|
This tutorial demonstrates how to extract an element from a single coloured (or uncluttered) background. To work along exactly, you can download the dragonfly image Here. Unzip the file and open it onto Photoshop’s workspace ready to utilise.
Note
The background of my image is solid white; however, this tutorial works with any single coloured (or uncluttered) background.
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
1/
Open your image onto Photoshop’s workspace.
2/ Understanding Layers
Then from the top menu, choose Layer then choose New then choose Layer from Background. Reply OK to the New Layer dialogue box, then click OK. This unlocks the layer, (removes the padlock), and changes it‘s name from Background to Layer 0 - making it editable!
3/
Enlarge your image; from the top menu, choose View then choose Zoom In.
4/
Now, from the left-side toolbar, activate the Magic Wand Tool.
And set the following attributes into its Options bar.
Then left-click outside the object, as illustrated below.
The dragonfly (and outer border) are immediately surrounded by a selection marquee.
Note
Your object needs to be completely surrounded (isolated) with a selection marquee; therefore, when working with the dragonfly image, one click is enough to isolate it. However, if you wish to isolate a less straightforward element - for example the following windmill; from the Magic Wand’s Options bar, ensure the Add to selection tab is
active, before applying the selection marquee.
Then repeatedly left-click each sky segment, to surround it with a selection marquee.
The sky has now been fully selected. However, the sky inside the wind-sales is removed using another tool, as explained in my lesson Here!
The Select Similar Command
An alternative way of selecting similar coloured pixels with a marquee, is implementing the Similar command. First, apply the Magic Wand Tool to your image, as usual, then right-click your image, and from the drop-down list, click Similar. As illustrated by my screen capture here. This selects all similar coloured pixels. Now, continue left-clicking (with the Magic Wand), to select areas that remain un selected, as demonstrated by my screen capture here.
5/
After the dragonfly (or alternative element), has been isolated with a selection marquee.
It is time to shrink the marquee, so it is very tight against the dragonfly. Therefore, from the top menu, choose Select then choose Modify, then choose Expand. In the Expand Selection dialogue box, type 1 (Pixel) in the Expand By menu, then click OK.
 
6/
To smooth the selection, from the top menu, choose Select then choose Modify then choose Smooth. In the subsequent Smooth Selection dialogue box, enter a Sample Radius of 1 Pixel, then click OK.
Feathering Selections
If necessary, to further smooth the edge of your image, from the top menu, choose Select then Feather, then enter a desired Feather Radius. Chapter 12 of my creating Vignettes lesson, here demonstrates the Feather command’s usefulness, especially when blending an object - or an image, with another.
Experiment with different Feather settings, and use it in addition to the Smooth Selection command, if you wish.
7/
After you have Feathered, and/or Smoothed the selection, from your keyboard, press the Delete key. The background surrounding the dragonfly, has now been deleted. Press Ctrl then D to remove the marquee.
8/
Now, because you have Expanded, Feathered, and/or Smoothed the selection marquee (prior to deleting the background), the dragonfly is ready to place onto any coloured background. Hopefully its edges will be clean, and it will not have a white halo. To test this, from the top menu, choose Layer then choose New Fill Layer, then choose Solid Colour - New Fill Layer Tutorial Here now, change the (Fill) colour to contrast with the original white background, (in this instance, I am choosing solid black), then click OK. Your canvas will be filled with solid black.
9/
Now, from the Layers palette, left-click and grab the dragonfly image’s layer, then drag it above the Colour Fill 1 layer.
10/
Hopefully, your dragonfly’s edges will be clean, and devoid of a (white) halo.
11/
However, should the Magic Wand have missed areas, as shown below.
12/
Reactivate the Magic Wand tool, and click inside the white area, to surround it with a selection marquee.
13/
Then press the Delete key.
14/
Then press Ctrl then D to remove the marquee.
15/
Your dragonfly should now have clean edges, ready for the next step.
16/
From the Layers palette, right-click the Colour Fill 1 layer, and choose Delete layer from the pop-up menu.
Your dragonfly (or other image) now has a clean edge and a transparent background, and is ready for a new background.
Transparent Gif
If you prefer, you can save your transparent dragonfly (or image), as a transparent Gif. Remember, saving your work as a Gif may degrade the overall effect. This is because (although both saving options compress images to reduce their file size), Gifs are saved with a maximum of 156 colours; whereas Jpegs are saved with a maximum of 16 million colours. As a consequence, Jpegs are more vibrant than Gifs - as demonstrated by my final images, at the start of this lesson. Link here to learn how to save your (transparent) image as a Transparent Gif.
17/
Link Here to learn how to fill the background with a Solid Colour, Pattern or Gradient of your choice.
18/
Alternatively, open a second image, of your choice, then activate the Move Tool 
and drag the transparent dragonfly onto your second image, as explained in my lesson here! My lesson Here explains how to save your work.
Additionally, my lessons Here demonstrate alternative ways of extracting elements from their backgrounds.
Wendi E. M. Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
|
|
