STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Any general tips with Photoshop? TIA

hey chic

i use photoshop all the time and have been using it for years. for a pretty quick and easy way to do this i would start by viewing the image at 200% (the image will look a bit fuzzy), then take your eraser tool and carefully erase around the outline of your skirt (essentially start erasing the background you want to get rid of around the edges of the skirt). this establishes a "dividing line" between the skirt and the background. you can then go in and erase the rest of the background with the eraser tool or select and delete in sections. you can adjust the size of your eraser if you need to get into little detailed areas too. when you zoom back out to 100% you should have a nice crisp image of just your skirt.

note: to get a nice clean line down the side of a skirt, hold the shift key down, place the eraser where you want to start erasing (say at the waistband) and click, then move the eraser tool to the end of the skirt (the hem) and click. it'll give you one nice solid line down the side.

there are fancier/more professional ways to do this, but this should be easiest for your needs.

let me know if you try this and/or have any questions... i can totally help you with this.

-- Edited by hotcocoa at 19:18, 2005-04-02

Ok, I don't have Photoshop in front of me so I don't entirely know how to do this. But I usd Photoshop almost daily last year. But here's basically what I would do. Select the skirt kind of loosely (don't remember the details of how to do this). It doesn't have to be exact at all. Then create a mask. The mask usually takes the form of a red tint. You can either have the red tint be on the background or on the area you selected. Then using the eraser or paint tool you can make that area bigger or smaller so it's the same as the skirt. Then when you have it how you want it you can take away the mask, and you'll have the skirt selected, but the way it was in the mask. Then you can drag it into a new document. Maybe someone who knows Photoshop can explain better how to do it. I haven't used it in forever and don't have it in front of me to figure out what everything' called.