AP Selections

[jackamus]

Please note. Before asking a question I always try and find an answer in the Affinity manuals but not always successful.

Is there a way to adjust /fine tune a selection after using the polygon Freehand selection tool?

[GarryP]

I guess the answer would depend on what you mean by “adjust/fine tune”.

You can use the different Modes (via the Context Toolbar) to add/subtract/intersect new selected areas.
You can also use the Refine functionality, again via the Context Toolbar.
You can use the Quick Mask functionality, select the Move Tool (or others) and manipulate the selection that way.
And there will probably be other methods.

It just depends on what you have selected and what you want to do with it.

If you can give us a full-screen screenshot which shows the whole application window, while you are using the tool, and showing what you have selected, and tell us how you want to “adjust/fine tune” it then we can probably give you other options and/or better advice.

[PaulEC]

17 minutes ago, GarryP said:

And there will probably be other methods.

like adjusting the selection using options in the Select Menu. (grow/shrink, feather, smooth etc).

[jackamus]

38 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I guess the answer would depend on what you mean by “adjust/fine tune”.

You can use the different Modes (via the Context Toolbar) to add/subtract/intersect new selected areas.
You can also use the Refine functionality, again via the Context Toolbar.
You can use the Quick Mask functionality, select the Move Tool (or others) and manipulate the selection that way.
And there will probably be other methods.

It just depends on what you have selected and what you want to do with it.

If you can give us a full-screen screenshot which shows the whole application window, while you are using the tool, and showing what you have selected, and tell us how you want to “adjust/fine tune” it then we can probably give you other options and/or better advice.

 

17 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

like adjusting the selection using options in the Select Menu. (grow/shrink, feather, smooth etc).

Thanks for this. I did look at all those things but couldn't find what I was looking for. This is a screen shot of selection that I created using the polygon tool. All I want to do is remove the background, covered by the mask. Also before doing that I would like to adjust the mask own the right hand side of the selection to get closer to the object. How do I move the selection edge closer to the edge of the object?

[GarryP]

Thanks for the extra information and screenshot.

In this case, with hard edges in the image, I might use the Selection Brush Tool to do all of the selection as can be seen in my first quick attached video.
Use the Matte, Foreground and Background settings of the Refine functionality, as shown, to give you a better selection.

Or, I might use the Magnetic setting of the Freehand Selection Brush Tool, as in my second quick attached video – just click to start the selection and then drag the mouse pointer around (or inside) the thing you want to select (you don’t need to be accurate) without the button being held down, double-click to finish selecting.

Or maybe a mixture of both.

There will be other ways, these are just two options.

 

[henryanthony]

@jackamus For many hard-edge object images, I usually use the pen tool to draw an outline and make a selection. Then, I would typically shrink the selection slightly (2 or 3 pixels) and then feather slightly (1 or 2 pixels) to get an image that blends nicely with a new background. It takes some trial and error depending on the situation.

[jackamus]

1 hour ago, GarryP said:

Thanks for the extra information and screenshot.

In this case, with hard edges in the image, I might use the Selection Brush Tool to do all of the selection as can be seen in my first quick attached video.
Use the Matte, Foreground and Background settings of the Refine functionality, as shown, to give you a better selection.

Or, I might use the Magnetic setting of the Freehand Selection Brush Tool, as in my second quick attached video – just click to start the selection and then drag the mouse pointer around (or inside) the thing you want to select (you don’t need to be accurate) without the button being held down, double-click to finish selecting.

Or maybe a mixture of both.

There will be other ways, these are just two options.

 

 

Thanks for the videos which I will try to grasp. Once you have selected the area you want to keep how do you delete the background?

Previously I used Photoshop which was very easy. You select the area using which ever tool is appropriate, Invert selection and then delete.

[GarryP]

1 minute ago, jackamus said:

Once you have selected the area you want to keep how do you delete the background?

It depends on which functionality you are using but…

2 minutes ago, jackamus said:

You select the area using which ever tool is appropriate, Invert selection and then delete.

...works the same in Photo if you prefer to do that.

[jackamus]

One other point is that using some kind of automatic edge selection that relies on contrast difference between selection and background may not work well if the background is the same contrast as the selection.

[GarryP]

As I said...

1 hour ago, GarryP said:

In this case, with hard edges in the image,

Feel free to use another method - like the one suggested by henryanthony - for different types of selection.

[jackamus]

5 minutes ago, GarryP said:

It depends on which functionality you are using but…

...works the same in Photo if you prefer to do that.

I'm doing all this in Photo!

[jackamus]

2 minutes ago, GarryP said:

As I said...

Feel free to use another method - like the one suggested by henryanthony - for different types of selection.

The problem I'm having with all your solutions is that I do not know where I was starting from when  I asked the question! You Guys know the app intimately but I don't. Previously I used Photoshop and AP is nothing like Photoshop!

I got as far as using the polygon tool and stepping my way round the object and then somehow got this mask layer. Now that I have that how do I simply delete the background?

[GarryP]

6 minutes ago, jackamus said:

I'm doing all this in Photo!

I know.
You gave an example of a workflow you used in Photoshop and I said that you could use the same workflow in Photo – select, invert, delete - just the same.

[jackamus]

3 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I know.
You gave an example of a workflow you used in Photoshop and I said that you could use the same workflow in Photo – select, invert, delete - just the same.

Sorry I didn't know that's what you meant! As soon as I had selected the object and before the mask I looked for a way to invert the selection and delete the background, That's where I was coming unstuck and somehow the mask turned up!

[GarryP]

In my attached video I go through the steps.
Near the end I use menu “Edit → Cut” so you can see it on-screen but you can press the Delete key instead if you prefer.

[jackamus]

14 minutes ago, GarryP said:

In my attached video I go through the steps.
Near the end I use menu “Edit → Cut” so you can see it on-screen but you can press the Delete key instead if you prefer.

Thanks your video was very simple to follow except that it didn't work for me. I have attached my file for you to look at and tell me what I'm not doing.

IMG_2919.afphoto

[henryanthony]

@jackamus Lots of jaggies in your attached photo. I'll have a go at it with my method but it will have to wait. Busy right now.

[henryanthony]

Here is a quick effort. This was about 30 minutes of work but I had to get more familiar with the Pen and Node tools and their options. Background is arbitrary to contrast against the image of the filter thingy. This was done in V1. I quite like the Pen and Node tools now. Very nice!

[jackamus]

8 hours ago, henryanthony said:

Here is a quick effort. This was about 30 minutes of work but I had to get more familiar with the Pen and Node tools and their options. Background is arbitrary to contrast against the image of the filter thingy. This was done in V1. I quite like the Pen and Node tools now. Very nice!

Thanks Henry. I find it interesting that you had to get used to the Pen and Node tools. I would have thought that already knew how to use them.

Thank you for your effort but it doesn't help me know how to do it. I can select around the object with no problem but I can't work out how to remove the background. I would have thought 'Reverse selection' then Delete. But the Delete doesn't delete.

[GarryP]

17 hours ago, jackamus said:

I have attached my file for you to look at and tell me what I'm not doing.

To delete the background, invert the selection, then make sure that (in this case) the Background layer is selected, and then press the Delete key – see attached video (where I again use menu “Edit → Cut” instead of the Delete key).

If you press the Delete key when the Background layer is not selected you will be deleting the pixels from another layer, maybe from one of your adjustment layers.

Remember, the pixel selection 'applies' to the whole document rather than just one layer and, as such, you need to select the layer you want it to work on before, in this case, you press the Delete key.

[jackamus]

Hi Garry,

Thanks for this very simple explanation. This is the best solution I have from amongst all those who responded to my problem. Thanks again.