Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
POWER USERS' CLINIC: SMOOTHING AND BORDERING
Most of the time, you'll probably use Refine Edge to fine-tune your selections, but Elements
gives you two other ways to tweak selection outlines:
▪
Smoothing
(Select→Modify→Smooth) is a not-always-dependable way to clean up ragged
spots in a color-based selection (the kind you'd make with the Magic Wand, for instance).
You enter a pixel value in the Smooth Selection dialog box, and Elements evens out your se-
lection based on that number by searching for similarly colored pixels. For example, if you
enter
5
, Elements looks at a 5-pixel radius around each pixel in your selection. In areas where
most of the pixels are already selected, it adds in the others. In areas where most pixels
aren't
selected, it deselects the ones that were selected to get rid of jagged edges and holes in the se-
lection. This command is handy, but smoothing is sometimes hard to control. Usually it's
easier to clean up your selection by hand with the Selection Brush.
▪
Bordering
(Select→Modify→Border) adds an anti-aliased, transparent border to your selec-
tion. You can think of this command as selecting the selection's outline. You might use it
when your selection's edges are too hard and you want to soften them, although you're prob-
ably better off using Refine Edge instead. But if you go this route, enter a border width in the
Border Selection dialog box, and then click OK. Elements then selects only the border of
your selection, so you can also apply a slight Gaussian blur (see
Gaussian Blur: Drawing At-
tention to an Object
)
to soften that part of the photo.
Reshaping Selections
Transform Selection is a useful feature, but it has some limitations. For example, you can't
use it to completely change the shape of your selection: If you started with a rectangular se-
lection, you can't curve one side of the selection. Not to worry, though. Elements 13 includes
a new tool just for adjusting and cleaning up selections after you've made them: the Refine
Selection Brush.
If you've ever tried to make a difficult selection, you know how time consuming it can be.
The Refine Selection Brush is intended to simplify the process by making it easy to refine
rough selections. This brush analyzes your photo and looks for edges within the area you
brush over so that it can snap your selection to the bounds of objects in your photo. It's a bit
fiddly, but here's how to use it:
1.
Make a selection
.
