Introduction to the new cutout magic wand selection tool in Photoshop CS3

Author：Eve Cole Update Time：2009-07-29 17:31:35

When using Photoshop for photo processing, we often encounter the problem of selection cutout, such as removing part of an image from its background, or trimming the edges of a specific part, etc. In previous versions of Photoshop, experts have summarized many effective methods to create various types of complex selections. No matter what method is adopted, everyone is concerned about the same issue - how to select the constituency that best meets our requirements for cropping. For example, extracting the flying hair from the background in a photo of a model is a very nerve-wracking task for most people: some pixels on the hair will always be left behind, while the background Some of the pixels will be attached to the hair, or the two will be mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish.

The new "Quick Selection Tool" in Adobe Photoshop CS3 is very powerful and provides users with an incredibly high-quality selection creation solution. This tool is added to the upper area of the toolbox, grouped with the Magic Wand tool. Adobe realizes that the Quick Selection Tool is more powerful than the Magic Wand Tool, so it displays the Quick Selection Tool in a prominent position in the toolbox panel and hides the Magic Wand Tool inside.

Okay, enough talking... now let me introduce it to you in the form of examples.

1. We open an image of gerbera in Photoshop CS3, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

The Quick Selection Tool can be found above the toolbox, as shown in Figure 2, and is somewhat similar to the Magic Wand Tool.

Figure 2

Like many other tools, the Quick Selection tool is based on brush mode. That is, you can "draw" the desired selection. If you are selecting a larger area far from the edge, use a larger brush size; if you are selecting an edge, switch to a smaller brush size to avoid selecting background pixels.

Tip: To change the brush size, you can use the drop-down list on the Brush side of the options bar, or you can directly use the shortcut keys [ or ] to increase or decrease the brush size.

2. The quick selection tool is smart, it is more intuitive and accurate than the magic wand tool. You don't need to paint over the entire area you want to select; the Quick Selection tool will automatically resize the selection you paint in and find the edges to separate it from the selection.

Figure 3

3. But if there are some areas that you don’t want to select but are still included in the selection, what should you do? It’s very simple. You just need to make the brush size smaller, then hold down the Option/Alt key and use the quick selection tool to “draw.” "Just click on these areas, as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5.

Figure 4

Figure 5

4. Can the constituency end here? No more detailing required? If you now remove it from the background, will there be jagged or blurry pixels?
Don't worry, we're not done yet. Before applying the selection, it can't be as simple as just checking it. We also need to further optimize the selection and look at it carefully like in the quick mask mode or layer mask state. There will be a white or black color when looking at it. background.

In the options bar, we can see a "Refine Edge" button. Clicking this button will open a dialog box, in which you can make fine adjustments to the selection and control the radius of the selection. ) and Contrast, you can Feather the selected area, you can also adjust Smooth to remove jagged edges without blurring the edges of the selected area, and you can increase or decrease it with a smaller value. The size of the selection.

As you adjust these options, you can watch the selection change in real time, allowing you to determine whether your selection is accurate before applying it. If you feel that the selection is optimized well, you can click the OK button to accept the selection and then remove it from the image if needed, or edit the pixels in the selection without affecting the content outside the selection, etc. wait.

Figure 6

5. Figure 7 shows the flower image after removing the background.

Figure 7

Although this example is brief, I hope it will allow everyone to experience the powerful function of Photoshop CS3's "Quick Selection Tool". Don't just follow the above steps rigidly. The key is to try it yourself. You will definitely be very satisfied with your masterpiece.