which means that you make selections based on tonal values of the Grayscale. When in Mask Mode, you will only be able to access Grayscale values in the color palette. Each tonal value in the grayscale buffer represents a combination of two things: Degree of transparency and Selection area status.
Selecting white results in 0% selection transparency, while black results in 100%
transparency (meaning that there’s no selection). A gray value represents partial selection, or a selection with partial transparency.
Keep in mind that when you paint on the mask itself, areas that you paint with black will become the default white mask, while areas that you paint on with white will completely penetrate the mask to reveal the image underneath.
To use Mask Mode:
1. Open an image in the workspace.
2. Select Edit: Mask Mode [Ctrl+K], click Mask Mode in the Status Bar, or click Enter Mask Mode in the Layer Manager.
By default, a semitransparent red layer appears, covering the entire image. This means that you are now working in a Grayscale mask mode.
Tip: You can change the Background color and set the Background transparency. If Background transparency is set to 100, the original image will show through.
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3. Choose a Selection, Paint, or Fill Tool to modify the mask. 4. On the Attribute Toolbar, pick a color for the brush.
Notice that only Grayscale values are available. Selecting black means that you will add to the mask, thus covering the image with the default mask color, while white subtracts from the mask so that the image appears clearly through the mask layer. 5. Paint on the image until you have the area you want. 6. When you’re done, select Edit: Mask Mode or click
Mask Mode on the Status Bar (or Exit Mask Mode in the Layer Manager) to exit.
A selection marquee appears where you have painted on the mask. All areas that you painted using White and Grayscale values fall within the selection areas. Grayscale areas will be semitransparent, depending on the value of gray.
7. You can either convert the selection to an object and paste it into another image, or you can edit the marquee further by returning to Mask Mode or using a Selection Tool.
Note: You can always make a selection area first, then click Mask Mode. This is useful if the image is large and you only want to mask a small portion of it.