Selection Tool Help

[junipermn]

I can't figure out the tool to use or the settings for a tool to select anything with fine edges. I can't capture edges even when there is quite a distintion in colors.I attach a photo of two horses: what tool and what setting should I use to select either (or both) horses? These should be easy photos for Affinity with big color contrasts.

 

If there isn't a major distinction in colors, it seems hopeless in Affinity. I note in Paint Shop Pro, one can select what characteristic to select for: (See photo Below). Using PSP, one can say, do a selection in a photo with little color difference, even in a Black and White photo, which Affinity does very poorly.

 

I would appreciate your advice regarding how to use these tools.

 

 

[billtils]

Have you looked at the Affinity Photo channel on Vimeo, especially this one:  https://vimeo.com/channels/875980/118909443 ?

[MikeFromMesa]

There are multiple ways to make selections using Affinity Photo Beta so I am unsure exactly how to answer your question. Perhaps a brief rundown on the possibilities might help.

 

1) Selecting based on Color Ranges

 

You can make a selection based on the color choice you make - Red, Green or Blue - by using Select -> Colour Range. This does not give you any options to grow or shrink the selection although you can do that using the controls mentioned in (6) below. I seldom use it although it can be helpful in connection with other color selections.

 

2) Selecting based on Tonal Ranges

 

You can make a selection based on the tonal ranges in the image - Highlight, Midtones or Shadows - by using Select -> Tonal Range. As above I do not generally use this.

 

3) Selecting based on a Sampled Color

 

You can make a selection based on a sampled color by using Select -> Select Sampled Colour. This provides you with a dialog box with a tolerance slider that gives you control over the range of color variations that would be selected. You select the color you want by moving your mouse to the location that contains the color you wish to choose and then adjust the range based on your needs. This is a single color selection and making a color selection over-rides your previous color selection. I use this more frequently than any of the methods mentioned above.

 

4) Flood Selection Tool

The selection tools I find the most useful are the Magic Wand (Flood Selection Tool) and the Selection Brush Tool. The first selects a sampled color and you define how much latitude you wish to use in the selection my moving the cursor with the mouse button pressed down. The more you move the cursor the wider the selection that is made. You also have control over whether the selection is contiguous or not (check or uncheck the contiguous checkbox), whether you wish to create a new selection, add to the current selection, delete from the current selection or select the intersection of the new selection with the previous selection as well as a separate control over the tolerance (latitude) of the selection color/tone range. I use this tool a great deal.

 

5) Selection Brush

 

The Selection Brush Tool allows you to move your cursor around inside or outside an object to make the selection you wish. You have control over whether you wish to add to or subtract from the current selection as well as the size of the circle used to make the selection. You can control whether or not the selection automatically tries to "snap" to the color boundaries by checking or unchecking the "Snap to edges" checkbox and if you wish the selection to involve all layers or only the one selected. There is also a refine tool to help you refine your selection edges.

 

6) Additional selection tools

 

Once you have a selection made you can grow it, shrink it, feather it, smooth it, refine the edges, save it and reload a saved selection. You actually have a great deal of control and the selection tools, which appeared to be a bit confusing to me when I first started, now seem quite simple and easy to use after some practice.

 

I downloaded your photo to try to make some selections but, since I don't know what you were having trouble with, I don't know what to try. I made selections of both the white and brown horses, both separately and together, but I don't know if that is what you were trying to do. While I find selections relatively easy to make using APB you often will have to make an initial selection and then either add to it or remove from it to get the final selection you want. I had the same experience when I used Photoshop.

 

I don't know if any of this is a help.

 

 

 

[MikeFromMesa]

Have you looked at the Affinity Photo channel on Vimeo, especially this one:  https://vimeo.com/channels/875980/118909443 ?

Bill,

 

Yes. You are right. I should have suggested that instead of trying to explain it all. I always feel that my explanations are too short and incomplete and, when I am finally done, they turn out to be too long and put people to sleep.

[MEB]

@Mike

 

Some people do like video tutorials but there are others that prefer written tutorials/explanations. Just take note of how many people asked for a manual, or printed the Help / converted it to an ebook to read on their tablets... Or the interest in Affinity Review. It's always a rewarding experience know how others work and approach certain problems. Like you said there's myriad ways to make selections in Affinity and you have covered quite a number of them. 

[billtils]

Mike and Miguel:  yes, and I tend to be one of those who prefers information delivery via visual and oral, rather than by "reading the manual", reinforced of course by 'try it and see'!

[MikeFromMesa]

@Mike

 

Or the interest in Affinity Review. 

I had no idea that there even was an ezine from Affinity until I saw your comment and did a Google search. I never saw a reference to it on your AP web page or the downloads page and never heard about it so that I would be curious enough to Google it before. I have now downloaded it and am going to take a look.

 

You guys might consider putting a reference to it on your blog page. One in big bright and flashing typeface so people like me notice it.  :P

[MEB]

@Mike

It was announced on our Blog and on the Forums. It also has its own page. But i agree it could have a reference on the main page.

[MikeFromMesa]

I do look over your blog occasionally, but I guess not often enough to have seen the reference. Thanks for the links.

[junipermn]

I appreciate the above comments. These comments are in reality a better written summary of Affinity Help on the topics. But using them, I am unable to do a decent selection or extraction on the picture provided, or on anything that has somewhat fine features.

 

I know that Affinity would like to be considered as the alternative to Adobe Photoshop. With the photo I provided at the top, I can do a much better selection with Adobe Elements, let alone with a more sophisticated program.

 

For those of us strongly wanting a better Photoshop alternative, it does not help to be a sycophant and praise Affinity and its creators. And we all know that Affinity is a work in progress. The purpose of this forum is (I think) to identify problem areas and their solutions. It is helpful if you can  show that Affinity really can do a given task, and how it does it.

 

So, to the experts who have responded above: take the photo I provided; extract one horse, or both horses, getting the details of  their manes, etc. If you can do it, copy for me the tools you used and their settings, and show the finished extraction.

 

Until one of you does that, I  continue believing  that the selection and extraction tools in Affinity are substandard and badly need improving.

[nravenlock]

@junipermn

 

 

 

For those of us strongly wanting a better Photoshop alternative, it does not help to be a sycophant and praise Affinity and its creators. And we all know that Affinity is a work in progress. The purpose of this forum is (I think) to identify problem areas and their solutions. It is helpful if you can  show that Affinity really can do a given task, and how it does it.

 

You are correct. The primary purpose of this forum is to improve Affinity Photo so it becomes the best app it can be. Constructive criticism is the best way for this to happen.

 

I'm hoping the attached will show the kind of selections you can make. Others may prove to be able to get better results. I am more than happy for my afphoto file to be reused and improved.

 

The afphoto file includes four selections saved in the Channels panel which you can load up to take a closer look at.

 

The selections labelled as 'Rough' were created using the Selection Brush. First using a large size to select and then a smaller size to re-define. I switched between 'add' and 'subtract' mode as I went along using the Alt key.

 

The selections labelled as 'Refined' were created from the rough selections and then using the Refine option on the context toolbar. I used a brush set to Matt when there was a large contrast between the areas I wanted to select and the areas I wanted unselected (such as the white mane against the brown horse, or the brown mane against the sky). I then set the brush to Foreground to add areas to the selection or Background to remove areas from the selection. Lastly, I used the brush set to Feather for some blending of Foreground and Background where necessary.

 

I hope this helps. We will certainly review the descriptions in the Help following this thread and the request for video tutorial(s) has been noted.

 

Thanks again for the feedback.

horses.afphoto

[Darth Nater]

On 6/9/2015 at 7:58 PM, MEB said:

@Mike

 

Some people do like video tutorials but there are others that prefer written tutorials/explanations. Just take note of how many people asked for a manual, or printed the Help / converted it to an ebook to read on their tablets... Or the interest in Affinity Review. It's always a rewarding experience know how others work and approach certain problems. Like you said there's myriad ways to make selections in Affinity and you have covered quite a number of them. 

Nailed it. Thanks.