Jagged Edges

[sammeboy11]

I'm a newbie to these forums and a newbie to Paint.NET, so you might expect me to ask a lot questions. Please be nice.

What I want to know is how I can smoothen edges on pictures I cut out. Here is an example:

I want to cut out this footballer:

I try it, and when I try to paste it to a background (a plain one here for example), all the edges where my bad cutting is are plainly visible.

Is there a plug-in or any tips on how to cut better? Thankyou for any help.

[Crimson]

Don't use the eraser tool or lasso tool to cut out images. Instead, use this tutorial. Yo get much smoother edges.

[Pluberus]

And remember, patience is key when cutting out images. It takes time, but usually ends better.

[Kat]

Not only patience, but I also found it very helpful to enlargen the image (sometimes up to 500%!) in order to get more precise results. (But I don't know if it works with the above mentioned tut - it works in any case if you use lasso tool. But with the lasso, you can sit cutting out for ages until it is the way you want it.)

[Myrddin]

Not only patience, but I also found it very helpful to enlargen the image (sometimes up to 500%!) in order to get more precise results. (But I don't know if it works with the above mentioned tut...)

You might find that is quite standard practice, as a closer look is bound to give the opportunity to better conform to the intricacies of the object's boundary.

With very simple subjects, such as base shapes and easy enough figures, one could get away with a quicker trace. However, for finer details, such as hair or even the fingers of the hand, zooming in proves invaluable for a superior cut.

Don't forget alpha masking (plugin | tutorial). You follow the same steps as the Cutting Out tutorial (linked by Crimson) except you create a mask at the end of it and use the associated plugin. Depending how well you create your mask (per Pluberus' advice), you can produce some professional-looking cut-outs; an absolute winner with some users.

Also remember to save your image as a 32-bit PNG image, as the PNG file type retains transparency - which means that anything cut out can be easily used for other purposes as your figure will have a transparent background. You can save in this format by following the usual process of saving (File > Save As), selecting PNG from the Save as type drop down, then selecting the appropriate option in the configuration dialog.

[sammeboy11]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll use the picture provided and show you how I get on later.