The Pen tool in Photoshop: features of operation. Pen Tool in Photoshop: selecting an object

This tool was familiar to me back when I was learning Photoshop at random: I selected the tab I liked in the Toolbar and looked at the results of using each one. That's when I came across Magic wand. So, let's open the image from which we need to separate the object.

Right-click on the location indicated in the screenshot. Toolbars and select a tool Wand.

It needs to be tweaked a bit before use, otherwise the results will be disappointing. But to do this you need to know on what principle this tool works. Unlike, which look for the boundaries of the transition of pixels of one color to another and are tied to the contours of the object, Wand reacts to the tone of the place where we click it. And thus, we get a selection of a large area with this color. IN top panel settings you can change the value Tolerance. It shows how large the spread in color, shade, tone will be in the selected area. After all, in a photograph, for example, there can be quite a lot of shades of brown (light, dark, saturated, etc.) and all of them need to be highlighted. If I set the value to 20, it means that 20 darker and 20 lighter adjacent shades will be selected. The larger this value, the more pixels of different colors will be captured. With a magic wand. Look at the example: on the left the tolerance value is set to 20, on the right it is 50.

I will choose 35. Selecting the flower itself will be long and difficult, I suggest selecting the background in this photo specifically, and then, inverting the selection, cutting out the object. Please note that for the selection to be successful, you must select the option in the settings Add to selection.

Now boldly click on the background, outlining more and more areas until all of it is selected. In those places where extra pixels are captured, reduce the value Tolerance before clicking.

Now we either copy to new layer (Ctrl+J), or cut and paste into a new document.

We erase the excess with an eraser, not forgetting to adjust it.

Please note that not every photo will be suitable for cutting using this method. It is desirable that the background and the object have a fairly clear boundary and contrast, otherwise working with a magic wand will take a lot of time.

After transforming and removing the excess part of the stems of our gerberas, we have this result. I love cutting out flowers with this tool, it turns out quite well and, most importantly, quickly (if the photo is suitable).

2. Pen Tool

I’ll say right away that this tool is my #1 among all the others. Since it is he who can accurately select an object without endless adjustments, capturing extra pixels, etc. At first glance, it may seem that the process itself is long, but believe me, when selecting objects with a background that almost merges with it, there is no better way to find this method, because attempts to use other methods usually end in failure. So, let's open the photo (I took as an example a photo with almost white fruit and a gray-white background).

Let's look at the tool settings: select the parameter at the top Outlines and set the parameter Avoid overlapping areas.

Operating principle Pera next: when you click on the picture, an anchor point appears in this place. Thus, by pressing in different places object, we will get a polyline, just like when using a straight lasso. If we not only click, but also drag to the side with the mouse, we will no longer get a straight segment, but a curve that can be adjusted using tangent guides. I warn you, at first the mouse does not obey, and the curves turn out haphazardly, you need to practice! Unlike Lasso, here we already have a full-fledged outline, each point of which can be edited at any time while drawing. For example, if we need to delete an anchor point, we move the mouse to it and when the “-” icon appears, click on it. In this case, the rest of the contour will remain. To add an intermediate point, you need to click on the outline in the place where you are going to add it (you will see a “+” sign).

Thus, by going around the entire object, we will get a closed contour, which can be easily converted into a selection in the future. I decided to highlight one apple.

We have received a selection, now we copy it to a new layer. I propose to change the color of our apple. To do this, press the key Ctrl and click on the layer icon, thereby loading the selection. Next, create a new layer above it by clicking on the special icon.

Select a brush with settings: size 300 px, color f92a5b, opacity 100%. Paint the selected area on a new layer with this brush, change the layer blending mode to Multiplication.

Now let's make the apple more natural by adding a few light spots. Change the brush color to f9ee94, opacity 22%. And we pass it over the apple a couple of times.

We make the shadow of the apple in the same way. This is what we got.

As you can see, the tool Feather allows you to select any object in any photo, so this method considered universal. That's why I fell in love with him. The only disadvantage of this method is the inability to select complex objects, such as leaves and branches of trees, hair (although they can always be completed). Here we need more advanced methods, which will be discussed in the next lesson.

Now you know how else you can cut out an object in photoshop, which means you’ll soon be able to start creating great collages. And my lessons for beginners will help you with this. But everything has its time. That's all for today! If anything is not clear, write, I will try to answer. And I'm waiting for you again! See you soon!

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"Feather" is one of the most popular Photoshop tools among professionals, as it allows you to select objects with the highest precision. In addition, the tool has other functionality, for example, it can be used to create high-quality custom shapes and brushes, draw curved lines and much more.

While the tool is running, it creates vector outline, which is subsequently used for various purposes.

In this lesson we will talk about how to use "Pera" contours are built, and how they can be used.

Contour construction

Outlines, created by the tool, consist of reference points and guides. Guides (we'll call them rays) allow you to bend the area between the two previous points.

Filling the outline

Stroke a path

The outline is traced using a pre-configured tool. All available tools can be found in the stroke settings drop-down window.

Let's look at the stroke as an example "Brushes".

1. Select a tool "Brush".

2. Adjust the size, hardness (for some brushes this setting may be missing) and the shape on the top panel.

3. Select the desired color at the bottom of the panel on the left.

4. Take the tool again "Feather", right-click (we have already created the outline) and select “Stroke the outline”.

5. In the drop-down list, select "Brush" and press OK.

After completing all the steps, the contour will be outlined with the configured brush.

Creating Brushes and Shapes

To create a brush or shape, we need an already filled outline. You can choose any color.

Create a brush. Please note that when creating a brush, the background must be white.

1. Go to the menu "Editing - Define Brush".

2. Give the brush a name and click OK.

The created brush can be found in the tool shape settings ( "Brushes").

When creating a brush, it is worth considering that the larger the outline, the better the result. That is, if you want a brush high quality, then create a huge document and draw a huge outline.

Let's create a figure. For a figure, the background color is not important, since it is defined by the boundaries of the outline.

1. Right-click (we have the pen in our hands) on the canvas and select the item "Define an arbitrary figure".

2. As in the brush example, give the shape a name and click OK.

You can find a shape as follows: select a tool "Free figure",

In the settings on the top panel, open a set of shapes.

Shapes differ from brushes in that they can be scaled without losing quality, so when creating a shape, it is not the size that is important, but the number of dots in the outline - the fewer dots, the better the quality of the shape. To reduce the number of points, bend the created outline for the figure using rays.

Stroke objects

If you have carefully studied the paragraph on constructing a contour, then the stroke itself will not cause any difficulties. Just a couple of tips:

1. When tracing (aka "clipping") zoom in (keys CTRL+ “+”(just a plus)).
2. Shift the outline slightly towards the object to avoid the background from falling into the selection and to partially cut off the blurred pixels.

After the outline is created, you can fill it and make a brush, or a shape, or you can create a selected area. To do this, right-click and select this item.

In the settings, specify the shading radius (the higher the radius, the more blurred the border will be), check the box next to "Smoothing" and press OK.

Deleting an outline

An unnecessary outline can be easily removed: with the Pen tool activated, you need to right-click and press "Delete outline".

This concludes the lesson about the tool. "Feather". Today we received what we need for efficient work a minimum of knowledge, without unnecessary information, and learned to apply this knowledge in practice.

Unlike the Lasso tool, the Pen tool doesn't take into account the pixels underneath it, giving you complete control over your selection. By creating a permanent selection instead of a temporary one. The pen allows you to go back and change it. Although the use pen settings in photoshop takes more time than other tools when it comes to making neat selections, the Pen is stronger. Let's see how to work pen tool in photoshop

Pen Tool: How to Use a Pen in Photoshop

The Pen tool creates paths in an image by connecting many points. From a photographer's point of view, this tool is ideal as a way to cut out a variety of objects.

After selecting a pen in the toolbar on the left, a simple mouse click places the first point. The second click adds another point, connecting it to the first. Full selection pen in photoshop created by adding points around an object. The last click is made on the first point, and the line closes.

Tip: You can select a pen by clicking English letter P on the keyboard.

But what to do with objects that have a curved outline? Instead of clicking on the next point, hold and drag the point - this will create a curved line. If you drag your mouse up and down, the height of the curve will change. If you drag left or right, the steepness will change, from straight to sharply curved.

When you hold and drag a point to create a curve, straight guide lines will appear. As you drag a point, they will show the direction and degree of bend of the curve. To create a smooth curve, leave guide points about 1/3 of the way to the next point. If the length is too long, the curve will bend in the other direction.

Continue placing points around the object. Place new point every time you need to change direction. Click to get straight lines, pinch and drag to get curves. When you have walked around the entire object, close the outline by clicking on the first point.

Once the path is complete, go to the Paths panel ( this is a tab in the layers panel) and rename the path to save it. If you don't do this, it will disappear as soon as you start creating a new one.

Changing outlines using the pen

The benefit of the pen is that you can go back and change the selection. That is, if you miss a section, you don't need to redo the entire selection, as is the case with Lasso.

Before you change the path, make sure the correct one is selected in the Paths panel. If you need to move a point to correct a straight or curved line, use the Node Selection tool - this is a white, not a black, mouse pointer. To correct a straight line, click and drag its point to a new location. And to change a curve, pinch one of the guide points or straight lines emanating from this curve.

To move the entire path, return to the Pick Tool, but this time use the Pick Tool. Outline selection" Click and drag the line to move the entire path.

How to create a selection from a path

So far we have created an invisible outline in the photo. Now we need to turn it into a selection.

Let's go back to the "Outlines" panel. Right-click on the created outline and select “ Select area" In the pop-up window, set the feather radius or how much you want to smooth the edge pen shapes in photoshop. How to crop an object, whose edges are out of focus? Use the pen located above.

The outline will turn into a dotted line - the cut out object is now selected. Now you can copy the selected area and paste it into another file or add a mask. To add a mask, the selected object must be highlighted. Click on the layer it's on, then click on the " Add a layer mask" at the bottom of the "Layers" panel. It looks like a rectangle with a circle inside. The mask will be automatically applied to the selected layer.

Pen Tool in Photoshop: selecting an object

Very often I hear from Photoshop lovers (both graphic editors), what's happened Pen Tool. So what is it and what is it eaten with? I will try to answer this question quite fully (it seems to me).

Selecting an object in Photoshop – Pen Tool

Pen Tool in Photoshop is the most accurate instrument from the general background, although the most complex. I would even say not in a complicated way, but in a tedious way. After all, not everyone is able to sit for so long to highlight a large object. The main advantage compared to other options for separating an object is that using a tool Pen Tool it is possible to cut with sub-pixel precision.

Let's try from the general background. For this I will use a photo that I took quite recently.

Select the Pen Tool, which is located in the right column of Tools, and for this tool, select the Paths parameter, which is located in the top panel on the left.

Now we carefully begin to outline our object, which we are going to separate; if we need to correct the created selection, we can do this with the Direct Selection Tool, which is located next to the Pen Tool. If you need to add several nodes, then use the Add Anchor Point Tool (it is located in the same place as Pen Tool). To remove nodes, use the Delete Anchor Point Tool.

Now right-click on the image or go to the Window menu -> Paths and right-click and select Make Selection.

Now we see a window in which we need to specify the Feather Radius of the corners in pixels. If we leave this parameter equal to zero, then the corners will be sharp. For small objects, it is enough to specify a radius of 1 px, but for us, 2-3 pixels of feathering will be enough.

Now press Ctrl+C to copy the image to the clipboard and paste it wherever we need it.

I welcome you again, my dear readers. The weather, as usual, is pleasant and jumped from +1 to -10, which is why after the day before yesterday “swimming through puddles” all the water froze and I no longer went to work, but skated like on skates. It’s good that at least he didn’t fall). Well, this won’t interfere with our studies in Photoshop, especially since I haven’t yet talked about all the area selection tools.

Today we will use a tool such as “Pen” for these purposes. This tool is somewhat reminiscent of the straight-line lasso, which I talked about in my . Only pen selection in Photoshop has a number of advantages, one of which is that you can edit the selected area using the anchor points that you set, and you can also use any other tools, even if you have not finished selecting with the pen.

In general, this is not the main purpose of the pen, but since we are now going through selecting objects in Photoshop, I couldn’t help but insert this method. In general, let's immediately start practicing. Are you ready? Then let's go!

Well, immediately your object will be highlighted with an already familiar dotted line. And now you can, together with our testicle, or do other manipulations with it.

By the way, in addition to the usual pen, there is also a tool "Free Feather", located in this group. But it works like a regular lasso tool, i.e. You yourself carefully draw the selection line. This method is not suitable for everyone.

Increasing anchor points

Another benefit of the Pen is that the selection itself can be edited even after you've finished it.

Imagine that you made a selection with a pen, but it turned out to be somehow uneven and some parts of the selection are further away than the edges of the object itself, and it turns out that the selection is somehow cut off. This is not a problem, since all this selection can be edited and made clear and even.

Do you see the reference points that you yourself set? These are the ones we can move or move. To do this, make sure you are in pen mode and hold down the key CTRL. Now point at any anchor point and click on it once, then hold left button mouse on this point. Now move the mouse and see how the selection line behaves.

Adding anchor points

If you feel that there are not enough anchor points and you need additional ones to make the selection more precise, then select the Pen+ tool and add one or more points along the selection line. And it will be easier to edit. Well, as you understand, using the Pen tool, on the contrary, we can remove some unnecessary anchor points.

Once you have edited everything, proceed as shown above, i.e. right click and select "Select area".

So how? I hope everything works out for everyone, but if you have any questions or comments, please be sure to voice your thoughts.

Well, of course, this is not all the capabilities of the Pen tool. I just looked at it in this context so I could explore more selection tools. But we will definitely return to the pen.

Better yet, look this wonderful video course. There they will show you in detail and with examples how to work with all the tools, and indeed in all of Photoshop in general. Everything is explained in detail, and the most important thing is that the information is perfectly digestible and after studying the course, you will already be very well versed in Adobe Photoshop.

Well, on this wonderful note, I say goodbye to you. Come visit me again and be sure to subscribe to my blog updates, then you will definitely be aware of all the most useful and interesting things. Good luck to you. Bye bye!

Best regards, Dmitry Kostin.