In the process of editing images in any graphics editor, one of the most frequently repeated operations, perhaps, is the selection and cutting of objects performed with the aim of moving, transforming, correcting, extracting from the background, etc.
There are a lot of graphic editors on the Internet, but having well understood how to select an object in Photoshop, it will not be difficult to cope with this in all other programs or online services.
If you say that in terms of diversity and convenience of ways to highlight "Photoshop" has no equal, this will not be an exaggeration (in any case, explicit).
You can select manually by tracing the contour of an object or drawing a selection area with a brush, as well as automatically using standard shapes of selection contours and other "magic" tools. In addition, Photoshop uses masks, color channels, filters, and special plugins to highlight fragments.
However, despite the variety, simplicity and convenience of special selection tools in Photoshop, according to many skilled âPhotoshopâ, there is no way more accurate and better than using the Pen tool.
Right-click the object contour carefully drawn with a pen and select the âMake Selectionâ command, then set the shading radius in the dialog box that opens, tick / uncheck the Anti-aliasing checkbox and click OK. Everything, the selection is ready.
Automatic selection of an object in Photoshop comes down to stretching the frame along the contour of the element if it has a rectangular or oval shape, and in some tools to clicking (clicks) the mouse inside the selected area.
Rectangular and rounded selections
The selection tools with rectangles, ellipses (circles) and narrow stripes (lines) are collected on the panel in a group with the prompt "Rectangular area" (Rectangular Marquee Tool), which, in addition to the named, includes the tools "Oval" (Elliptical Marquee Tool), Area Horizontal Row (Single Row Marquee Tool) and Area Vertical Row (Single Column Marquee Tool).
To make a selection, you need to click, where necessary, with the mouse, stretch the frame of the desired size and release the button - the selection is ready. If you drag the mouse while holding down the Shift key, you get a square (or circle), and if with the Alt key, the frame will stretch from the center of the figure, and not from the corner or edge.
The next very useful âifâ is associated with the space bar, pressing which during selection (without releasing the Shift key), you can interrupt the process of stretching the frame and move the entire outline to better âaimâ, then release the space and continue the selection.
And the last âifâ refers to the cursor, which changes its appearance inside the selected area, indicating that the contour can now be moved in its entirety.
The settings for all the selections in the top panel are the same, except for the oval selection, for which the Anti-aliased mode is provided to smooth out the opacity transitions at the edges.
Complex selection contours
Having figured out how to select an object in Photoshop, if the selection contours have a rectangular or oval (round) shape, you can move on to more intelligent means of selection.
For elements with complex contours, you are provided with a group of tools with the prompt âStraight Line / Polygonal Lasso Toolâ, which, in addition to the aforementioned, includes the âLasso Toolâ and âMagnetic Lasso Toolâ.
A simple Lasso is akin to a pencil. By clicking the left mouse button, circle (draw a lasso) the desired area (object) and release the button. The loop will automatically close wherever you release the button. If the path failed, you can, without releasing the button, press the Esc key, thus removing the selection, and âthrow a lassoâ again.
Turning on the "Straight Line / Polygonal Lasso", you circle the object not with a smooth, continuous line, but with an angular contour, sequentially clicking the mouse from point to point, between which straight lines stretch. To close the contour, it is not necessary to combine the beginning with the end point - just get close to it so that a circle appears next to the cursor, hinting that you can safely click - the contour closes. You can create a path without closing it completely by double-clicking the mouse or using the Ctrl key.
If the line went the wrong way, the Esc key will help out, but it is better to use the Delete key, which deletes the last segment of the contour. While holding down the Alt key, both lasso change roles.
If you do not care how to cut an object in Photoshop, if only the selection is more or less high-quality and, most importantly, fast, then, perhaps, the Magnetic Lasso will cope with this in the best way.
The wise âlasso with magnetâ itself recognizes the line of maximum difference in color, brightness or contrast and âsticksâ to this line. All that is required of us is to click on the border of the selection object and simply âlay a lassoâ around it without bothering with the details. Unlike ordinary lasso, the magnetic "lasso" needs to set the width (width) of the zone (strip), which he must analyze when determining the border of the selected object. The contour of the magnetic tool closes in the same way as with conventional lasso.
Magic tools
Another âsweet coupleâ of selection tools hidden under a single button on the toolbar includes the Magic Wand Tool and Quick Selection tools. These tools allow you to select areas of the same color or similar in tone colors on the image.
The Magic Wand, unlike the Fill tool (paint bucket), which is familiar to everyone with the same settings, does not fill the areas with a different color, but selects them. Obeying a mouse click at some point, the Magic Wand analyzes the color around it and selects all adjacent sections of the same color, provided that the "Contiguous" mode is selected in the tool settings. Otherwise, the selection extends to all suitable areas throughout the image.
The Quick Selection tool works on the same principle, only here the selection area is drawn with its own brush with customizable parameters (size, rigidity, intervals, angle and shape).
There are many reasons why the use of standard selection tools in certain situations is inappropriate or undesirable, so it is advisable to figure out how to select an object in Photoshop in such a capricious case.
To do this, use a group of erasing tools (erasers), among which there are also "wizards". The group itself includes the Eraser Tool, the Background Erser Tool and the Magic Eraser Tool.
The essence of selecting objects using erasers is obvious and simple: everything around the selected element is completely erased (or with a smooth transition), after which extracting the object will no longer be difficult.
The âEraserâ works like a brush or pencil, so they have the same settings. The principle of operation of the Magic Eraser is the same as that of the Magic Wand tool, only the eraser does not create a selection, but removes the same color from the picture or part of its area.
The âBackground Eraserâ, although not magical, but if you show it a sample (click on the area to be deleted) and hold the button, draw an outline of the object, it will delete exactly what you need, regardless of the complexity of the border, and even generously allow you to âimpudentlyâ "crawl over the object with the cursor-sight.
As an alternative to highlighting by color, you can consider the âColor Rangeâ command in the âSelectâ menu. This command will open the settings window for this function with a small copy of the image in the center. The color to be highlighted is indicated by clicking on the thumbnail or on the image itself. You can click âuntil the pulse is lostâ until the selected hue suits you, and if you click with the Shift key, the new color is added to the previously selected, and a click with the Alt key, on the contrary, excludes the specified hue from the candidates for selection (do the same pipettes with +/-).
To control the selection of a multicolor region, you need to select the radio button "Selection" under the thumbnail.
Extract an object from the background
The task of separating the object from the background "Photoshop" perfectly copes with the command "Extract" (Extract) in the menu "Filter" (Filter). This command takes us to a separate dialog box worthy of the status of a mini selection editor. We are required to select a tool similar to a felt-tip pen at the top left, set the stroke thickness and circle the object, thus showing the program where the border between the element to be separated and the background passes. The border must be inside the drawn line bordering the object. Having closed the outline, select the paint bucket (Fill Tool) and fill the object by clicking inside (not outside!) The drawn outline. Only after that the "OK" button will allow you to press yourself and see the extraordinary capabilities of the Extract filter.
Highlight using color channels
To highlight objects with a very complex configuration, they sometimes resort to the help of color channels, since it turns out that you can select an object in Photoshop not only using standard methods.
To do this, go to the "Channels" tab in the layers panel and select the most contrasting (most often this is blue) channel. Then duplicate the layer of the selected channel, go to "Image" (Image)> "Correction" (Adjustments)> "Brightness" (Brightness) / "Contrast" (Contrast) and enhance both parameters, extremely blackening the object and "bleaching" the background. If necessary, you can make refinements with a black or white brush.
Next, the image is inverted (Invert) by selecting this command in the same menu "Image"> "Correction". Now it remains only to click with the Ctrl key pressed on the channel copy layer and, "closing his eye", return to the "Layers" tab in RGB mode, where you have already been waiting for accurate and accurate selection.
Highlight with Quick Mask
You can select / cut an object using the Quick selection tool located at the very bottom of the toolbar. The selection area here is simply painted in black (but the mask has a red color) using ordinary brushes. Partial selection for shading its borders is obtained not only by variations in stiffness, opacity and brush pressure, but also by shading with various shades of gray. In mask mode, you can use the gradient fill "from black to white" or vice versa.
Content-Based Moving
Often there is a need for some reason to slightly move the object in the image. It is better to carry out such an operation under conditions of a relatively uniform background so that it is easier to âpatch a holeâ in the old place of the displaced fragment. It turns out that there are programs in which this is done almost automatically "without noise and dust." For example, you can cut out an object in Photoshop CS6 and âimperceptiblyâ move it to another place using the Content-Aware Move Tool, which is located in the Spot Repair Brush tool group.
To do this, you need to select the object in any way and simply move it to the right place, and the program will make sure that there are no traces (if any, obvious) of the former place of residence of the "settler". If it turns out to be dirty, the "Move with Content" tool can be helped by "sweeping tracks" by choosing the "Fill" command in the "Edit" menu and selecting the "Content Based" option in the "Use" list.
Refine selection edges
Starting with version CS5 in Photoshop, a powerful tool âRefine Edgeâ appears, which is located, among other parameters, on the settings panel of all selection tools. Using this tool, you can set the width of the edge detection area (the "Radius" setting and the "Smart radius" function) and adjust the parameters for offset, smoothing, feathering and contrast of the borders of the selected object.