Photo
11
Sue
Leith
Selection
Exercise
This
lesson provides an opportunity to use most of the selection tools to get a feel
for how the different tools work under different situations and with different
shapes. The goal of this lesson is to give you some practice with selecting and
show that, depending what you are selecting, the tool you choose can make your
job easier or much more difficult.
This
lesson also introduces you to a hue saturation adjustment in order to visually
show you the success of your selection. Drag the image ÒballoonÓ to your desktop. Open in
Photoshop.
THE PART OF THIS
ASSIGNMENT TO HAND-IN IS ON THE LAST PAGE.
Selecting all
balloons: Lasso Tool
Click
on the Lasso tool or type L. (Remember if you arenÕt sure of a tool shortcut or
name, hold the mouse over the tool to display both.)
Hold
down the mouse and draw freehand around all the balloons. Make sure to stop
dragging in the same spot you started or Photoshop will connect the beginning
and end points with a straight line. DonÕt worry if itÕs not perfect, you can
add or subtract from your original selection later.
To add
to your selection, hold down the shift key while dragging with the lasso, or
click the 2nd small box on the Options bar (add to selection). To subtract from
your selection, hold down the opt key while dragging with the lasso, or click
the 3rd small box on the Options bar (subtract from selection).
Once
you are happy with your selection, go to Select > Feather, and enter 1 or 2
pixels. Click ok, then de-select: Select > Deselect or (use the shortcut)
Command D
Selecting one
balloon: Polygonal Lasso
Click
and hold your mouse over the lasso tool until you see the nested tools below
– then click to select the polygonal lasso.
Using
the polygonal lasso. Make a rough
outline using multiple clicks around the balloon of your choice. Make sure to
continue clicking until you reach the spot where you began the selection. You
will see a small circle - telling you the next click will close the selection.
Alternatively, when you see the circle you can hit the Enter key to close the
selection.
In the
top Menu Bar, go to Select > Modify > Smooth. Enter 2 or 3 pixels. Click ok. Once you are happy with your
selection, go to Select > Feather, and enter 1 or 2 pixels.
Click
ok, then de-select: Select > Deselect or (use the shortcut) Command D.
Selecting
all balloons: Magnetic Lasso
Click
and hold your mouse over the lasso tool until you see the nested tools below
– then click to select the magnetic lasso.
Using
the magnetic lasso. Make a rough
outline by dragging around all the balloons. Notice how this tool puts anchor
points down and ÔsticksÕ to the edges.
The more contrast there is between the object you are selecting and the
background, the better this tool works. If you find it not working as well as
you like, you can click to add anchor points manually at any time. To delete
one point click the delete key. Multiple clicks with the delete key will delete
multiple anchor points in reverse order to how they were set down. If you get completely messed up, hit
your esc key and start again.
Again,
make sure to continue dragging until you reach the spot where you began the
selection. Look for the small circle telling you the next click will close the
selection, again, you can hit the Enter key when you se the circle to close the
selection.
If your
selection is rough in certain areas, use the (regular) Lasso tool with the add
to, or subtract from option to fix your selection, just make sure to start and
end at the same point or Photoshop will end in a straight line from the point
you stop dragging. Once you are happy with your selection, go to Select >
Feather, and enter 1 or 2 pixels. Click ok. Deselect.
Selecting one
balloon: Marquee Tool
Click
and hold your mouse over the marquee tool until you see the nested tools below
– then click to select the elliptical marquee tool. Drag with the mouse to circle the
red balloon. Your selection should be inside the balloon
A few
hints with this tool: If you hold down the shift key while dragging your
ellipse will be circular, not elliptical. If you hold down the space bar while
dragging, you can reposition the selection. Do not worry about a perfect
selection, you can add to or subtract from your selection later.
Once you
have a rouge selection, Go to Select > Similar. Notice what happens to your
selection, then go to, Edit > Undo (or use the shortcut Command Z) to take
you back to your original selection.
Next go
to Select > Grow. Notice what
happens to your selection. Then go to Edit > Undo (or Command Z) to take you
back to your original selection.
Next go
to Select > Modify > Expand.
Play around with the other modify commands to see what happens to your
selection. After looking at all
the options under modify, deselect.
Selecting
all balloons: Magic Wand
Click
on the magic wand tool or use the shortcut W to select the tool. Make sure the
first box in the Options bar, new selection, is checked. Set the tolerance to
the default 32 in the Options Bar. Leave the Anti-Alias and Contiguous boxes checked.
Click
once in any balloon. Hold down the shift key or click the second box in the
options bar (add to selection) then click in all the other balloons until they
are all selected. Once you are happy with your selection, go to Select >
Feather, and enter 1 or 2 pixels. Click ok. Command D to deselect.
Selecting all balloons: Magic Wand
- Inverse
Click
on the magic wand tool or use the shortcut W to select the tool. Make sure the
first box in the Options bar, new selection, is checked. Set the tolerance to
the default 32. Leave the Anti-Alias and Contiguous boxes checked.
Click
once in the white area of the image. Go to Select > Inverse. The balloons
should all be selected Once you are happy with your selection, go to Select
> Feather, and enter 1 or 2 pixels. Click ok. Command D to deselect.
Selecting all balloons: Magic Wand
and Select Inverse
Go to Select > All (Command
A) to select your entire image.
Select the magic wand tool and
click 3rd box in options bar, or hold down Opt key (subtract from
selection). Click anywhere in
white area. This should subtract the white background from your selection
leaving all the balloons (no background) selected. Command D to deselect.
Selecting all balloons: Eyedropper
and Color Range
Click on the eyedropper tool or
use the shortcut by typing I. Click on the white background around the
balloons. (Note white becomes the foreground color in the toolbox.) Go to
Select > Color Range. Under select leave sampled color checked. Move the fuzziness slider
back and forth until the dialog box shows all the balloons looking black with a
sharp edge. Click ok. The background should be completely selected. Go to Select > Inverse to change the
selection from the background to the balloons. Command D to de-select.
Selecting all balloons: Eyedropper
and Color Range
Click on the eyedropper tool or
use the shortcut by typing I. Click on one of the balloons to choose that
color. Go to Select > Color Range. Click on the eyedropper with the + sign
next to it, (in the middle right of the dialog box) and in either the colored
image you are working on, or in the small b&w dialog box, move the
eyedropper around while holding the mouse until all the balloons are all
selected. You may need to adjust the fuzziness slider up or down. You are
looking for a sharp edge to the balloons in the b&w box.
Once you are happy with your
selection, go to Select Feather, and enter 1 or 2 pixels. Click ok. Command D to deselect.
Final exercise to Hand-in
Your Assignment:
Read all instructions before you begin.
Accuracy is very important when
making selections in Photoshop and important for this exercise. Be meticulous.
Completely, and as carefully as you can,
select one (only one, not all) balloon. After you are happy with your
selection, and have ÔfeatheredÕ the selection. Save your selection. When
working with selections, especially if you spend a lot of time, save them for
later. Photoshop allows you to save selections as channels that you can use even after you
close your image. Go to Select > Save Selection and name your selection (red
balloon or green balloon or any appropriate name.)
Next, change the color of your
selected balloon.
How to change color.
There are many, many ways to
change a color in Photoshop, for today:
Go to - Image > Adjustments
> Hue/Saturation
Make sure the preview box is
checked so you can see the color you are choosing.
Move the sliders anywhere you
want in hue to
change the color.
Move the sliders anywhere you
want in saturation
to change deepness of color.
Move the sliders anywhere you
want in lightness to
change how dark/light the color is.
When youÕve finished, click ok.
To
see how well youÕve done, after changing the color of the balloon, check the
edges for the old color, the less of the old color, the better your selection.
Hint - it may be helpful to hide
the Òmarching antsÓ as you work so you can see your selection better when
changing the color. To do this, use the keyboard shortcut, Command H, to hide the Òmarching antsÓ. Your
selection will still be there and active; just the Òmarching antsÓ will be hidden
from view. To see the selection (marching ants) again, use the shortcut Command
H again.
Save your file to the desktop:
Go to File >Save as > and name your image: yourname.selection.psd Make sure you save to desktop.
Transfer your saved file to the
server.