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[ 045 ]› › D Y N A MI C R ANGEPAINT IN DETAIL THAT’S
TOO DIFFICULT TO MASK
One of the most important steps in any compositing
job is the masking or extraction of the foreground ele-
ment from its original background. It can be a compli-
cated task depending on the level of fine detail that the
subject contains.
The image of our model includes a few problematic
areas around the shoulders. The hair found near her
shoulders contains highlights that can be troublesome
to select. Sometimes it’s best not to include those areas
in the final mask and, instead, paint in digital hair on a
new layer.
Step One: Select the Quick Selection tool (W) from the
Toolbar, then click-and-drag over the model’s body to select
it. If you accidentally select an area that you didn’t intend to
select, press-and-hold the Option (PC: Alt) key and click-and-
drag to deselect.Step Two: Refine the edge of your selection by opening
the Select and Mask Workspace by pressing Command-
Option-R (PC: Ctrl-Alt-R), or clicking on the Select and Mask
button in the Options Bar. Press the Y key to go into the
On Layers view.Step Three: Start by adjusting the Radius slider, under
Edge Detection, which determines the border in which the
edge refinement occurs. Use a Radius of 25 pixels and turn
on the Smart Radius checkbox.