Any planetary house painter will state you that one of the most punishing parts of a job is masking : outlining the edges of window frames and trim with tape recording to ensure a bully occupation .
Masking can also be one of the most arduous parts of a Photoshop projection , for much the same reason . Isolating a national from its background can be tedious , especially if there is n’t a lot of contrast between the subject and the desktop or if the subject has blurred edges or fine detail , such as wisps of hair’s-breadth .
Experienced Photoshop artists have employ a mixture of disguise prank , and have used such programs as Extensis ’ Mask Pro 3 ( , August 2003 ) or Corel ’s KnockOut 2 ( , March 2002 ) , but now there ’s an easy track to sizeable masks : Vertus ’ Fluid Mask 1.02 . A hack - in for Adobe Photoshop , Fluid Mask provides a rich raiment of tools for isolating portions of an image and then cutting out the portion you want to keep .
Photoshop CS2 ’s Extract filter performs the same line of work , though in my tests , Fluid Mask often create cleaner masque in double containing tricky edges , such as hair or backgrounds whose color is interchangeable to the subject ’s . And Fluid Mask lets you preview a mask - in - progress in way that are flying and more efficient than the Extract filter ’s Preview modality .
Fits right in
To use Fluid Mask , open up an image and then choose Fluid Mask from Photoshop ’s Filter menu . Fluid Mask convey over your screen , replacing Photoshop ’s menus and tool palettes with its own ( see screenshots ) . Like Photoshop , Fluid Mask provides unmarried - key stroke shortcuts for its creature and brushes — a courteous interface touch .
To sequestrate part of an image , habituate Fluid Mask ’s tools to specify which colors you desire to keep and which unity you want to cancel . For straightforward masking jobs — for good example , isolate a scandalmongering bloom from a hearty blue background — you might simply paint across the blue desktop with the Delete Global brush . When you do , Fluid Mask automatically masks out similar colors that come out throughout the image .
For an image containing a uniform background colour , this might be the only step you need to perform . you’re able to then penetrate the Create Cut - Out button and view while Fluid Mask removes the background knowledge , leave only the prime . shut the Fluid Mask windowpane , and you ’re back in Photoshop , with your masked image unfastened and ready to use .
Advanced tools
For more ambitious masking jobs — isolate a green frog sitting on a similarly colored leaf — you’re able to employ several other tools that allow more control over the masking piece procedure . For example , the Adjust Image Information Layer tool lets you temporarily aline the contrast and color of an image to make it easy for Fluid Mask to identify the edges that separate field you want to keep or discard .
depend on your Mac ’s upper and the complexness of your mask , depict a final image can take 10 instant or more . Fortunately , you may preview your body of work by using the Test Render peter : select it and drag a rectangle over part of the effigy , and Fluid Mask renders just that part of the image .
Fluid Mask ’s advanced tools can be daunting , thanks largely to the product ’s abysmal certification , which lie in of a couple of badly written PDFs and a print reference wit that is — I josh you not — print in light - gray , 5 - breaker point character . Some instructive QuickTime tutorial movies are include on the Fluid Mask induction CD , but a complex and costly spark plug - in like this one call for good certification . Vertus enounce the reference card has already been reprint for better legibility and that improved electronic certification will accompany a next version .
One more quibble : Fluid Mask does n’t work with 16 - bit images . If you prefer to shoot or rake in 16 - bit mode to get more clearance for Photoshop adjustments , you ’ll have to exchange images to 8 - bit manner before using Fluid Mask . Vertus enounce it plan to add 16 - bit support to a succeeding version .
Macworld’s buying advice
At $ 249 , which is rather expensive for a fire hydrant - in , Fluid Mask 1.02 is n’t for cursory Photoshop exploiter or those who need to do masking only from time to time . But if masking and compositing are big part of your life , Fluid Mask merit a look . It ’s a powerful , if badly documented , cock .
