Friday, March 12, 2010

In this tutorial we're going to place an image of a girl walking into a beach scene. We'll then remove the background of the girl's picture to make it look like she's actually on the beach. We'll be using a Mask to create this effect. Before we begin download the files by clicking here. Open both pictures in Photoshop:

Next, click on the Selection Tool:

photoshop tutorial

Now, drag the picture of the woman walking, over to the beach picture:

photoshop

Position the girl walking image so that she's barely in the water:

photoshop

We're now going to remove the background from the girl's picture. Click on the Add vector mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

photoshop

You'll now see a second thumbnail on the girl's layer. The girl's picture now has a Mask attached to it. This Mask allows us to paint away the background. Select the Brush Tool:

photoshop

Change the size to 62, and the Hardness should be 50%:

photoshop setting

Next, make sure black is the foreground color:

photoshop

We can now start paiting away the background. Position the brush tool on the girl's picture and begin painting away the background:

photoshop

Keep painting away the background. Don't paint too close to the girl. We'll be fine-tuning our mask in a moment. When you're finished paiting away the majority of the background the girl's image should look like this:

photoshop

Before we can paint away the background near the girl's body, we need to change the brush size. In the Brush settings, change the Master diameter to 12, and the Hardness to 90%:

photoshop

The brush size should be much smaller now. If it helps you to Zoom in go ahead and do that (Ctrl + Spacebar). Now, paint away the rest of the background:

photoshop

If you accidentally paint away part of the girl don't worry. This is why using a mask is so much better than using the Eraser Tool. When you use a mask to remove a background you're not destroying the image. You can bring back anything you want by simply changing the foreground color. For instance, let's say that we accidentally painted away part of her leg:

photoshop

This information isn't really gone. We just need to change our foreground color. Change the foreground color to white:

photoshop mask

Now, paint over the part of the leg that is missing. Keep painting until the leg is back to normal:

photoshop mask

So, as you can see, when the foreground color is white we can bring back the deleted information, when the foreground color is black we can delete this information. When you're done the girl's background should be completely gone. Next, we'll make it look as if her feet are in the water. We do that by changing the foreground color back to black:

photoshop

Next, change the brush settings. Change the Master Diameter to 14, the Harness to 0%, and the Opacity to 40%:

photoshop mask

Now, click the paint brush on her feet. When you're clicking the brush tool on her feet make sure you don't completely erase them. For instance, on her left foot you want to barely see it, as if it's under the water:

photoshop mask

When you're done you should have a realistic image. In another tutorial I'll show you the keys to matching colors of pictures to add to the realism.

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