My wife uses printshop and can take in a photo and use a pen feature to trace around something in an image and cut out just that portion and stick it somewhere else. I don't like printshop because you can only export such work in PDF format, not JPEG and such.
Does anyone here do that kind of thing? Is there some software you can get that will do that one job well. I see in Corel draw there is some features that outline and such but I want to just manually do it, say trace around one drum of a drum set and set it to a new folder by itself using the mouse. Any ideas?
GIMP is free.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP
GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool.[3] In addition to offering freeform drawing, GIMP can accomplish essential image workflow steps such as resizing, editing, and cropping photos, combining multiple images, and converting between different image formats. GIMP can also be used to create basic animated images in the GIF format. At present GIMP is entirely suitable for amateur or professional work with images intended for viewing on monitors and printing on inkjet printers; GIMP does not yet offer the CMYK separation and color management functionality which is essential for prepress work.
The product vision for GIMP is to become a high-end graphics application for the editing and creation of original images, icons, graphical elements of web pages and art for user interface elements. One point in GIMP's product vision would see GIMP used for the development of cutting-edge image-processing algorithms.[4]
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Features
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Selections and paths: in GIMP there are several tools that can be used to create selections including a rectangular and circular selection tool, free select tool, and fuzzy select tool (also known as magic wand). More advanced selection tools include the select by color tool for selecting contiguous regions of color and the scissors select tool which creates selections semi-automatically between areas of highly contrasting colors. GIMP also supports a quick mask mode where a user can use a brush to paint the area of a selection, visibly this looks like a red colored overlay being added or removed. The foreground select tool is an implementation of Simple Interactive Object Extraction (SIOX) a method used to perform the extraction of foreground elements, such as a person or a tree in focus. The Paths Tool allows a user to create vectors (also known as Bézier curves). Paths can be used to create complex selections around natural curves, paths can also be named, saved, and painted (or "stroked"😉 with brushes, patterns, or various line styles.
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External Links
Official GIMP website
http://www.gimp.org/
Originally posted by zeeblebotThanks for the tip! I downloaded it and started playing with it, now I need to know how to tell it I have completed the trace! I do a trace outline but don't know how to tell it to stop, it just keeps adding lines even outside the photo area. So how do you stop the trace?
GIMP is free.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP
GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool.[3] In addition to offering freeform drawing, GIMP can accomplish essential image workflow steps such as resizing, editing, and cropping photos, combining ...[text shortened]... arious line styles.
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External Links
Official GIMP website
http://www.gimp.org/
Originally posted by sonhouseDouble click the last point, if I remember correctly.
Thanks for the tip! I downloaded it and started playing with it, now I need to know how to tell it I have completed the trace! I do a trace outline but don't know how to tell it to stop, it just keeps adding lines even outside the photo area. So how do you stop the trace?
Originally posted by CrowleyFigured that part out, you have to complete the circle. It then changes to a dashed line surrounding the area to move. Now I need to figure out how to get that part isolated or to get rid of the background. Any hints?
Double click the last point, if I remember correctly.
Originally posted by sonhouseShould be an "edit" or "Selections" and from there "invert selection".
Figured that part out, you have to complete the circle. It then changes to a dashed line surrounding the area to move. Now I need to figure out how to get that part isolated or to get rid of the background. Any hints?
Also, you can select all (ctrl=A) in some programs, and hold control while tracing and that should 'reverses' the tool leaving only everything else as the selection.
Not sure with gimp. That is how PaintShop and PhotoShop works I believe.
P-
Originally posted by PhlabibitI hit invert and it makes a little black and white thumbnail which shows the outline I just did and the background, one way black outline and white background and invert white outline and black background.
Should be an "edit" or "Selections" and from there "invert selection".
Also, you can select all (ctrl=A) in some programs, and [b]hold control while tracing and that should 'reverses' the tool leaving only everything else as the selection.
Not sure with gimp. That is how PaintShop and PhotoShop works I believe.
P-[/b]
Why can't I just drag and drop the stupid outlined image to a fresh screen or something? That's all I need to do. Why are they making it so difficult?
I ran into the same thing with Corel Draw X3, which I bought a few years ago but never needed to use, now I do so installed it.
My wife can do that function a lot simpler in printshop but she can only export in PDF, I need images to be in JPEG or something similar for web use.
I can do a trace function in X3 but I can't seem to separate the pieces. What I want is to take images and import them with no borders so they can be part of an extended collage or bits and pieces strewn around the site but not in a rectangular format. Don't know why they make that simple function so hard to do. There seems to be nothing that directly addresses how to do that.
I think it would be faster just to cut out the dam images with an exacto knife and scan the things in, at least the scanner automatically finds the edges and gives you exactly that. It would be nice to do it digitally though.
Originally posted by sonhouseI had a quick look, don't use GIMP that much.
I hit invert and it makes a little black and white thumbnail which shows the outline I just did and the background, one way black outline and white background and invert white outline and black background.
Why can't I just drag and drop the stupid outlined image to a fresh screen or something? That's all I need to do. Why are they making it so difficult? ...[text shortened]... ally finds the edges and gives you exactly that. It would be nice to do it digitally though.
Free Select (F) -> select your area.
Press Ctrl+C to copy and paste this in a new file.
Then Scale Tool (Shift+T) to get it to the corret dimensions.
Originally posted by CrowleyHey thanks! That did it. I should have known to try cntl C, I use it all the time! go figure.
I had a quick look, don't use GIMP that much.
Free Select (F) -> select your area.
Press Ctrl+C to copy and paste this in a new file.
Then Scale Tool (Shift+T) to get it to the corret dimensions.
The only thing I missed from your post was doing cntl T instead of shift T for resizing. I had already figured out how to do it in open office presentation, I did Cntl V to put the image into open office and interestingly it had the resizing marks already in, was able to make it whatever I wanted. Of course that required actually putting it into open office so the shift T thing is clearly better.
I was able to resize the toolbars too, I am doing the graphics on my wife's comp and she likes the resolution rather low, 1024X768 I think and when you open Gimp before, one of the toolbars was so long I could not see the bottom and that meant you can't vertically resize it.
So going to a much higher res allowed me to get the whole thing on the screen, resize it vertically and go back to lower res that she likes and I can see the whole box including the lower functions. Live and learn I guess.
I like to do these kind of things in several kinds of software just for comparison purposes so now I am off to Corel Draw X3 and see if the cntl C works there also.
One problem is the terminology is not the same for all these software suites, it might be 'trace' in X3 but 'free select' in Gimp. I don't see a 'free select' thing with those words in X3.
It turns out the similar function in X3 is called 'freehand tool' and I was able to outline a portion of a photo ok but when I hit cntl C and made a new template, the image did not go there, just the lines! So now I have to figure out how to get the image too! Interestingly, the resizing box inserts itself without having to make a special function move to get it.
Originally posted by sonhouseShot.
Hey thanks! That did it. I should have known to try cntl C, I use it all the time! go figure.
The only thing I missed from your post was doing cntl T instead of shift T for resizing. I had already figured out how to do it in open office presentation, I did Cntl V to put the image into open office and interestingly it had the resizing marks already in, wa ...[text shortened]... resizing box inserts itself without having to make a special function move to get it.
The Shift T works in GIMP, probably not in the others. Ctrl+N starts up new file wizard, I think, then you can paste it in there.
Some programs use "lasso" instead of free select.
Originally posted by CrowleyI wonder if there is a list somewhere of relative terms for these programs? I tried the same thing in Corel photopaint X3, but got nowhere, I know there must be a way but nothing is obvious. It seems more to the point for what I want, to use photopaint, I am not designing banners or logo's and such, just want to grab parts of photo's. At least I got it from one program anyway. I figure the more programs you can do a function in the better off you are because they all have features another on would miss.
Shot.
The Shift T works in GIMP, probably not in the others. Ctrl+N starts up new file wizard, I think, then you can paste it in there.
Some programs use "lasso" instead of free select.
http://www.google.com/cse?cx=002683415331144861350%3Atsq8didf9x0&q=photoshop+coreldraw+gimp+shortcuts&ie=utf-8&sa=Search
some graphics tutorials. the titles look interesting but i didn't actually click on them.
http://graphics-illustrations.com/tutorials
photoshop hotkeys
http://www.webdesign.org/photoshop/miscellaneous/hotkeys-keyboard-shortcuts.6165.html
hotkeys:
http://allhotkeys.com/coreldraw-12-hotkeys.html
http://allhotkeys.com/gimp-hotkeys.html
http://allhotkeys.com/paint_shop_pro_hotkeys.html
http://allhotkeys.com/adobe-photoshop-cs3-hotkeys.html