2019-05-01 Practical Photoshop

(Barry) #1
As far as cutouts go, it
doesn’t get much more
daunting than this. The Eiffel
Tower is about as complex
a shape as you can imagine.
The iconic outline is simple,
but it’s all the little gaps and
spaces in between that
pose a challenge for anyone
wishing to make a selection.
The bare tree branches on
the right make things even
harder. So how can you cut
out an object like this?

Forget using the freehand
or simple selection tools: it
would probably take a week.
Even the Quick Selection Tool
or the Magic Wand are likely to
struggle. Instead, we can use
the information in the image.
The dark shapes of the
building and tree are clearly
defined against the brighter
sky. This is all the information
you need to make a complex
cutout in seconds. Photoshop
Channels allow you to break

Make complex cutouts with ease using Channels in
Photoshop CC, and replace a dull sky in minutes

SKY-HIGH SELECTION SKILLS

DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE http://bit.ly/pho98_files ON YOUR PC OR MAC

WATCH THE VIDEO
http://bit.ly/2xopjf

BEFORE


AFTER


an image down into separate
components based on
brightness and color. All you
have to do is pick the channel
that gives you the greatest
contrast between the
subject and background, then
duplicate it and alter it so that
one part is completely black,
the other completely white.
After making our complex
selection, we’ve dropped
in a new sky to add a little
impact to our Parisian scene.
Free download pdf