photoshop help

WhiteWashMan

hey, looking for some help if possible. i think this is the right place, if not, let me know and i will head there instead....

anyway, i am an absolute photoshop virgin, and i have done one or two very simple things. trying to learn some of the basic stuff like colours and shapes etc.

now, one thing i cant seem to do is to copy something from the web or somewhere, and then layer it down without it blanking out all of my other layers.

let me explain...

i have copied an image, and i have chopped out the bit i want. so i now have a copy of a rectangle on a layer, and i want to lay it on my picture. however, i actually dont want all of the picture, i need to make the bits around it translucent.
does this make sense? it like trying to get only a car shape into a picture when you have afull photo of the car and all the background.

if anyone can help me to leanr how to crop this stuff out, i would really appreciate it.

also, becuause i dont want to have to come on here and abuse the good hospitality, anyone have any good sites theys recommend for an absolute newbie?

cheers
eamo

Ruu_Old

Which version of Photoshop? I have version 6.0 which is an older one at this stage. I think the reason the images you are copying over into the image alread there is copying over everything is that you need to send the copied image to the back. In Photoshop 6, it is Layer->Send to Back (make sure the layer you want sent to back is highlighted in the Layers area at the bottom right of the window). See if that makes any sense to you. Planet Photoshop has some simple tutorials you can try out, and they are step by step. More basic ones are located here also.

Citizen_Erased

That is every so slightly confusing white wash man. Is it that you have cut out something from one photo and want to put it into another?

If so what I think the solution to your problem is that you cut the item out of the original image while it was the background layer meaning that you made it have a white background not a transparent one. If this is the case what you need to do is double click on the background layer on the image you want to cut out and a dialogue box
should appear then click okay. Now if you re-erase the white bits they should go to transparent and then when you paste this cut out onto the other image , only the bit you left should go, I hope this is what you meant , if not then just ignore this all together.

btw >> Good site to start with is http://www.good-tutorials.com/ , just cruise around it doing random tutorials that seem interesting , thats how i learned everything

Smellyirishman

A screenshot of your current situation would be great. (As you can see, your description is causing some confusion )

Mark out the shape you wish to keep using the Magnetic Lasso Tool (L). This tool is found in the top left of your toolkit (perhaps on the left side, 2nd one down). If the tool is the lasso and not the magnetic lasso, click down and hold the mouse on the lasso image for a bit and a new menu will appear and you can select the magnetic lasso. With this tool, you click to begin your selection, then just trace out the shape you want, PS takes care of the rest. If you don't like how it is doing certain areas you can click to mark certain spots.

Image here.

Having selected your desired shape, you could cut out or copy the car (Ctrl+X or Edit->Cut) and then paste it onto a separate layer. Now make the old layer invisible (click the little eye beside the layer) and you should have your car on it's own.

Alternatively (and there are many alts), if you select the inverse of this shape (Ctrl+shift+I or Select->Inverse) and then press delete, you should wipe out the background and be left with your car on it's own.

5uspect

Do you mean that you copy a picture of say a car and you want to erase the background?
Or an object on a white background?
If the background is complex (trees, grass, people etc) use the eraser tool to delete it.Also look up layer masks as an good way of acheiving this "non-destructively"

If the background is totally while double click on the layer thumbnail (depends on the PS version where you double click) and a big huge dialog box appears. Go to the option "blending options" and at the bottom you will see a few sliders. Use these to hide the white background. (Alt click on the sliders to split them to remove harsh edges)

If you want to remove a black background use the screen blend mode (blend modes can be found on the top left of the layers pallet)

WhiteWashMan

Citizen_Erased wrote:

That is every so slightly confusing white wash man. Is it that you have cut out something from one photo and want to put it into another?

If so what I think the solution to your problem is that you cut the item out of the original image while it was the background layer meaning that you made it have a white background not a transparent one. If this is the case what you need to do is double click on the background layer on the image you want to cut out and a dialogue box
should appear then click okay. Now if you re-erase the white bits they should go to transparent and then when you paste this cut out onto the other image , only the bit you left should go, I hope this is what you meant , if not then just ignore this all together.

btw >> Good site to start with is http://www.good-tutorials.com/ , just cruise around it doing random tutorials that seem interesting , thats how i learned everything

nope, youre bang on the money.

sorry my description is so crap, im just happy i can say 'layer' and know what it means now

and all the info is great, will check out the links and bookmark them. really appreciate the help. oh, and im using photoshop CS2. not sure if thats the latest release or where it stands. sorry.

WhiteWashMan

that magnetic lasso tool is the biz!

Gordon

Yeah, if you are having problems getting the selection you need then change the sensitivity of it or use the straight line lassoo tool by keeping your clickbutton on the tool for a second.

5uspect

Photoshop TV is a great video tutorial podcast also. Also for learning quick tips about the tools and interface I highly recommend Photoshop Killer Tips.

CS2 is the latest version alright, there is a CS3 beta out that you can google for info on. Its got a great new quick selection tool. Think of it as magnetic lasso on a brush. Just paint on your object and it generally does a good job of selecting it.

Citizen_Erased

God damnit I have been waiting for a tool like that for ages. Roll on cs3