Paul240z Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 Hi, Im working on a project that involves removing the heads of puppies and kittens ( Sounds macabre I know! ) then putting a white or coloured outline around each one. I've tried using the outline and outer glow tools in layer effects but can't get the smooth rounded edge I'm looking for. The second pic is what I'm trying to achieve. (not my work) Please see the attached screenshots and advise if you know a method to achieve this. Many thanks Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff NathanC Posted June 28, 2022 Staff Share Posted June 28, 2022 Hi @Paul240z, I got slightly better results when making the selection of the head with soft edges disabled on the selection brush and then applying an outline, however it still isn't the perfect smooth outline you're looking for. You could try tracing the image with the pen tool, placing the curve behind the pixel layer and then applying an outline to the curve like the below: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotMyFault Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 I would suggest an alternative approach for those who want to avoid vector layers: create / re-select the original selection of head by selection brush grow/shrink selection by suitable radius, e.g. 20px use smooth selection Apply selection as mask to fill layer below the masked head Quote Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080 LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5 iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589 Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps. My posts focus on technical aspects and leave out most of social grease like „maybe“, „in my opinion“, „I might be wrong“ etc. just add copy/paste all these softeners from this signature to make reading more comfortable for you. Otherwise I’m a fine person which respects you and everyone and wants to be respected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul240z Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 Hi Guys, Nathan, I think the tracing with the pen tool and applying an outline might be the way to go, I'll just try NMF's suggestion and see which is the fastest method. NMF, I'd like to try this can you walk me through the process step by step for a newbie. I've a mountain of heads to work on so whichever method is quickest. Many thanks Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotMyFault Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 47 minutes ago, Paul240z said: NMF, I'd like to try this can you walk me through the process step by step for a newbie. I've a mountain of heads to work on so whichever method is quickest. Sure. Can you upload one unedited image, this will help to show all steps from scratch. In case all heads are already separated vs. a single color background, this would speed up the process. Quote Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080 LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5 iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589 Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps. My posts focus on technical aspects and leave out most of social grease like „maybe“, „in my opinion“, „I might be wrong“ etc. just add copy/paste all these softeners from this signature to make reading more comfortable for you. Otherwise I’m a fine person which respects you and everyone and wants to be respected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul240z Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 Hi, I've attached one unedited dog and one head I've removed but not added any outline yet. Thanks Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotMyFault Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 ok, let's start with the cat on white background. I assume that you have only one single layer in the document. select flood select tool set tolerance to 6% click on the white area outside of the head Selection>Invert Selection you get a relative clean selection of the head Selection>Smooth Selection by 6px, apply create mask from selection (click symbol "dark circle in light rectangle"). The mask should be nested to the background layer (not on top) Select>Grow/Shrink Selection, enter 10px, apply Layer>New Fill Layer Choose white color Move the fill layer below the cats head This should do the job. Note that the values for tolerance, smooth, grow depend on the actual image and might need to be adjusted. cat with white edge.afphoto Quote Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080 LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5 iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589 Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps. My posts focus on technical aspects and leave out most of social grease like „maybe“, „in my opinion“, „I might be wrong“ etc. just add copy/paste all these softeners from this signature to make reading more comfortable for you. Otherwise I’m a fine person which respects you and everyone and wants to be respected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotMyFault Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 For the dog, I would recommend a variant of NathanC's approach. It will provide a cleaner edge, and a defined smooth outline of single width Use the pen tool set mode to "smart" create as few as possible nodes to trace the edge of the dog (10-20 nodes should do) close the curve (set the last node to the starting node) fill the curve in white add layer fx, white outline, about 10px Now move the bitmap / image layer with the dog as child layer to the curve you get a ver sharp edge, and a white outline. You can adjust the nodes any time with help of the node tool dog.afphoto Quote Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080 LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5 iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589 Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps. My posts focus on technical aspects and leave out most of social grease like „maybe“, „in my opinion“, „I might be wrong“ etc. just add copy/paste all these softeners from this signature to make reading more comfortable for you. Otherwise I’m a fine person which respects you and everyone and wants to be respected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul240z Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 Hi NMF, That last version you did with the dog is perfect! Thank you so much for taking the time to show me, this looks way better and will save me a lot of time. Awesome job and thanks again Paul 👍 NotMyFault 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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