Adobe Photoshop CS2 On Demand [Electronic resources]

Project 6: Removing Complex Image Information with Extract

Skills and Tools: Multiple Layers and Extract

Extract has been a part of the Photoshop application since version 5.5, and it's improved in every version. The primary purpose of the Extract filter is to remove areas of image information from the selected image layer. For example, removing the sky from an image bordered by mountains is not too difficult; owing to the sharp nature of the sky against the mountains. However, what about removing the sky from between the branches of a large tree, or removing the background around a model with wind-tossed hair. It's problems like that the separate the serious Photoshop user from the tourist. In this workshop you will gain understanding of exactly how the Extract tool performs its magic on removing selective areas of image information. Just remember, it's not about color; it's about contrast.

The Project

In this project you'll learn the secret to removing simple and complex backgrounds from images using Photoshop's awesome Extract tool.

The Process

Open the file

old_tree_start.psd in Photoshop, and then save it as

my_old_tree.psd .

Click the

Filter menu, and then click

Extract .

Select the

Highlighter tool and proceed to highlight the areas that contain the edge. As you can see in this example, the highlight tool is used to fill in the entire branch structure of the tree.

Important: This is absolutely the most important step in the Extract process. You are highlighting where the edges of the image interact with the background that you want to remove; in this case the sky. Get this part wrong, it nothing else will work.

Select the

Paintbucket tool.

Click to fill in all the areas that are to be saved.

Drag the

Smoothness slider to

80 percent.

The Smoothness slider helps to create a softer transitional edge between the areas to save, and the areas to extract.

Click the

Preview button to view a preview of the Extract.

The black areas are removed (extracted), and the Paintbucket areas are saved. The only place Photoshop will look for the extraction edge is in the original highlight.

Click

OK .

Open the file

clouds.psd in Photoshop, and then save it as

my_clouds.psd .

Drag the sky layer into the extract document.

Drag the sky layer below the extract layer to view the results.

The Extract tool removed the sky from around the individual branches of the image, and allowed you to replace it with another sky image.

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The Results

Finish: Compare your completed project file with the image in

old_tree_fnl.psd .

Tweaking the Image

If you are not entirely happy with how the Extract tool performed, you might look at how you highlighted the edge, and try again, or if there is too much missing information, you might still click the OK button, and then use the History brush to fill in small amounts of missing information.