For a long time I thought that it
was impossible to make a selection of part of an object using pi. Well
it is possible, and I'll show you how in this tutorial!!
As you can imagine, I'm very excited
about this because the selection tools are more precise and easier to
handle than the new eraser tool that came with pi 6 and 7. I'm using
version 7 here, but I'm reasonably sure that this would have worked even
as far back as version 4.2! In fact if you do this in pi 4.2 would you
please write to me and let me know if it works or not? Use the
directions for pi 5 when trying the method.
Ok, let's get started on the
first selection tool: the standard selection tool. Often you have an
object and you want to cut it in half. Or you want to make it blend
in with a photo and look like part of it is behind another part of
the photo. For this example I'm using the airplane object in pi 7.
If you are using another version choose any object that is handy for
this exercise.
For this one it is best to choose a
photo with a focal point with straight lines like this picture of
Dean's castle from the PhotoImpact Users Photo Gallery. I've cropped the picture to make it fit better on this
page and to save downloading time. |
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Suppose I want to add this airplane
to the picture and make it look like it is flying behind the
building.
Here is what I
would do.
1. Drag the airplane from the easy
palette. Use the transform tool to resize it so it is a reasonable
size for the building. Click flip and rotate/rotate horizontally to
make it appear to be flying in the opposite direction so we can take
advantage of the clear sky on the right side of the building. :) For
the next steps make sure the airplane is still selected.
2. Drag the resized and flipped
airplane to the canvas with the building. If need be, resize it
again so that it is the proper size for the
picture. |
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4. Your selection tool should still
be active. Click and drag starting outside the area occupied
by the airplane and move over to include the part that needs
to be deleted, stopping at the right side of the building. As you're
drawing make sure the selection marquee that was there disappears.
If it does not, stop dragging and press the space bar and then draw
your selection.
Click
the delete key to delete that part of the airplane. Click the mask
icon again to toggle mask mode off. |
 | This is the
basic method and all the other modes of selection tool need the same
settings. |
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Possibly a better use for this method
is done with the circular or elliptical shape of the selection tool.
I can't tell you how much time I've spent with the path edit tool to
make the front half of a vase appear to be rounded.. fiddling
endlessly with it.. Well this method works just as well with the
rounded shapes!
For this example I'm using a beveled
rectangle I made with the path tool. We will pretend this is the top
of a bowl, vase or basket for the purposes of this
tut.. |
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1. Click on the path tool and set the
shape to rectangle. Draw a rectangle.
Click on the selection tool and set the shape
to ellipse. Make sure your rectangle is still selected! |
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2. Toggle the mask mode
on.
Click on the canvas,
not on the rectangle and drag down and to the right to include part
of the rectangle as in this image so that the top is rounded. Press
the delete key.
Toggle
mask mode off.
Of course this example is not finished
you understand LOL. If I were really going to make a vase I would
use the blur tool to make the crease you see here disappear and
probably darken the edges with the burn tool. etc. |
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Even with the z merge tool in pi 7 it
is probably better to use this method to erase the top of a rim for
a bowl or vase. You may be able to do the same thing with z-merge,
but certainly not as easily. |
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Now... Let's look again at the
airplane example. Most of the time the photo will not have a nice
straight edge for you to work with. If this is the case for you, you
can use the lasso tool to outline the shape of the cut and make it
fit the backdrop. For this example I'm using the mountain scene in
pi 7's fill gallery.
Since the mountain range is rugged with plants
growing, a soft edge on the selection tool will make it blend in
better.
The steps: |
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1. Move the airplane to the mountain
scene and size it appropriately. |
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2. Click on the selection tool and
switch to the lasso tool.
3. Set the soft edges to 3. |
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4. Click the mask icon to toggle mask
mode on.
5. Click on the
canvas under the airplane's edge and on the edge of the mountain
which you can see through the white haze. Click directly above the
airplane's edge, again at the edge of the mountain. Now go around
the airplane making sure not to include any of the right side of the
airplane in the selection. See my example.
Press the delete key and toggle mask mode
off. |
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| You can also use the path tool after
pressing the space bar and with the mode set on selection to select part
of a masked object and delete it. :) |
| Using the lasso tool to make the
rings of a planet... |
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| Cut the leaves off a
flower, colorize flower, paste on top of original. Leaves of flower
are not colorized. |
  
This method
requires that you use the minus selection mode or invert your
selection before deleting. |
This tutorial shows only a few uses for this
method. I hope you will find this useful, and will use it in your own
tutorials to make the work easier.
:) |
