Datasheet

■ Extracting an Image from a Background 5
Figure 1.8 Final blended image
As you work through the book, blending modes will become second nature. What I
want you to take away from these brief examples, in particular for merging layers, is that
your choice of blending mode will dictate whether a piece fails or succeeds. You have many
to choose from, but usually one or two come close. You want to get to the point where you
intuitively know what additional tools in conjunction with the blending mode will give you
the results you are looking for. Photoshop isn’t out to get you: it is only as smart and creative
as you allow it to be. Photoshop is the toolbox; you are the artist.
Extracting an Image from a Background
I belong to several Photoshop-related forums and lists online (a favorite hangout of mine is
PhotoshopCAFE at
www.photoshopcafe.com), and it amazes me how many posts start with
the heading “How do I extract an image from a background?” Indeed, Photoshop doesn’t
give the casual user an easy answer, as there is a number of ways to perform this very task.
The best method for the task depends on a couple of factors: the job at hand (the object
being extracted, the background the object resides in) and the user’s knowledge of the soft-
ware or preferred method.
If the background is a solid color, you can use the Background Eraser tool with pass-
able results, but many in the graphics world consider this approach to be cheating in some
way. If it works, I say go for it, but rarely does that method work to satisfaction.
In the previous editions of this book, I demonstrated how to perform extractions using
the Extract feature, which as of this writing has been removed for Adobe Photoshop CS4.
I’m mixing things up a bit with this update, and will instead demonstrate extracting objects
or subjects using the Pen tool.
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