Cutting bits out of one photo and putting them in another

[Doc0p7]

I’m new to Affinity Photo. Using it on my iPad. ZERO experience of photo editing. All I want to be able to do is cut something (eg a face) out of one photo and place it in another. I’m not expecting a professional job. What is the easiest and quickest way of achieving this? I’ve looked at some of the tutorials but what they seem to be doing is far too complex.

[Alfred]

Welcome Affinity Forums, @Doc0p7.

Take a look at this tutorial video:

 

[Doc0p7]

Thank you for replying. That looks great for faces but below is a picture of MY Affinity screen and it doesn’t seem to show a lasso option. Secondly I would like to cut complex shapes (such as the pterodactyl shown) rather than just a round face. Would the lasso option permit this?

Edited March 7, 2021 by Doc0p7

[Alfred]

13 minutes ago, Doc0p7 said:

Thank you for replying.

You’re welcome.

13 minutes ago, Doc0p7 said:

That looks great for faces but below is a picture of MY Affinity screen and it doesn’t seem to show a lasso option.

In order to access the selection tools you need to switch to the Selections persona. Tap on the dashed circle icon next to the Photo icon at the top of the screen.

14 minutes ago, Doc0p7 said:

Secondly I would like to cut complex shapes (such as the pterodactyl shown) rather than just a round face. Would the lasso option permit this?

Yes, the Lasso Tool is completely freehand, which is why it was used in the tutorial. There is an Ellipse Selection Tool for other use cases where a regular shape is desired.

[Doc0p7]

Thanks Alfred. I’m getting there! I’ve found the Lasso option and had a go. The problem I’m having now is twofold. You only seem to get one bite of the cherry. If I zoom in to draw accurately around the shape when I go to move the picture to draw around the bits that are off the edge of the screen, the lines I have drawn disappear! How can I get around this? And is there a chat function for the Customer Services?

[Paul Mudditt]

28 minutes ago, Doc0p7 said:

Thanks Alfred. I’m getting there! I’ve found the Lasso option and had a go. The problem I’m having now is twofold. You only seem to get one bite of the cherry. If I zoom in to draw accurately around the shape when I go to move the picture to draw around the bits that are off the edge of the screen, the lines I have drawn disappear! How can I get around this? And is there a chat function for the Customer Services?

Try using the Smart Selection brush, be careful to adjust size of brush, pay attention to the add and subtract bottom left of context tool bar which allows you to correct errors in selection easily. Plus as I show, you don’t have to do it all in one go you can do it in stages, just pay attention to which layer you have selected as you do it.

[Doc0p7]

Thank you for replying. I have no “snap to edges”. And the I don’t know what the dotted line border is that I cant get rid of (you can see two sides of it in the picture). And if I do make a mark on the picture it disappears as soon as I take my finger off the screen and put it back on!

[DM1]

Check your images layer in Layer studio says Pixel not image. If it says image you will need to rasterise it before selections can work. Check out the built in help file on Layers and selections.

[Doc0p7]

21 hours ago, DM1 said:

Check your images layer in Layer studio says Pixel not image. If it says image you will need to rasterise it before selections can work. Check out the built in help file on Layers and selections.

Thank you. Wow this is complicated. I appreciate it is a very powerful tool but I had envisaged freehand drawing a line around an image, cutting it out, and pasting it onto another image. It this even possible? I now have managed to outline the pterodactyl! But I can’t move the line in towards the centre of the image where the dotted line doesn’t”t follow the edge and bulges outwards. How can I do this? And, once done, how do I cut it out, resize and paste it into another photograph?

[Alfred]

43 minutes ago, Doc0p7 said:

I now have managed to outline the pterodactyl! But I can’t move the line in towards the centre of the image where the dotted line doesn’t”t follow the edge and bulges outwards. How can I do this?

Just sweep in a little closer, perhaps with a smaller brush tip.

43 minutes ago, Doc0p7 said:

And, once done, how do I cut it out, resize and paste it into another photograph?

‘Edit (...) > Pasteboard > Cut’ and then load the other photo and ‘Edit > Pasteboard > Paste’. It will be pasted on its own layer, so resizing it is a simple matter of switching to the Move Tool and dragging on the adjustment handles.

[Doc0p7]

1 hour ago, Alfred said:

Just sweep in a little closer, perhaps with a smaller brush tip.

‘Edit (...) > Pasteboard > Cut’ and then load the other photo and ‘Edit > Pasteboard > Paste’. It will be pasted on its own layer, so resizing it is a simple matter of switching to the Move Tool and dragging on the adjustment handles.

You have to change “mode” from “add” to “subtract”! So now I have the picture below but cannot see “edit/pasteboard/cut”.

I feel we’re close...

[Alfred]

10 minutes ago, Doc0p7 said:

You have to change “mode” from “add” to “subtract”

I would have mentioned that if you had said the line cut into the pterodactyl, but because you said it bulged outwards I thought that was an unnecessary detail!

10 minutes ago, Doc0p7 said:

So now I have the picture below but cannot see “edit/pasteboard/cut”.

Your screenshot shows the Document menu. The next one to the right (with the ‘...’ icon) is the one you want, but I’m afraid I misnamed it: it’s the ‘Commands’ menu in Photo (and you need to switch back from the Selections persona to the Photo persona to see the Pasteboard options). My apologies for the confusing errors and omissions.

[Doc0p7]

I found “pasteboard” in the three dots menu at the top. Do I hit “cut” or “copy”? I tried    both. Then I opened a new picture (by clicking the large left arrow at the top taking me to this screen). I opened the new picture and then the three dots again. Then these were the options, none of which produced the desired result. What’s next?

[DM1]

If you zoom in you will see you are missing part of the leg. Use the refine selection to paint around edges. It fixes these little errors. You can then save selection as new layer, and move it around.

The app sounds complex but what you are trying to do is 'easy breezy' when you know how. They are several ways to achieve what you are trying to do. I strongly recommend you watch the intro tutorials to get insight into the basic operations. Seeing is much easier than reading how to. 😁

 

[Doc0p7]

21 hours ago, DM1 said:

 

If you zoom in you will see you are missing part of the leg. Use the refine selection to paint around edges. It fixes these little errors. You can then save selection as new layer, and move it around.

The app sounds complex but what you are trying to do is 'easy breezy' when you know how. They are several ways to achieve what you are trying to do. I strongly recommend you watch the intro tutorials to get insight into the basic operations. Seeing is much easier than reading how to. 😁

 

 

I’m now happy with the outlining of the pterodactyl. Would you please outline the next steps to cut this out, select another photograph and paste thi onto it. Many thanks.