Select sampled colour - Bug?

[legin]

The option to select sampled colour appears to be absent from the Select menu drop down list, is this a bug or not yet implemented.

[SrPx]

I don't understand.... You don't mean a regular color picker, right ? (that'd be ctrl+alt + LMB)

 

Other way is to drag the color picker icon (in color tab in the right side panel) over whatever the color you want in the image. It makes it with a glass magnifier so is easier to pick. The color gets into the single tiny circle at the right of that color picker icon, you just LMB click it to make it the foreground color (IMO too long path, much better the other, probably better even with less keys) and then hit the double curved arrow to swap between foreground and background if desired.

 

But probably you mean other thing...

[legin]

SrPx,

 

Many thanks for the reply, but you're right I do mean another thing.

 

The attached image from one of the video tutorials should hopefully make it clearer.

 

 

[gio]

Yes, I don't have that menu entry either.

[SrPx]

i don't have it either... but what do you want to achieve ? In image editing there's never a single route to reach a result, and often several methods are equally good, if you explain what you need to do.

 

/Off topic/ BTW, I hadn't yet realized that selections menu (imo, selections (or masks) is the key to super powerful image editing , one can avoid using plugins by dominating selections and other core features.) is really advanced ! Load selection from file, or select tonal, color and alpha options called my attention, as all the other selection methods are essential -and rarely any 2D package as them all ! - but those are lacking in more often than the others. Pretty complete. / End of off topic.  ;D

[SrPx]

could be a feature that got discarded and/or planned to be re-added later on.

But again, let me know the case where you need it, there are tons of ways to do things.

[legin]

could be a feature that got discarded and/or planned to be re-added later on.

But again, let me know the case where you need it, there are tons of ways to do things.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for your offer of help - it's not that I need the feature and as you say there are always other ways to do things, but I was curious if its absence was intentional or otherwise?

I could'nt agree more regarding the power of the selections menu.

 

(BTW The option is available in the Affinity Designer release)

 

Cheers.

[gio]

i don't have it either... but what do you want to achieve ? In image editing there's never a single route to reach a result, and often several methods are equally good, if you explain what you need to do.

 

 

As for me, since I couldn't experiment with it I don't know whether this feature is similar to the Magic Wand or to the Color Range (in PS) with regard to its functionality, but I confess I miss the absence of both those tools, because they both allow selections based on a specific colors/tones and, most importantly, they offer the ability to set a threshold (as well as the ability to limit the selection to contiguous pixels, as in the magic wand) for the selected tones/colors.

And this is something I found all across the selective tools: the inability to set a custom "sensibility" to the selection (even the magnetic lasso tools behaves accordingly to some internal rules, which cannot be overwritten), and I find it very limiting.

 

And by the way, the Selection brush tool is not comparable to the magic wand, because although the latter is pretty "crude" as a selection tool, in specific instances works far better than the former (if, for example, you really DON'T want to select something).

 

Powerful selections comes from flexibility, and, in my opinion, for the moment there isn't enough.

[cristy]

I also miss the select sampled color option. I use the option offten in PS esspecially when making things transparent (I.E. text). With the option it takes seconds to make the job. With other tools you can make the same result but with much more effort.

[Chris_K]

Hi All

 

The select sampled colour feature is something that is simply missing on Windows currently but should be put in before the end of the beta :)

[SrPx]

As for me, since I couldn't experiment with it I don't know whether this feature is similar to the Magic Wand or to the Color Range (in PS) with regard to its functionality, but I confess I miss the absence of both those tools, because they both allow selections based on a specific colors/tones and, most importantly, they offer the ability to set a threshold (as well as the ability to limit the selection to contiguous pixels, as in the magic wand) for the selected tones/colors.

And this is something I found all across the selective tools: the inability to set a custom "sensibility" to the selection (even the magnetic lasso tools behaves accordingly to some internal rules, which cannot be overwritten), and I find it very limiting.

 

And by the way, the Selection brush tool is not comparable to the magic wand, because although the latter is pretty "crude" as a selection tool, in specific instances works far better than the former (if, for example, you really DON'T want to select something).

 

Powerful selections comes from flexibility, and, in my opinion, for the moment there isn't enough.

 

Fully respectfully, and without any sense of offense, I'm thinking you don't know them yet deeply   ;)

 

Flood selector, which is the magic wand of PS (not the brush that paints selections), allows to do what you need. Just click over the color you want, to select that color with a tolerance -threshold, in your terms- , and remove the check in the "contiguous" checkbox, and you get pretty the same functionality than with PS tools. perhaps you missed the following, from what i read in your paragraph :

 

(Select color range as in PS , with flood selector (magic wand))

 

 

 

Options for many tools do show up in the top bar, is contextual, so only show when you are using that tool. With flood select (the magic wand, not selection painting brush) you need to un check contiguous, so that it picks that color range in all the image. You also wish to change the "tolerance"  %, so to pick more or less colors similar to the sampled one of the image. You will want to also hit the "add" button, so that the next clicks do add selection portions, instead of replacing the selection, so, expanding the color range selected, if you need it, will be added to selection, not a new selection. If anything, it lacks an aliasing checkbox, so that resulted selection is smooth in the edges. But am yet using .38, while .39 might have this already added.  If not, you can do a very simple and being a full control operation, is use the quick mask mode, going to Select menu, and click on last option, "edit as layer" which is sort of quick mask mode (I recommend setting a shortcut key for it) , then, while in this mode, apply blur in very slight quantity, so the selection becomes smooth. (you could also feather the selection in normal mode, but that's a different result!), as you wouldn't be changing the pixels, only the mask, that is, the selection. You can paint over in this mask mode with black and white colors so to add or remove stuff from the selection, and do all the editing power over it that AP has over pixels. With the top bar icons for mask mode, you can preview this mask as overlay, red, as black, greys, dunno what else, or even transparent. Once satisfied, hit your toggling shortcut again, or go to select/edit as layer to exit the mode.

 

This does provide as much accuracy as in PS !

 

Your complaints about the selection painting brush : That's sort of a fast brush to paint selection for SOME workflows/cases. My advice: Like in PS, the quick mask mode is MUCH much more accurate. Here in AP, is that "edit as layer" thing in Select mode ( EDIT : nah, dumb me...is easier, just hit Q key or the top bar quick mask button..lol. ). So, IMO, use it instead.

 

But IMO, shortcuts are important for speeding up, so, I recommend to set them up well. 

 

"Quick mask"  in AP (easier: Q key, or top bar button)  :

 

 

Actually working with it, particularly in the reddish overlay mode. The transparent mode can be useful in some cases, too.:

 

 

IMO, people need to start realizing this is not a PS clone, but an alternative solution of WAY WAY more convenient purchase options (actually, starting with the fact that you can purchase it ) , which has its own original approaches in some case, sometimes too different for you (if you don't want to do even a small effort of adaptation) , another times (trust me) better methods than in PS.

 

Hope it helps.

If not, will help someone else, am sure, experience tells me that...   ;)

 

Cheers,

[SrPx]

Sorry..idiot me... The funny thing is I am as new to the software as you all are !!  Really, that's so, despite solving doubts here.... I've been with 2d packages since 91, but very new with AP. I hadn't needed quick masks in my tetss, as am mostly worried in the brush engine, in what is AP, but just realized now my very dumb not looking situation. Just hit Q key to enter quick mask mode, or hit this nice button at top bar  (and its deploying options allow you to choose several mask mode previews). Both button and key are toggling, so, go back and force stupidly easy and fast among normal and quick mask mode. : 

 

 

EDIT: Is not OT. Both in PS and AP, and any 2D tool in the world... a Color range selection is never perfect. Some extra selection editing is needed, be it quick mask paint, some lasso refine, etc. In my .38 version, for example, I need to apply a very slight blur filter while in mask mode. And some details/features I'd better just quick mask paint 'em to get a very accurate selection/mask.

[gio]

@Chris_K

Thank you for your confirmation, glad to hear that!

 

 

@SrPx

Thank you for pointing me to the tool, I just missed that icon.

 

Thank you also for all your suggestions, I'm just new to AP, so my remarks are made with no intention of blaming AP.

I'm here just to improve it with my suggestions, because I'm a retoucher and you a graphic designer, and we have different needs and different workflows, so while for you some features are enough, for me they aren't.

 

 

Your complaints about the selection painting brush : That's sort of a fast brush to paint selection for SOME workflows/cases. My advice: Like in PS, the quick mask mode is MUCH much more accurate. Here in AP, is that "edit as layer" thing in Select mode ( EDIT : nah, dumb me...is easier, just hit Q key or the top bar quick mask button..lol. ). So, IMO, use it instead.

 

No complaints about the selection painting brush, it works as expected. I was just saying that one cannot substitute the other (same as in PS).

 

 

But IMO, shortcuts are important for speeding up, so, I recommend to set them up well.

 

Sure, but I cannot find shortcuts for setting the blending modes and for launching the macros. In PS you can.

 

IMO, people need to start realizing this is not a PS clone, but an alternative solution of WAY WAY more convenient purchase options (actually, starting with the fact that you can purchase it ) , which has its own original approaches in some case, sometimes too different for you (if you don't want to do even a small effort of adaptation) , another times (trust me) better methods than in PS.

 

I do own PS (CS6) on top of having an annual subscription, and I'm aware it costed a dozen times more when I purchased it, so if we just compare the prices, AP is the winner and I can't wait to make a definitive switch.

I know AP is fighting against a giant been there for exactly 20 years, so while I do agree that in some areas (16bit files handling for example) it performs better, I find it is still lacking in some areas.

So, sure, it's very easy to use (actually no real problems of adaption), it's really promising and I'll keep an eye on its development and probably buy it when the official release for Windows comes out, but, as it is right now, I'll keep using PS in my daily work.

[SrPx]

I'm here just to improve it with my suggestions, because I'm a retoucher and you a graphic designer, and we have different needs and different workflows, so while for you some features are enough, for me they aren't.

 

 

 

Actually I'm a 'jack of all trades' (although photo retouch only when needed at the company job), mostly an illustrator and general graphic artist (or grunt), but I get your point. 

 

it performs better, I find it is still lacking in some areas.

 

 

Actually, as you also point out, is way too soon , yet. This will be an organic thing, getting better every day. IMO, is the alternative. :) . And is not going what I would call slow, but blazing fast. Even if it were going slow, it'd reach there at certain point. Before I did not see a real competition (with other brands/options). :) 

 

Expecting it to be ready to totally defeat the big guy now would be not being realistic to how software development goes (I feel ridiculous saying so when is only in beta stage, beta is not comparable with any released software... is... beta..) I'm speaking of general people expectations, not your own position, tho. But certainly, it will get there, to a point it is practical in pro workflows and bugs-free enough as to be very usable, specially for individual professionals, indies, photographers, illustrators, graphics workers or several kinds (that is, people not depending strictly of PS for very specific/company reasons). Is not a wrong thing to get back to your PS as you say, you probably need to. But the software is now offered to beta testers at a bargain price, I don't know if this low price -meaning, even if were not with a discount- is gonna last much, and still we are getting free updates for some time. IMO, is a no brainer, also as, if not now, sooner or later it will replace a lot of people's main 2D tools.