Magic Extrctor

[nkeevers]

I tried out the extractor on my Jodie but the edges look funny! Did I not "defringe" enough or feather? Maybe I should have used the smoother around her but I wanted to catch some wispy hairs in the photo. Help!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1hrLEYqNQpgEOUYLcEBgaWOAfQ8Y2_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1hrLEYqNQpgEOUYLcEBgaWOAfQ8Y2)

[Juergen D]

Norma,
I find it very difficult to select fine hair and details like that with any of the *magic* tools. And fine hair is very hard to select altogether. What I would do, is to use the magic tool and then go back with the Selection Brush and fine tune. Also, you may need the Eraser, too. It is a tedious job, any which way you approach it.
I took Jodie's image and tried to 'fix' it from what you had posted. The wispy hair, unfortunately, got lost. What a cute puppy!
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1M2VXIM5CHjv5TwshrqTNhWV8JvG70_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1M2VXIM5CHjv5TwshrqTNhWV8JvG70)

Juergen

[nkeevers]

Juergen, I tried using the eraser and fine tune but I was afraid of losing all the stray hairs. I figured I'd have to eventually go back and smooth it out. Probably better to just leave her in the picture and do a fancy crop.

Yeah, she's a sweetheart! Thanks.

[Wendy]

Hi Norma ...

A good way of doing whispy hair is to do the selection as Juergen suggested and then make the whisps :eek: Just use the smudge tool to pull out strands of hair ...

I did this very quickly but its much better if you more time doing it :)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/13Zwceq2lYTT6GQkzg2iCxJdH8fG9R0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=13Zwceq2lYTT6GQkzg2iCxJdH8fG9R0)

Wendy

[nkeevers]

That looks great! How do you do that using the smudge tool! I've never really had a chance yet to use that tool. What did you use for strength - around 50? I'll have to try it cause it looks much better than either of the other examples (sorry Juergen!).

[Wendy]

Hi Norma ...

You have to experiment to get the tool set right as it all depends on the resolution of your image ...

On the small image you posted I used 61% and I reduced the brush size to 5 ... but with a larger high resolution image you would need a larger brush size and a higher %.

To make the smudges ... start inside the fur and pull it outside but try to move in the direction that the fur would move.

Experiment a little and you will soon get the hang of it ... it also works great on long haired cats and human hair too :)

Wendy

[nkeevers]

I tried it briefly after you mentioned doing it and it's pretty neat! My picture is at 300 res and I used a strength of about 58 but I was only fooling around so I'm going to try tomorrow and see if I can get Jodie looking better. Thanks for the tip! Never used it and wasn't sure where to use it but it's pretty cool so maybe I can try it elsewhere. Thanks so much for the tip.

[Juergen D]

(sorry Juergen!).
No problem, Norma. It looks like Wendy used my version as a starting point... :)

Juergen

[Wendy]

Hi Juergen ...

I did ... your selection method made a great starting point for using the smudge tool :)

Wendy

[msbrad]

I certainly like the suggestions made with the smudge tool for the little yorkie hair.
I will need to try that one.
would there ever be a turorial along this line???
i'm working on a memory scrapbook of my little guy, and I would love to selct him and work with this idea.
m

[Wendy]

Hi ...

To be honest it really is simple to do you just need to:

Select the animal using a normal smooth selection then use the smudge tool to pull out strands of hair in the direction they would grow. Because of different photo sizes and resolution you do need to experiment with the brush size and with the strenth ...

... just experiment with it and you will find that it is quite easy to do :)

Wendy

[nkeevers]

Thanks Juergen for suggesting I'd probably have to smooth Jodie's hair out and thanks Wendy for the suggestion about smudging. I'll go back to my starting point and try it again with your suggestions.