Mile Loc: Crescent City Calif

I took this photo the other day and thought it would be good practice with the pen tool. Finally half way have the idea on how to use it. It was definitely a challenge. I have been trying and trying think I finally got the idea of how it works. It sure took me awhile.

Original

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My finished one with the pen tool vector shape

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Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

Can you give us a brief description of the basics? Is this a merging of different images, or are you actually drawing in a new background?

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

Applause. The pen tool is the most accurate selection tool in PS, and also probably the most difficult to learn to use. In particular you have done a great job through the car windows.

Mile Loc: Crescent City Calif

Pen tool in photoshop You can make path, vector shapes, selections with this tool. It is really good for hard line selection like the car for instance. You single click around the subject, you can adjust as you go around or wait til you finish. I like to put another solid backround under my selection then readjust my points to make sure the selection is accurate. Takes a little time but makes better selection. (mine was a vector shape) but you can change it as you like eg: selection, shape, vectior. It does have a mask. It resides in the path panel. I put a you tube video here a basic of it.

I also changed the color of the car. I picked up a color from the tire and in the adjustment panel did a solid color adjustment and changed the blend mode to color. For the windows I added a second white mask to my vector mask and with a soft brush and decreased opacity painted out the window to reveal the new backround layer

I hope this helps a little to explain what I did.

https://www.youtube/xclF2VDDnnI

Can't get this to hyper-link. You can go to youtube and type in the pen tool in photoshop and it will give you the basics. I have been working on it for a long time.

this is for Bob I hope it sort of explains a little

Mile Loc: Crescent City Calif

Thanks and I have been working a lot to get this far at first was awful. The points would jump all over and I would click and click and click(to end up with a mess) and gave up for awhile but finally just kept at it and think I finally have a small knowledge base. I did explain how I did the windows.

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

Thanks for the info Mile. I watched one of the videos on YouTube and have to laud your for your patience. If you ever build up the muscle memory that lets you do this ease, you'll have sharper selections than most of us. I use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to do something similar ..... defining the selection by using hundreds of individual selection points. The only drawback to that is that it takes a lot of points to define a curve.

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

Very nice job indeed. As a sometime compositor of images if you duplicate the finished image in Photoshop and add a blend mode to the top image, try Multiply or Soft light and reduced maybe to 50% opacity it hides or slightly "blurs" the joins between the cut out image and the background.
Well done for mastering the Pen Tool cos it aint easy.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-333480-1.html

Mile Loc: Crescent City Calif

Thanks I will try that. Went and looked at your did you use a vector mask or path or selection on your cutout?? It's a real good job thanks for looking I am working at it?

Mile Loc: Crescent City Calif

Here it is with multiply blend mode and decreased the opacity. I tried soft light but like multiply best. Thank you so much makes a diff for sure.

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Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Nice job, Mile! I'd say you have it mastered!

Mile Loc: Crescent City Calif

thanks appreciate the nice words

FrodoBaggins Loc: Texas

Very very nicely done Mile!

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

I used to use the pen tool all the time but if your version of Photoshop has the Quick Selection tool you may find as I do that this does for most things with the pen tool just used for tidying up. I always use a layer mask and again tidy up the rough edges with a soft brush.

Glad you like liked the idea of adding a blend mode most times it makes all the difference and gets rid of that object planted on a background that many composites suffer from.

Have a great day

Billyspad

Mile Loc: Crescent City Calif

thanks for looking and the nice comment

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Very nice job on the car.

My "Adobe Classroom in a Book" for Photoshop has an excellent tutorial for the pen tool. It shows you how to trace some simple objects help you to get the hang of it.