Photoshop help

[carterx]

I'm looking to remove all of the background and just have my bike. Looking to have a transparent background behind the bike. If someone is quick with this stuff, would be greatly appreciated.

Full size image here:

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9...rtersr1xq7.jpg

I tried but didn't look so good.

[ora]

Quick and dirty version.

If you want it to come out neat you need to take a photo against a solid colour background, ideally white. Its messy or very slow to chop things out of coloured/varied backgrounds, but the quick select/magic wand tools are your friends!

[Greg_Reez]

Ora's correct, I'm sure if ora wanted to dedicate more time to doing this for you it would look much smoother, after all he's doing you a big favor, extracting that bike out of that background would make for a very tedious process.

One thing I found is white actually isn't a very good solid color background to extract something out of. The ideal color is green (ex: green screens), since it provides the most contrast to most colors (especially skin color). The magic wands and extract functions will pick up those pixels smoothly and easily.

Carter, if I were you, I would move your bike to a place where the background is close to one entire solid color, like your garage door, or even the outside wall of a warehouse nearby, and take the photo from the same angle again. Bring the photo back and if ora is up to it, he or I would quickly extract it for you, making sure that it doesn't get in the way of our own work.

[ElDiabloConCaca]

I'll do it up right, professional-style, with the existing photograph...

...for $50.

[carterx]

Have a PS job from someone now, thanks for the help.

[Rhisiart]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloConCaca

I'll do it up right, professional-style, with the existing photograph...

...for $50.

Will you tell me how to do it for $50? (Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime).

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Sure thing -- in fact, it's quite easy!

Here's a hint to get you started: 300% or more zoom, polygonal lasso tool, take your time, and trace farther inside the image than you think you need to (in order to negate any "ghosting" or "glow" that may occur in the final image from keeping any pixels that belong to the background).

...and lots and lots of patience. If you've clipped the image out in under 20 minutes, to quote a LOLcat, "Yor doin it wrong." To do a great job, stay far away from the magnetic lasso tool -- that tool's only for quick-and-dirty jobs (emphasis on dirty).

I'm sure that there are some out there that can get the job done in under 20 minutes, but I guarantee someone who took their sweet time with the image will produce a FAR superior product.

1) Trace the outline of the bike first. Using VERY short lines with the polygonal lasso tool. Use the elliptical marquee tool for the wheels, then clean it up with the lasso.
2) Knock out holes in the wheels and wherever else they appear with the polygonal lasso tool and the modifier key that subtracts from the selection.
3) When you're done, make a path out of it with extremely tight tolerances so your work is saved.

You can check the quality of your work when you're done before you make a path by pressing 'Q' (I believe) -- this will turn everything outside your selection red-tinted, so you can see where your path isn't tight enough and letting background color/light/image through -- look for lighter spots around the edge of your path.

Once you've mastered this technique, you can go "advanced style" and simply use the bezier path tool to get REALLY stunning results. Don't start with this tool, though -- you have to go through the pain and time and work of using the polygonal lasso tool to really understand how curves work. If you simply start off with the bezier path tool, your final product will look like you used a pair of scissors to cut it out of a magazine.

Kinda like the Karate Kid -- you gotta learn how to wax the car (polygonal lasso) before you know how to fend off blows (bezier path).

[Rhisiart]

Cheque in the post.