Martini Hour 092, In Which We Refine the Edges from Last Week’s Show

This week, appropriately enough, we discuss the Refine Edge feature in Photoshop CS5. Appropriate, because last week we discussed all the ways to select various elements in Photoshop, and now we can refine those edges with the command that is turning out to be Deke’s favorite new thing in CS5. Because, once you make the best selection you can (more on that during the show, please don’t try to solve crappy selections with Refine Edge), this tool can add that extra level of control that gives you a selection up to Deke’s standards. And those standards are pretty darn refined.

Martini Hour 092: Refine Edge in Photoshop

Here are the salient refinements of this week’s show:

  • We go on an excursion trying to separate a woman, in a sweater, from her background and place her on a tropical island background.
  • Deke argues that people who actually live in the tropics (as opposed to tourists) wear sweaters to look professional. Which is why he wears shorts when it snows in Boulder.
  • The first step to a refining a selection is . . . making a good selection. We’ve both had enough of this awesome feature being demoed to clean up a bad (read: Quick Selection) selection. If you apply it to something good, good gets even better.
  • Separating hair might not be best done by the Color Range command because there is so much color variation and reflection and general tendrilly chaos regarding hair.
  • You can think of the Show Original check box as an “anti-Preview” check box. In other words if you turn it on, you see your original image instead of the ever refining selection.
  • Feather is a cop out, in Deke’s opinion. Blurry doesn’t hide your sloppiness people! But if you apply a little you can see how the next feature, Contrast, actually removes fuzziness. Mostly, Deke leaves these set to zero.
  • Shift Edge allows you to grow or shrink the selection, with more subtlety than similar commands in Photoshop proper.
  • The Show Radius view mode allows you to see the area in which the command is applying its refining power. This isn’t the selected or the unselected area per se; it’s the area that’s under consideration for refinement.
  • The brush, known as the Refine Radius tool, is actually painting in and out the radius, not the selection. You’re telling Photohsop to reconsider the areas you paint over with regard to polishing up the selection.
  • The Decontaminate Colors feature operates on the image, rather than the mask, so use it with caution.
  • Refine Edge is one of those few features that works better with each pass, so output your selection to a mask and try going back over it with Refine Mask. Amazing!

Join us for a moment of refinement (and martinis) won’t you? Here’s the regular-quality audio file. You can stream, or for best results, right-click and choose Download or Save. Here’s the high-res version; you’ll want to download rather than stream. And don’t forget our usual plea to subscribe via iTunes.

And don’t miss Deke’s toast to butter. Much like Refine Edge it makes good things better. Until next week, my dekeElites. Cheers!

Next entry:Illustrator CS5 One-on-One: Mastery Is Finally Under Way

Previous entry:Chuck Joiner Once Again Captures Me on MacVoices

  • I really enjoy your shows

    Sorry to hear the Martini Hour is going away but I’m sure you have more goodness coming so I’ll forgive you. I couldn’t find an email for you but I wanted to send you a special piece of Deke art I made for last years Top 40 contest and didn’t have a chance to finish it so I thought I’d post a link here. Enjoy Deke and thanks for all the good learnin you provide!

    http://vectorgeek.com/wp-content/gallery/deke-art/deke-records.jpg

  • Deke, my good fellow, found you on Lynda dot com!!

    I came over here seeking your definitive educational CD (s)!! ..

    From which I might learn a good deal of your Photoshop know how, and not have to read a book.

    I do read, but only dusty old things which deal with ancient and bygone people and days out of time and memory.

    I LOVE Photoshop ... I cannot make it mind well, but we are learning. ... So, where—- may I ask,  are the “Video Tutorials” located or posted for sale?

    I took the CS4 and the CS3 selecting, and refining and masks lessons on Lynda, but I no longer have the mental retention of bygone days.  So, since your lessons have been the best, I came seeking a method of recurring enlightenment which would play on the PC while I worked along in PS. 

    Thanks for being a dedicated PS teacher!

    Sally (who is not a Brit, I might add)


    ___________________________________________

    Breath is the courser and Mind is the rider. —-Zoroaster

  • Sally, you can get most of

    Sally, you can get most of the good Deke tutorials at Lynda.com. You can opt for a subscription or buy the dvds. I used to buy the DVDs but now I get a subscription because I can get the latest up-to-date Deke tutorials with all the exercise files. His books come with DVDs too if you don’t want to pay for the Lynda.com subscription.

  • Deke Please Listen to us ;(

    At Least there is 2 “Zune” users here in Deke.com
    I hope to subscribe to Martini hour via Zune because ...I don’t use iPods!!
    is there any chance here?
  • \“Always,\” \“must,\” \“never,\”

    “Always,” “must,” “never,” and “have to,” give you no degrees of freedom!

    I am new to Lightroom 3 and am wondering if any of you out there could tell me if there is a way to duplicate luminosity sharpening-using unsharp mask and then going over to the edit alternative (photsoshop 7), pick lumiinosity and using the sliders for his choice.

    Lightroom has the unsharp mask choice, but can I replicate the above sharpening method?.

    Please forgive my question if it is inappropriate for this forum.

    Thank you for your input and hvve a great Thanksgiving.

    Maury

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