Removing background when same color as picture....

[Sandsdenver]

I would like to just raise the bear per se, and have no background.  But since the bear and the back ground (current) are the same color, I am having a rough time.  I tried the magic wand and also a sight called LunaPic, but to no avail, can anyone provide some tips or push in the right direction? ty

[toe_head2001]

Here's a plug-in that can help.

https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/26966-trs-alpha-cutter-v304-april-7th-2014/

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Hey @Sandsdenver - Welcome to the forum 😃

 

Try using the Magic Wand  on the background with a Tolerance of 28%

[IHaveNoName]

Those ways may work better but if it had been me and not being aware of those methods I would have gone back to an old school photographic technique: a high contrast mask.

 

You simply copy the picture into another layer then convert that copy into b/w then up the contrast/alter the brightness until you get a good clean outline. The bear in the picture has a very distinctive darker line around its border and that should mean a pretty clean outline of that would be created by such as mask. 

 

You'd probably need to flood the rest of the bear with black to create a full silhouette.

 

Now use the Magic Wand Tool to define the silhouette's outline, swap to the original picture layer and use that to remove the background.

 

Below is is a very crude 5 minute attempt. The transparent background will display as white posted here.

 

The problem  is that it is a very low contrast image and the difference in tone, even with the darker outline, is not clear enough to create a clean mask. That was always the trouble you had when this was done photographically, retouching the lith (high contrast b/w) mask was always necessary.

 

If I was doing this I'd take a lot more time cleaning up the edge of the mask and the picture with background removed. I'd probably feather the edge of the picture so any replacement background blended better. But it is proof of concept if those other techniques do not satisfy.

   

Edited March 8, 2019 by IHaveNoName
typo

[cornemuse]

I remove like this: (takes a while I still use 3.5.1, old!)

 

Line white, "all the way around"

(edit: a sample here of pic.)

 

(rec. select from above, duh!)

Not showing, but Magic wand 26% (<-default for me)

 

(edit: added blue background)

 

White is -gone- (on my comp = checker pattern)

 

Magic wand at "maximum without selecting everything" (for me was 68%)

White is -gone- (on my comp = checker pattern)

antialiasing enabled = smoother edges. (I rarely disable antialiasing)

 

I have not added more than 1 or 2 plugins, dont even remember which ones, , , , ,

 

(edit: added blue background)

 

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by cornemuse
feng shui

[IHaveNoName]

That is an effective alternative method for creating the contrast needed for the Magic Wand to be able to select the precise outline of the bear.

 

It certainly gives a much cleaner outline than my attempt but hand drawing the border must have taken some time.

[cornemuse]

If you do it a lot, you get used to it. I prolly coulda done the whole pic in 2-3 minutes. How I've always done it. (I do it a lot!)

[Ego Eram Reputo]

On 3/7/2019 at 6:11 PM, Ego Eram Reputo said:

Hey @Sandsdenver - Welcome to the forum 😃

 

Try using the Magic Wand  on the background with a Tolerance of 28%