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Thursday, June 28, 2007

Contour Masks

Use this powerful tool to affect precise areas of your image smoothly

Using these tools and strategies, few contours will elude your definition. You'll be able to define complex contours efficiently and precisely.

 

1) The Magic Wand tool makes quick work of simple selections.







2) The Magnetic Lasso tool can be used to define slightly more challenging contours.






3) Color Range is excellent at isolating specific hues, but selections made with it typically require additional contrast and/or manual refinement to eliminate shades of gray.





4) A contrast mask can be that basis for a contour mask.








5) The contrast mask with accentuated contrast.








6) The final mask with unwanted values brushed away.








7) The filter Maximum expands a contour.








8) The filter Minimum contracts a contour.








9) The filter Gaussian Blur softens a contour.








10) Once blurred, a contour can be repositioned and/or hardened using Curves.








Author of Adobe Photoshop Master Class, John Paul Caponigro is an internationally acclaimed fine artist. A Canon Explorer of Light and an Epson Stylus Pro, his clients include Adobe, Apple, GretagMacBeth, Lowepro, Imacon and Kodak. A passionate teacher, he offers an array of workshops in his studio throughout the year. See a live demonstration of this material at the currently touring Epson Print Academy. Receive a free subscription to his e-news Insights by e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and learn more techniques.