In an effort to gain better masks with ... hopefully less effort I'm interested in something to help in PS. I see that Corel has Knockout 2 which is touted to be a very effective masking aid. This is a Photoshop compatible plug-in.
Has anyone, or does anyone here use this? If so, how would you rate it's performance?
Hi Tim... well, it's like this. I used to use PicturePublisher 8 which was dead ended into the Corel family. It had a very simple paintbrush masking tool, much the same as one of the Elements tool... you just brushed it on with the "Plus +" sign, and contracted it with the "Minus -" sign. Ahh, for the good old days.
Anyway, I digress... I'm just struggling with the various masking schemes in PS and am looking for an easier (read - lazier) way. Maybe Knockout 2 would meet my needs for masking complex shapes with trees and hair without having to go into LAB Mode or other such brain twisters....
Have you ever tried the tool in photoshop that works like a rubberband quick mask? After all these years I had never seen it, and then my wife showed me. It basically follows contours as you draw a mask. It's very fast...
its is a good tool, but not as good as some of the more advanced methods (that take much longer). I use the longer/better methods. So if you want Knockout, I have a copy I don't use.
magnetic lasso works ok, but try it on really complicated subject. Also, your edges need to be natural looking. Knockout helps with the blending between subject and background. The end all way to do it is to read Katrin Eisman's book "masking and compositing".
timothfarrar wrote:
Oops, the "rubberband quick mask" is really called the "magnetic lasso" tool. Thanks Kathryn for the correction...
Hi Tim... yes I do use that tool, but as CTYankee has added, it isn't good for fine detail as in tree leaves and branches, etc. I have K E,s Digital Restoration book ... I'll have to see if she offers any masking tricks in that one, otherwise... I guess I may have to make a trip to Barnes and Knoble this weekend.
CTYankee wrote:
magnetic lasso works ok, but try it on really complicated subject. Also, your edges need to be natural looking. Knockout helps with the blending between subject and background. The end all way to do it is to read Katrin Eisman's book "masking and compositing".
Thanks for the info CT... I take it that you are not that impressed with Knockout. I'll check your suggestion out and get Katrin's other book.
Terry D wrote:
Thanks for the info CT... I take it that you are not that impressed with Knockout. I'll check your suggestion out and get Katrin's other book.
T
Its not that I'm not impressed with it, I just found it wasn't a simple outline you subject, define background and WAM! perfectly masked subject. It works better than the standard toold in PS. However with the methods KE outlines, time, and PATIENCE you can get much better results. KO2 is the fastest way to get good results, but the methods KE uses get you amazing results...but do take a long time. I have the time and need the best possible results so thats why I don't use KO much.
Try Vertus Fluid Mask. Check out the video tutorials on their site to get an idea of how easy it is to use this excellent tool. I have used KO2, but I like Fluid Mask better: http://www.vertustech.com/
m3rocket wrote:
Try Vertus Fluid Mask. Check out the video tutorials on their site to get an idea of how easy it is to use this excellent tool. I have used KO2, but I like Fluid Mask better: http://www.vertustech.com/
Hey thanks m3, I'm going there now and check it out. Thanks for the heads up. I hadn't heard of this product before..................
I'm interested in something to help in PS. I see that Corel has Knockout 2 which is touted to be a very effective masking aid. This is a Photoshop compatible plug-in.
Maybe Knockout 2 would meet my needs for masking complex shapes with trees and hair without having to go into LAB Mode or other such brain twisters....
I hadn't heard of this product before..................