Kelynn1985 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I have just started messing around with this software and I'm really wanting to do a silhouette of my kids for Mother's day gifts for the grandmas. Is there any one who could help me or do them for me? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.atwell Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 We can help you, but we cannot do it for you. (see rule 23) Your photos aren't the greatest for this purpose, because of the heavy shadow behind them. But the easiest way to do this is to cut them out of the background so that they are by themselves on a transparent background, increase the contrast and lower the brightness until they become silhouettes, and then place them on the background of your choice. 1 Quote The Doctor: There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior... A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.Amy: But how did it end up in there?The Doctor: You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it.River Song: I hate good wizards in fairy tales; they always turn out to be him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cc4FuzzyHuggles Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Hello. You will want to cut the kids out from the background, unfortunately those shadows could prove to make that difficult. Pictures with a well defined and very plain background would make the processes easier. Either way, with whatever images you choose, there are lots of ways to separate objects out from their backgrounds.And I will show you how....First, you will need to know Paint.net's User Interface http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/MainWindow.html, Layers http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/LayersWindow.html to cut out your object, and how to install plugins http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/1708-how-to-install-pluginsgeneral-plugin-troubleshooting-thread/. Now, here are several ways to cut out objects, click "show" to view them. Hidden Content: * Erasing to Cut Out ObjectsYou can use the eraser tool (which is improved in paint.net 4.0) or you can erase with other tools, such as the paint brush & line/curve tools. Change the tool's blending mode from “normal” to “overwrite” (see toolbar), and have your color for coloring with set to “Opacity – Alpha 0" (see color window). http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/Cc4FuzzyHuggles/Other/CutOutimagesExamples_ErasingWithPaintBrushampCurveTools_zps0a740f62.jpg * Outlining To Cut Out ObjectsYou can trace/outline an image to cut it out. See this tutorial as an example : http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/13796-cutting-out-images/However, for your image, you may want to trace/outline in a way that works best for your photos.In this picture, I tried to use an easy to see color, lowered my outline layer's opacity, and traced along the edge. If I finished my outline, I would select the outside of it, and then invert the selection (ctrl + i), copy (ctrl +c) the object, add a new layer, paste (crtl + v) the object. http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/Cc4FuzzyHuggles/Other/CutOutimagesExamplesOutlineTrace_zps5d380ff1.jpg * Grim Color Reaper PluginYou can use the Grim Color Reaper plugin (GCR plugin) to remove colors (in your case, the gray background). The plugin : http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/15595-grim-color-reaper-plugin/For your image, I selected the outside of the hair, zoomed in really close, used the Color Picker tool to pick the color I wanted removed, then I zoomed out a little, and ran the GCR plugin. I had “What Color” set to “Primary Color” and I adjusted the "Color Tolerance." http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/Cc4FuzzyHuggles/Other/CutOutimagesExamples_UsingaSelectionampGrimColorReaperforAroundHair_zps87c0777e.png * Cut Color PluginSimilar to Grim Color Reaper, this plugin helps to remove colors. The Plugin : http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/18769-cut-color-effect/This plugin uses your primary color as it's color sample, but a bonus feature is you can also tweak the color by using it's own built-in color wheel/sliders (note : clicking the reset button puts the color sample back to your primary color). For your image, I selected the outside of the hair and ran the plugin. I set "Type of Effect" to "Remove Color as the Background", then I tried to match the plugin's color sample to the gray that I wanted removed, and I adjusted the "Tolerance in Color". http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/Cc4FuzzyHuggles/Other/CutOutimagesExamples_UsingaSelectionampCutColorforAroundHair_zps7e7a9586.png Depending on the picture, you might prefer the results of one plugin over the other. And, if after using GCR or Cut Color there are areas that look like they still have a faint transparent color, simply using the eraser tool for touch-ups should work.* TR's Alpha Cutter PluginThis is a plugin made to cut-out objects, but it takes some practice to use. TR's Alpha Cutter : http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/26966-trs-alpha-cutter-v304-april-7th-2014/ Once your image is cut-out, select everything but the ends of the hair, and run these edge smoothing plugins :First Basic Antialias. – The Plugin http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/7644-basic-antialias-version-11-bug-fixed-january-14-2008/Then Feather with radius set to 3 (not the old feather). – The Plugin http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/2140-feather-plugin-now-with-source/Last AA's Assistant with default settings. Optional, run it twice. – The plugin is part of this pack http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?showtopic=16643Here is an example picture of the selection : http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/Cc4FuzzyHuggles/Other/CutOutimagesExamples_Selecteverythingbutthehair_SmoothEdges_zpsf6fda4ac.jpg This is My Cut Out ResultI mostly Erased to cut out this object (your cute baby), but I used the GCR plugin for around the hair. I then smoothed the edges as suggested above. This is the Result and I saved it as a png with a transparent background. http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/Cc4FuzzyHuggles/Other/BabyCut-OutFromBackgroundExamplePNG_zps93b9e23b.png To make the cut out object a solid black shape...Go to Menu Bar > Hue/Saturation > And lower the lightness all the way to -100. http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/Cc4FuzzyHuggles/Other/CutOutimagesExamples_HueSaturationBlackShape_zps5276d4f8.jpg If the edges of the hair don't look as smooth as you'd like, make a selection around the hair, then go to Menu Bar > Blurs > Smooth. After smoothing, you will notice a little quality loss, to get back some quality, go to Menu Bar > Photo > Sharpen. If you want the rest of the Black shape to be a little smoother too, invert the selection (ctrl + i), and run one of the smoothing plugins again. I ran feather, radius set to 1. Black Shape End Result http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o528/Cc4FuzzyHuggles/Other/BabyCut-OutFromBackgroundBlackShapeExamplePNG_zpsa2806827.png I would encourage you try doing things on your own, but you are still welcome to have and use any of these images. Edit : Added the Plugin "Cut Color" and an explanation for it. I also have re-edited the Cut Color's explanation, since you can use the color picker tool to set your primary color, and the plugin uses whatever color is your primary color. Edited May 9, 2014 by Cc4FuzzyHuggles 4 Quote *~ Cc4FuzzyHuggles Gallery ~* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red ochre Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Wow - you put some work into that answer Cc'... + 1. (I'd just take the photo again ) Quote Red ochre Plugin pack.............. Diabolical Drawings ................Real Paintings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cc4FuzzyHuggles Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Thank you Red. I keep seeing people wanting to do things, and half of the time cutting out the object is the answer, so I keep trying to think of more efficient ways of explaning how. Quote *~ Cc4FuzzyHuggles Gallery ~* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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