A challenge for you guys!

Hi, I just tried to mask a Ming vase and it was not very succesful. I know it's possible to do better than I do, so I give you guys a challenge. Who wants to join?

Original image:


The image I tried to mask :(


I'm a very newbie at masking so plz don't laugh at me...

Who can do better than me?

No disrespect meant, but if I wasn't able to mask that perfectly in under 10 minutes I'd have to find another way to put food on my table.

Thats pretty much what I was thinking too U23, Lol!

bchew007, what exactly are you using to mask with?

Yes, I know what you mean. That's why I'm asking if someone can show me how to do it.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna practice.

By the way, I used the technique with the quick mask mode. But it was only my second time that I tried such a task.

try getting to know the bezier tool..

press "p" on your keyboard and that brings up the pen tool (bezier tool) . now its like dot to dot around the outskirt of the image. (stay like 1/2 a pixel inside the image you are masking.
Hint: to make those smooth curves .... Click and dont left up on the mouse button and drag in the direction of your next node, to bend the line smoothly.

try that and see what ya get...

ABSOLUTELY pay attention to what TornUp advised and learn how to use the Path Tools well. It will be some of the most important education you can give yourself in this business of computer graphics.

There are perhaps as many ways to complete this task as there are people who use Photoshop. Find the methods that work best for you.

All that aside... Create an adjustment layer using Brightness and Contrast, and tweak the sliders until you get good definition between the vase and the background. I look at that vase and mentally I break it down into component shapes. For the main body of the vase I see what is essentially a selection that can be almost fully completed using the Elliptical Marquee Tool. For the neck of the vase, add to your selection using the Polygonal Lasso. Finish off with the same tool for the handles. Create your Alpha Channel and fine tune it by masking with your airbrush. To clearly see where you're airbrushing, toggle your Alpha Channel between visible and hidden often; use the "~" key to show and hide the composite RGB channel as well.

Also...I hope you bookmarked those sites I recommended in the thread you started in which you asked about Alpha Channels. Lots of good info at those sites....read, study, practice, learn, integrate.

*likes this Utopian23 person*

Solid Advice!

Oh Yeah, and Utopian....since you drool over the macs (so I've heard Lol!)
We just got (this week) the new 733mhz G4 at work...I am on it now
IT TOTALLY ROCKS!
*givin U23 the Heroin fix*