© Copyright 2005 Dangergraphics.com. All rights reserved.
Powered by Movable Type | Xhtml | CSS | Contact
Quick Tip - Photohsop ( Moderate to Advanced )
First rule about masking is that it's more art than science, which means there is no simple plugin or one click solution to making a great mask. Not to say their aren't some nice masking tools out there but their is no be all end all solutions.
Step 1: Channels Palette
The first step in masking out hair is to open you channels palette. Now duplicate the channel with the most contrast between the hair and background.
Step 2: Duplicated Channel
Select the channel that was just duplicated. Using the paintbrush tool begin to fill the image in with black to create a silhouette. Take your time, the silhouettes edges need to be clean. Make sure you don't cover any of the strains of hair.
Note: If the background on your image is more complicated use the Color Range tool from the select menu to select the finished black silhouette. That should give you a nice mask. I plan to add a Part 2 to this tutorial demonstrating how to do that in more detail.
Step 3: Completed Mask
You should now have a mask that looks something like this. I inverted this mask just to show the details in the hair. Finally apply the mask to your image and your done. If you apply the mask as a layer mask it will allow you to go back and edit the mask if needed.
I know this is a moderate to advanced tutorial, so I'm either slow tonight or I just haven't worked with masks too often. I get lost between the second and third step. Completing the mask loses me. Any information you can share would be highly appreciated.
Thank you for the helpful advice. I've been looking how to do this and keep forgetting. This time i wont forget.
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
Thanks for this one... This is such a powerful technique to have in your arsenal, and I've been looking for a tutorial to share with my students.