How to make a thin outline in Photoshop. Stroke the selection

It seems to me that each of us at least once in our lives has traced our hand with a pencil, placing it on a sheet of paper. Or maybe it happened on the beach. The hand lay on the sand and we traced it with some stick or long pebble. In both cases, we got a contour. Let's do something similar, but now in Photoshop.

A photo of the hand will help us:

For working in Photoshop, this image of a palm is an ideal and simple material. And here's why. Plain, white the background and the object - the hand - can also be considered relatively monochromatic, and against a white background the hand looks quite contrasting.

In cases where the general background and the object of interest to us, the outline of which we are going to create, contrast significantly, we can use the Quick Selection tool. For the tool to work more accurately, we need to help it a little. Our help can be expressed in duplicating the layer. And we will do this in order to enhance the contrast. That is, we will make the hand more saturated, or darker.

To do this, move the mouse cursor over the layer in the layers palette (blue highlight) and right-click. With these steps we will open the options window, in which we will select the item “Create a duplicate layer”:

After we selected the “Create a duplicate layer” option by clicking the left mouse button, a new window appeared before our eyes:

We can simply click the “Ok” button, or we can, after this window appears, immediately write something on the keyboard, that is, assign a name to the layer, or a title, and after that click the “Ok” button. We do it at our own discretion.

I just clicked the "Ok" button:

Ready! A duplicate layer appears in the layers palette (window).

Now we need to change the blending mode of the duplicate layer, and we need to do this to darken the hand, or to enhance the contrast with the white general background of the photo.

Let's turn to the list of blending modes in the top menu of the layers window, expanding the list of modes by simply clicking on the arrow button:

A list of layer blending modes appeared before our eyes:

And let's increase the contrast, let's increase it. Select the “Linear dimmer” mode from the list:

And this is what we got as a result:

Well, everything is ready to use the Quick Selection tool. We move the mouse cursor over the one we need at the moment"Quick Selection" tool in the tool window:

And click the left mouse button to select it. The mouse cursor turned into a circle with a crosshair inside.

Now let's pay attention to the technical settings of the tool. Let's turn our attention to the control unit with these very technical settings:

The tool should work in the "Add to Selection" mode. To do this, click on the tool icon with a plus sign. If the icon is highlighted in blue, then you do not need to click on it - the mode is already activated:

If you set the value to 3 or 5, the selection will be clearer. If we choose a value significantly larger than what we see now, and we see a value of 18, then when we begin to select the palm, we will capture a white background, since with a larger diameter of the tool its sensitivity will decrease.

Perhaps the “golden mean” can be considered a value at which the circle-cursor of the tool will be slightly smaller than any finger of the hand. For me, the tool diameter is convenient in the range of 15-22. I chose the value 18. Perhaps it is better to focus on your feelings and the process of selection itself. Depending on how convenient and high quality (no grip white background) we are making a selection, and we need to move the tool diameter adjustment slider, selecting the optimal value.

In order for the tool to work, as they say, “to its fullest,” the hardness must be set to 100%. Well, we are all ready to select the hand. I suggest starting the selection from the wrist:

We also set the dotted highlight intervals to not very large. In my case 7%. If we set the selection intervals much larger, the selection will be less smooth, I would even say rough or rough. But this may also be necessary in some cases. We do everything, of course, at our own discretion.

Well, let's begin. Move the tool cursor to the wrist. Press and hold left button mouse, we begin to move the tool up towards the fingertips:

We put the tool on the thumb, then on the palm and the other finger... and then the tool worked on its own, and the brush became completely covered in the selection.

If such independent selection does not occur, then we smoothly move the tool cursor over all fingers until the hand is completely selected.

In the case when we feel inconvenience in holding the left mouse button or our hand begins to experience some kind of physical discomfort, the selection process can be paused. Let's stop holding the mouse altogether. Let's twirl the brush, stretch our fingers, and then continue the selection process again from the place where we stopped.

What to do if a white background still ends up in the selection area? You can cancel the selection altogether by pressing Ctrl+D and start selecting the palm again. Or you can refer to the block technical settings tool and switch its operating mode by clicking the mouse, but now on the tool icon with a minus:

It is not at all necessary to change other settings of the tool (the diameter of the circle cursor, its rigidity, the intervals of the dotted selection itself).

This mode switch gives us the opportunity to remove the “capture” by highlighting the white background:

Well, let's get rid of the unnecessary selection of part of the white background. Move the tool's circle cursor to the selection and, by pressing the left mouse button and then holding it down, we begin to move the excess selection towards the edge of the palm. We try to shift the selection smoothly so as not to shift the selection deeper into the palm:

When one of the areas of excess selection touches the contour of the palm, we move to the next area of ​​selection and shift it in the same way.

In the case when we nevertheless climbed the selection onto the palm, then we need to switch the tool’s operating mode again by clicking its plus icon and smoothly move the selection to the edge (contour) of the palm. In order for the selection to be of high quality and clearly flow around the contour of the hand, and for us to work more conveniently, it would be best to increase the visibility scale when starting the selection:

And when we succeeded, and we succeeded, and I have no doubt about it, we move on to the part of the process that is directly related to creating the contour of the palm. Release the left mouse button and breathe out a sigh of relief.

The brush is selected - the selection “ants” are actively running along its contour, and we change the tool and create new layer in the layers window.

Let's start by creating a new layer. Click on the icon for creating a new layer in the bottom menu of the layers window. Ready:

In a few seconds this new layer will turn into a palm contour layer, or rather a future contour. For now we only have a selected area, and the creation of the outline is ahead.

Now let's change tools or selection modes. With a regular mouse click, select the regular (not quick) selection tool. And which instrument from the list we will choose, in our in this case, doesn't matter:

Let's get the top one. It is the first from top to bottom, called “Rectangular Area”:

So, a new still empty layer has been created, the tool has been changed, and now we move the tool cursor to the palm area and find ourselves with the cursor inside the selection. The tool cursor looks like two crosses. One is big and the other is small. Let's right-click. An options window has appeared, in which we are currently interested in the “Stroke” option:

Let's choose it. And now the following settings window appears:

In this window, we can optionally adjust the thickness (width) of the contour line, its color, and also select the location of the stroke, and then click the “OK” button. I won't change any settings and just click OK. And this is what happened:

In order for us to fully admire our creation, we need to hide or remove unnecessary visible elements that interfere with the view. Let's not rush to delete elements, but simply turn off the visibility of some of them. I suggest starting with layers. In the layers window, click on the “Eye” icon next to the background layer and the copy background layer:

Well, here's another thing:

To be sure that the outline we created is free of flaws and defects, let’s increase the visibility scale (Photoshop CS5 version):

Unfortunately, we must admit that the outline turned out “so-so.” The contour line has many irregularities, which were noticeable already at the very beginning of its creation and at 100% visibility scale.

Using the technique of creating a contour from a selection, we should not get carried away with darkening (lightening) the selected area of ​​​​the future contour. Excessive contrast enhancement enhances existing roughness in the images we are working with, even if they are of good quality.

In addition, the image itself may not be original. So, the image of the palm with which we just worked has already been subjected to not very high-quality processing in some image editor, which was reflected in the outline we created from the selection. It is the placement of images on a white background that allows you to hide the roughness of the contour while simultaneously reducing the contrast of the object (lightening).

But despite all the unevenness of the resulting contour, it is still not worth underestimating the convenience and significance of the technique of creating a contour from a selection.

In the near future we will continue to talk about creating contours using other techniques, or approaches.

Line Art Tutorial Recommended for Intermediate Level Photoshop Users

I would like to reassure you right away and let you know that to successfully use the technique described, it is not at all necessary to be able to draw. This is basically tracing. Creating a good outline drawing using this technique takes hours... and if you expect the job to involve quickly applying a few filters, then this tutorial is not for you.

To successfully complete this tutorial, you will need to be able to use the Pen tool.

All described actions were performed in Photoshop CS3, therefore, when working in other versions, the program's dialog boxes may look slightly different.

1) Preparation of layers

Open the photo in Photoshop and rename the Background layer to "original". If your photo is quite dark, lighten it first so that the black outlines we will be drawing over the image can be distinguished from its background.

Adjust the Brightness of the image using the Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast command from the Image menu.

Duplicate (Ctrl+J) the original layer, naming the new layer “top”.

Create two more new layers (menu Layer>New>Layer or Ctrl+Shift+N), placing them under the top layer.

Fill one of the new layers (located above the oroginal layer) with white, renaming it background, and leave the second one transparent, renaming it line art.

Make the background and top layers invisible by clicking on the corresponding eye icons in the Layers palette. Your layers palette should now look like this:

2) Setting up the Brush tool

When creating outlines, you will need to change the line weight to give your drawing “depth” in accordance with the rules of perspective - the closer the line is, the thicker it should be. In addition, parallel lines move closer to each other as they move away from the observer, and the contours become thinner. In a somewhat exaggerated form, these rules can be illustrated by the figure shown on the right:

Areas in shadow are also depicted with thicker outlines than illuminated objects.

You can learn all this by looking at line drawings and comics.

Another technique of contour drawing is that only lines with two types of contours are used - thicker ones draw the outer contours of the object, and thinner ones draw the inner ones.

Let's now move directly to setting up the Paint Brush and set it up so that the strokes it makes narrow from beginning to end.

Click the Brush Tool, then select the Brushes tab at the top right of the screen:

The specific settings for your brush will vary depending on the type of paths you're drawing and, especially, the diameter of your brush. Below is one of the options:

Now let's move on to the Shape Dynamics section:

1. Set Control to Fade

2. Set the desired attenuation value

3. Set Minimum Diameter

(The screenshot shows the values ​​Fade=250, Minimum Diameter=27%, but you can choose another combination of these parameters that you like better - experiment with these two values)

Select black as the foreground color (you can quickly do this by pressing the D key - default colors)

3) Creating Paths

Let's start with the center of the image, which in this case is the face. Since the photo of Scarlett Johansson was taken as an example, let's start with the lips.

Just keep in mind that the line at the point from which the outline begins will have the greatest thickness, gradually tapering towards the end of the outline.

Make sure the Pen tool is set to Create New Work Paths (Paths in Photoshop CS):

Create a contour around the outer part of the upper lip, adjusting the position of the points and the location of the curves if necessary using the Direct Selection Tool.

When you are satisfied with the appearance of the outline, right-click with the outline still selected and select Stroke Path from the drop-down menu.

By clicking on the eye icon in the layers palette, “return” the visibility of the background layer. Then delete the auxiliary path (path) by right-clicking and selecting delete path. Now nothing prevents you from viewing the created line. If you are satisfied with the result, turn off the visibility of the background layer again and move on to creating the next path. If not, use the History palette to return to the stage of adjusting the auxiliary path drawn with the Pen tool and adjust it:

In addition, the resulting line can be corrected using the Eraser tool:

To create lines that are thin at both ends and thicker towards the center (like the outer contour of the lower lip in the picture), in the brush settings (section Shape Dynamics) for the Control parameter, change the Fade mode to Pen Pressure with a value of Minimum Diameter=1%:

For such lines, when tracing them using the Stroke Path command, turn on the Simulate Pressure mode.

Periodically turn on the visibility of the background layer to see the results against a clean white background.

To create very thick lines, such as the contours of eyebrows, we draw a closed (that is, without breaks) auxiliary path (path), and, when creating the line, we select not the stroke of the auxiliary path (Stroke Path), but its fill ( Fill Path):

To create geometric shapes– ovals, circles, squares, etc. – use the corresponding Ellipse Tool, Rectangle Tool.

When processing and creating in graphics program images with and without captions, it is often necessary to highlight the boundaries of objects, separate them from the background, or simply draw an outline. For all this, you can use a stroke in Photoshop or paint along the contour with a brush. This article is devoted to how to do this.

Two ways to create a stroke

There are two ways to make a stroke in Photoshop: selecting the boundaries of the layer using one of the specially provided effects and outlining vector outline. The first method is most often used to visually emphasize the boundaries of objects and to separate them from the background (most often this is necessary, for example, to highlight text on a colorful background). The second method is used more for drawing, especially when creating clear geometric shapes.

Stroke a layer in Photoshop

Stroke in Photoshop primarily refers to a layer effect. This layer can be either an image, a fragment of it, or letters written with the Type tool.

To apply this layer stroke effect, you need to do the following.

1. Select layer.
2. In the menu item of the “Editing” tab, select “Stroke”.

A dialog box will open where you will need to configure the stroke parameters and confirm the command by clicking the “Yes” button. A stroke will be created in Photoshop, the corresponding layer will be outlined, its borders will become visible.

Stroke parameters are easy to adjust, and there are quite a lot of possibilities here. This includes adjusting the line thickness, choosing a color, and setting where the line should go:

• along the layer boundary from the outside;
• so that the border is its center;
• along the border inside.

You can also set the mode - like any fill (color, pattern or gradient). By combining these and other program tools, it is easy to achieve a wide variety of effects.

The great thing about this stroke method is that its parameters can still be adjusted later, so you can return to this layer effect as the image as a whole changes. Let's say, if you decide to lighten, and the stroke no longer harmonizes with it, it can be adjusted and adjusted.

Its second advantage is that this effect can be copied and applied to other layers or other images, or new ones can be created based on it.

Another Stroke Dialog Box

The second way to stroke a layer is to select the “Layer” menu item, and then “Layer Style”. A window will open showing all the parameters that can be set to the layer style. Among them you need to select “Stroke”.

The same window with styles is called up by clicking the “Add Layer Style” button in the “Layers” window.

Calling this general window with styles through the menu, of course, is not entirely convenient, and if you use the stroke often, then for dynamic work you should set this window key combination.

To do this, go to the “Editing” menu, then “Keyboard Shortcuts”, find one of the above paths through the menu items and set a combination that is convenient for you.

The reason for the existence of two Stroke dialog boxes

The two alternative windows for creating a layer effect are similar to each other, so many people are confident that they are working with the same tool. However, this is a misconception. The fact is that these are different windows that create different strokes, and it is by combining these two commands that you can draw two adjustable paths around the same layer. This is especially often required for outlining text.

Stroke along the contour

How to make a stroke in Photoshop? The second way is to create an outline and draw it.

In Photoshop, a path is a vector line that specifies the direction of brush movement. That is, stroke in this case is drawing with the selected brush along a given path.

Use the Selection Tool, Lasso Tool, or Magic Wand Tool to select the portion of the image you want to trace. Through the “Window” menu item, call up “Outlines”. In this window, find the “Make a work path from the selected area” button. In the Tools panel, select the Brush tool and set its parameters (shape, color, etc.). Then in the Paths window, click the Stroke Path with Brush button. The area you previously selected will be outlined. After this, delete the outline.

Thus, to stroke along the contour, you do not need to create a new layer; it is enough to define a stimulating line along which the program will draw with the brush of your choice.

Please note that the stroke in this case will be placed on the layer you specify, including the new one.

Outlining text

The possibilities for customizing the Brush tool in Photoshop are very rich, because you can adjust the intervals, texture, dynamics of shape and color, etc. At the same time, this line will differ from drawing by hand in maximum accuracy, and time this process will take much less.

To outline text, you must first select its layer and then convert it - like a regular selection area - into an outline. After creating a new layer, you can experiment and draw along the line with any brush with any settings. Do not forget that for artistic purposes, you can apply various effects to the resulting stroke, as to a regular layer, place it above or below the text, change its transparency, etc.

The two methods of outlining described above are not interchangeable, but complement each other. The advantage of the first is that the line can be adjusted and then returned to the adjustment, as well as copied and applied to other layers, including in other files. The advantage of the second is that the stroke in Photoshop will look more artistic, since there are no restrictions in the choice of brushes.

Throughout the last lesson, we drew shapes by selecting the “Shape Layer” mode in the options bar; today we’ll look at the other two modes - “Outlines” and “Pixel Fill”.

Outlines

The line enclosing the figure represents the outline. A work path is a temporary path that appears in the Paths panel and defines the boundaries of a shape.

Outlines can be used in several ways:

• Paths can be used as a vector mask to hide certain areas of a layer.


• You can convert a path to a selection.


• The outline can be filled or outlined with any color.

At the bottom of the panel there are buttons that are assigned the most useful commands working with contours:

Fill the outline with the main color.

Stroke the outline.

Load the outline as a selection.

Make a work path from the selected area.

Create a new outline.

Delete the active path.

So, you have drawn an outline, now click on the icon - fill the outline with the main color - and now your outline looks like a figure. Try other buttons in the Paths panel.

Now look at top part panel and click on the three parallel lines:

Here you can select the tool for tracing the path. Similarly, you can configure the contour fill in the corresponding menu item.

In fact, the main tool for working with contours is the Pen, it is a very useful tool and the next lesson is dedicated to it.

Pixel Fill

In this mode, the figure is drawn, rasterized and filled with the main color. Raster shapes are created using the current base color and cannot be edited like a vector object.

1. Select the layer on which you will draw.


2. Select the desired primary color from the toolbar.


3. Select the Shape tool from the Tools panel.


4. Select the "Pixel Fill" mode in the options bar, and the remaining parameters as desired.


5. Drag the shape onto the canvas with your mouse.

Hello ladies and gentlemen. Some of you have asked me about how I make my line art. Here's a simple tutorial on how I actually make them... JUU-YUKI style! You can apply this lesson to almost all programs. (Photoshop, Sai, Open Canvas, etc.). For this tutorial I will be using Sai and a tablet.

Note translator: Dear site users, for convenience, some screenshots from this lesson have been replaced with screenshots from the programPhotoshop.

Please note that everything that I will talk about in the lesson is my own techniques, I have never taken lessons on creating outlines. I'm not a professional, so my recommendations may not be perfect. Read this lesson at your own risk.

Now, I hope you already know all the tools. And you know how to work with basic tools: feather(pen), pencil(pencil), brush(brush) and eraser(eraser). Your tablet must also have pen pressure enabled. Those who use Photoshop, go here to activate it:

You need to select a tool Brush(Brush) or press the B key.

Now click on the small square in the settings panel or click on the panel Brushes(Brushes) ( approx. lane . you can also use the keyF5 to call the same menu).
Now go to the parameter Speakers form(Shape Dynamics) and opposite the parameter Control(control) select Pen pressure(pen pressure).
Now we are ready to draw the outlines.

You should have a rough sketch to start with. Here's mine. I know, it's dirty. To see the lines better, we need to zoom out a little Opacity(Opacity) sketch. How much to reduce Opacity(Opacity), decide for yourself.

Note: To get a nice and neat outline, I work on a large canvas. The larger the canvas, the better. When I made this sketch, its resolution was 3400x4000px.
After this we need to create a new one transparent layer over the sketch. This is where we will draw our outline. Your layers palette should look like this:

Now we begin to sketch out the contours. The brush you use may be various sizes, but please, within reason. The outlines should not be clear at this point. We just need to get rid of this terrible sketch. I got rid of this dirt.

Once you have drawn the rough outlines, you can get rid of your sketch. I don't usually save my sketches, but this time I'll just hide it. After you hide/delete the sketch, we are left with only the outline.
Now you need to use the tool Eraser(Eraser) (note the size of my brush). Make sure the brush is not too big, otherwise you won't be able to work on the details.

Follow the direction of the hair and erase any extra lines you don't need. On at this stage you can change the thickness of each strand using the tool Eraser(Eraser).
Here are a few more screenshots of my completed outlines. Because you're working on canvas large size as you get closer, the lines will be perfect.

Do the same for all the details, including the clothes and background (if you have them). Yes it is time consuming and I also spend a lot of time creating the outlines but it will pay off trust me. Once you're done, you should end up with something like this:

I still have that terrible sketch with me because I haven't fully outlined the rest of the image yet, but you should have the whole image clean and ready, without the sketch.

Don't be afraid to zoom out and see how you do. It will look better after being reduced.

Sometimes it's better to use multiple outline layers to organize your work. For example, a separate layer for hair, a separate layer for clothes, etc. I'm personally too lazy to use separate layers in this work, so I did everything on one layer.

Additionally:
This is an additional step, but it is at your discretion, if you want, do it this way, if you don’t want to, don’t do it. I usually always do this extra step as it adds depth to my contours.
Create a transparent layer above your outline layer. We've finished the outline, so don't touch it. This extra step needs to be done entirely on the separate layer we just created.

For all strands that touch each other, you need to make the lines thicker. Here's an example:

Also have an idea of ​​where the light source is located. If the hero is closer to the light on the right side, left side must have greater depth.
Merge all the layers so that they form a single line art. And here is the last appointment for today. Your canvas should be around 3000px. Reduce it to 1000px and your lines will be as perfect as ever.

So, after spending over 6 hours creating the line art, it is finally complete. Ta-da! Pat yourself on the back and go eat a cookie for all your hard work.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I apologize if there are lexical errors in the lesson and if my ability to explain is not the best, as well as for those points that were not clear enough. Have a good day!