The magnetic Lasso tool

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cbrennan04

cbrennan04

Sicc OG
#1
Dec 2, 2004
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#1
When im cutting shit out. Such as a body figure... i go around it with an eraser first. Then i go over it with the lasso tool. Thats what they taught me to do in my web and graphic class. It gets the job done but it's not always top notch. Ive seen some custom cd covers posted on here and i see the body figures are cut out perfect. Is there another trick that i don't know? or does this whole lasso tool thingy takes practice...
 
TONY206

TONY206

/b/ased
#2
Jun 13, 2002
13,154
525
113
siccness.net
#2
I use nothing but eraser because I can choose exactly what I want deleted. I will zoom in to make sure I get the right stuff deleted. It may be the long way but I'm pretty fast at it.
 
Snubnoze

Snubnoze

Sicc OG
#5
May 5, 2002
2,241
4
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#5
use the pen tool with a vector mask.... I remember they tried telling me to use the fuckin magnetic lasso in the photoshop class I took at the JC a few years back, fuck that, sloppiest cut outs ever. can't fuck with vector masks, crisp as fuck, even if you blow the image up...
 
Mr. Samos

Mr. Samos

Sicc OG
#6
Jun 2, 2002
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www.myspace.com
#6
I use the Polygonal Lasso Tool also. You really have to get your angles down with this tool before you use it to cut out pictures though. Same with the Pen Tool.

They work perfect, but I recommend you use whichever tool you have most control with. What you want to do is cut out the picture as best as you can making sure you don't leave anything out, if you get caught up in a zoom sometimes you lose track of what your looking at, so duplicate the screen and have one in 100% and your work page in zoom.

Once you have the selection, CTRL C, CTRL N, ENTER, CTRL P it into a new file with either a white or black background depending on the picture.

On this new image what you want to do is FINE TUNE the cut. So with the contrast on the plain background you can now see your mistakes. Trim it to perfection (Parts you may have missed, sometimes there is a slight outline from the transition in the original picture, you want to trim these imperfections) and then paste the final cutout into your graphic and mesh it from there.

Hope that helps.
 
Mr. Samos

Mr. Samos

Sicc OG
#7
Jun 2, 2002
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#7
But the best thing you can have when cutting out a body figure is patience. Don't rush it otherwise you will just have to start all over. You want to make sure the cuts are perfect so take time cutting out the picture, and even more time fine tuning it making sure everything is smooth and realistic or natural. Certain parts need to be cut in specific ways, such as jeans or shoes or the head or an arm, so be patient with it. If you cut too close on the original, you risk cutting off a small part of an ear for example, that's why you want to constantly keep checking in 100% view to make sure your on track, your better off cutting slightly outside than close because that way when you fine tune the cut, you can easily manipulate those cuts to perfection.

Hard to explain but you will understand once you get working on it.
 
Snubnoze

Snubnoze

Sicc OG
#10
May 5, 2002
2,241
4
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#10
I used to use the polygonal when I was first doin this shit, works pretty good but if you fuck up half way its a pain in the ass, plus if you wanna modify the size of the shit the edges wont stay crisp. And if you want to modify the edges at all if you ain't usin a layer mask and are just deletin shit once its deleted the shits gone and you cant go back and change shit...

For hair the extract tool works I usually just fuck with color select and layer masks. I really havn't fucked with CS, just got it and havn't been fuckin with photoshop/graphics at all in the last year or so, so their might be some new shit in there that works better...
 
noWetaG

noWetaG

Super Moderator
#12
Apr 24, 2002
3,446
439
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GateWonProduct.com
#12
^^^^mastering the pen tool is ESSENTIAL to being a graphic artist.....
practice practice and more practice........

tosin said:
yall have any tips for cutting out hair? like womens hair, animal hair, fur coats...stuff like that?
Click to expand...
use the PEN tool to get a basic cut out of ur figure........
apply a mask 2 the layer based on this path
(means that the pixels arent erased, just hidden
and u can bring bac pixels if u fuc up).........
select the mask on the layer
(make sure theres a blac outline around the mask
and not the pixel part of the layer).........
then use blac or white and paint on the mask.....
BLAC will hide pixels in the mask.....
WHITE will show pixels in the mask......
u just use a brush complimentary to the hair ur tryna bring out......

it might be hard to see cuz its so small....
but ill upload a larger version so u can see if u want.....
but heres an example of my method in use
(look @ her shoulders where the hair is fine
and needs to be seperated from the bg):
 
C

ComputerNerd

Graphic Artist
#16
Apr 25, 2002
1,812
18
0
#16
the magetic lasso is pretty easy and used correctly is very effective.
the pen tool is just way too hard and complicated.
extract tool is pretty clean, and easy as well.
i usually use the eraser when i'm zoomed up real close, gives it a cleaner feel.......hope that helps !!!
 
noWetaG

noWetaG

Super Moderator
#17
Apr 24, 2002
3,446
439
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45
GateWonProduct.com
#17
^^2 complicated? i guess, if ure a novice designer.......
which i know ure not, so its just laziness??
but actually in the end, u could be doing alot more work.......

the problem with all these methods besides using masking,
is that if u make a mistake AFTER u thought everything is fine
the pixels are gone forever, AKA u gotta do everything ALL over again!
whereas a mask just hides what ure not using.....
ive even tried all the methods mentioned above thru the years....
buy duplicating the layer, turn visibility off on the original
& editing the duplicate.....worked pretty good.......
but if there needs to be any changes later......
instead of having to do the entire cutout all again,
i just go in & adjust the pen path and reactivate the mask......
 
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