[Chapel]

Ok.. I didn't want to hog up Francis's thread with my silly questions, so I'm starting a new one. My question was how does some like Liquid! get nice smooth curvy cuts. Someone suggested "paths" but I've never used those.

This is one of Liquid!'s coloring jobs. The pic is from joemadureira.com You can see the cuts I'm referring to on the bottom turtle's chest.


------------------
Chapel
My Home

[This message has been edited by Chapel (edited November 10, 2000).]

[burn0ut]

oh well liquid said he dont use paths n e wayz so oops :/

[This message has been edited by burn0ut (edited November 10, 2000).]

[Chapel]

Yeah, I saw that. I'll figure it out a way eventually. Was just hoping there was an easy trick to it.

[anticz]

Selection tool, channel selections and gradients = nice hard curvy edges.

------------------
=======================
Mike B. - Supervising Janitor
PrestoStudios
anticz.com
=======================

[Chapel]

What do you mean by channel selections?

[Sc00p]

There are two things you can do from my experience:

1) Make sure you draw the selections fluently, if you are doing them with a mouse, sometimes they will make some tiny jagged edges. A tablet makes this a lot easier to make a fluent shape.

2) Put a small feather (in the options) on your lasso tools so you don't get such a hard, pixelled edge.

I find both work to their own extent, and I've decreased the number of messy cuts I do by a lot. I just need more practice now is all.

------------------
Rene Antunes
www.nytro.org
[email protected]

[Rinaldo]

You need to read the Photoshop manual my friend

I was playing around with some actions that I set up. one smoothed the selection (in the selections menue, modify-smooth) and then feathered it. the other just smoothed it. if you're working in high resolution like Liquid would be you can just zoom up and your selection will be a lot tighter when viewed from afar.
If you know what resolution you're going to work in all the time you can use the smooth to get rid of anyhting from serious jaggad edges or compleatly smooth it out, changing the look of the selection entirely. however seeing as smooth requrtes you to specify how many pixels, you can get some wierd stuff happening if you use very low res images with a high smooth.
But at a high res if you set up an action to smooth something like twice at the maximum amount (16 pixels) (but whatever works really) it will make things look pretty tight while still maintaining the look of your line. then map that action to a hot key, make your selection, push the button, and you have a nice selection. Use actions to do complecated stuff that you have to do all the time.

[Danny]

Chapel, to add to Rinaldo's tip, if you are not happy with your selection, just either convert it to a quickmask by pressing q or better yet, save it as a channel (also known as an alpha). By doing so you get a very visual representation of your selection. Basically quickmasks and alphas are the same, an 8bit (256 levels) representation of your selection. In alpha terms, black=0% selection of a pixel, white=100% selection of a pixel and any grey intermediate equals a partially selected pixel.
Once you have a selection going that you want to 'touch-up' and correct so to speak, you can do so very easily by representing it either as a quickmask or an alpha as it'll allow you to use all the painttools rather than just a silly lasso.
I agree with Rinaldo.. Read that manual..



------------------
[email protected]

Trust in Trance

[Chapel]

I didn't get a manual with my copy of PS... hehe. But thanks for the advice guys. I'm sure I'll figure out a way to get the results I want.

[TheMilkMan]

Uhh I did'nt bother to read any of the other posts but here is the way that I used to get those cuts when I was comic book coloring back in the day. I would first start out laying down my flats ...then I would use my selection tool to make the color value lighter the closer that I got to the light source. I was never as good at it as liqued but it was similar. He has a much better eye for using light to give the character dimension though.

[[Shizo]]

If you, Chapel, layed off the Vodka for once.. you could of noticed that the nice curvy edges are nothing but a work of "Skidro Tochilla Knife"! Yes, the knife is very rare, because only the rusty stainless steel is used for making it. Put away the Vodka (put it closer to me) then i might lend you the knife..

[Darkmoon]

OH OH i have something for this i CAN HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



this is a tut Eddie Loven did for me, i thought it was awsome hes da best. hope it helps

-Lisa

[Chapel]

Darkmoon: That looks cool but that doesn't really show anything. Could you send me the whole tut? I know how to make cuts and such, but I was wondering how to make nice smooth curvy cuts. However, I think I figured it out.