[Tutorial] Difficult Extractions with Photoshop

[Scott]

Here ya go folks. Hope it's helpful.

<a href="http://www.pixeladdiction.com/bb/tutorials.php?aid=14&page=1">click here to see this tutorial</a>

[TrinityOfOne]

Nice one Jolt!

[TinCupid]

Excellent Big J!

[Dave]

Gotta see if I can apply that, it's complicated for sure.

[Siouxie]

it´s a lot of work but the end result is great :D

thx Jolt

[Jimbo]

Holy geez man, nice work

[BuddhaPawnJ]

im having a problem w/ it
first time i did it, i click on palete options, selected area 50% red, it inverts, but second time i did it it did nothing to the image. What's wrong?

[Scott]

Welcome BuddhaPawnJ,

Are you doing that step twice on one image?

You should only need to do that step once. Perhaps you missed something. Go back to the beginning and trace your steps again.

[roccobamonti]

I've seen several variations for this technique. This is by far, the most in-depth and comprehensive that I've seen to date. It's quite helpful to me. Thanks for putting the time and effort into this.

[Bill E Goat]

I noticed with my version of PS7 the inversion doesn't take place, plus the red, green and blue channels remain coloured and not B/W like in CS

On my version of CS everything works fine, as in Jolt's tutorial. Is that a new CS trick or my old faithful PS7 isn't tweeked right?

[Scott]

Make certain your colors are set to default when you start the tutorial. Just hit d on the keyboard.

For the channels remaining in color, they will unless you click one channel at a time. Only when one channel is visible will they be in black and white.

[bomon]

Very nice and to the point....thanx

[Bill E Goat]

Jolt as per these 2 screen captures on PS7 the channel colours and inversion don't work for me. No big problem ,just have to use CS to do this technique with.

[Scott]

okay I see what it is (I fired up PS7).

If the last time you created a channel, the channel options in PS7 remember what you set. Therefore if the options are already set to "Selected" no inversion takes place. This isn't critical like you pointed out Bill. Just hit command/control-i and the channel will invert.

In Photoshop CS it appears the behavior of the channels is slightly different in that they default to masked areas at all times.

Thanks for pointing it out Bill.

[Bill E Goat]

Thanks Jolt , thought it was a memory preset at work. After I posted the last images I fiddled with the invert option on the new layer and got it working in PS7 . Still handy to know seeing as I still use PS7 alot. Until I upgrade my CPU I find it less of a memory hog than CS. Muchly appreciated.

[wringwraithe]

HI Jolt, Just got around to catching up on stuff around here. I wanted to thank you for posting this, it will help me with my next t-shirt for someone's work anniversary. I may even find some time to put it to good use around here!
Thanks again!

[WCK]

I got it going good until I have to change the channel options for the red copy. when I have red copy only selected, i go to channel options, and "Selected Areas" is already chosen.

[Scott]

That's fine WCK. The channel option will stick to whatever was last used. Just name the channel and continue. If you need to invert the channel, because it might not invert, jsut hold down control/command and hit i on the keyboard.

And welcome to PA!

[Saltoria]

This is one of the bests tutorials I've seen! I like the way you identify your subject with the red arrows and circles....thanks for taking the time to do this for novice Photoshop CS users like me!

[tell]

Hello everyone at PixelAddiction. Love this site.. Great tutorial Jolt.. I know lm doing something wrong though.. Am using photoshop cs.. When l get to page 3 and duplicate the channel, the image background goes white. I think it should stay transparent? . Then l go into channel options click selections and name the new channel but nothing changes.. What am l missing.. I know this tutorial will make a good approach to selecting and am really keen to get past this hurdle.. Thank you. Tell.

[Scott]

First off, welcome to PA, tell!

Now, the background turns white because when you duplicate the channel you're seeing the channel data as opposed to the layers. If, after you set your channel options, the channel does not invert, simply hold down Control for the PC or Command for Mac, and type an I. The channel should then invert and you should be able to continue.

[tell]

Hello Jolt, thanks for your help. Yes inverting is what l needed to do. Im interested to know when channel masks work best. It seems the same selection could be achieved with quick mask... I seem to have difficulty making a distinct edge between the white object and black background... In the end l figure it would easy to achieve in quickmask. Maybe its just a matter of practice.. Your tutorial has inspired me.. I liked using the polygonal lasso but the wacom pen is not user friendly for that. The wacom pen seems to close the selection prematurely... Anyway thank you again.. Tell.

[Scott]

Channels work best depending upon the image. They won't work for every image. I really never use quick mask. I prefer to either use a channel ro a layer mask. Quick masks can't be saved and altered later where layer masks and channels can be.

I find the tablet perfect for everything. If you're experiencing the selection closing too easily you might want to increase the amount of time between the double clicks in the tablet preferences/set up.

[tell]

The tablet is a great invention.. I have tried increasing the double click in tablet preference. Seems to only close with the polygonal lasso.. I have an Mx 700 mouse and use the polygonal with that without a hiccup. At present l want to learn to adequately make use of channel masks. Your tutorial ,difficult extraction, is just the sort of thing l was looking for.. Im going to try an image with more contrast to begin with. Any other tips you have with channel masking would be really gleaned quick. I think extracting objects, really a difficult process. If l could make a clear distinction between the object and background.. But l seem to have a white edge that should be black any way lm not making alot of sense l suppose.. thanks again jolt... Tell.

I find the tablet perfect for everything. If you're experiencing the selection closing too easily you might want to increase the amount of time between the double clicks in the tablet preferences/set up.[/QUOTE]