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Create a mask/marquee selection from an object/image?


Grudunza

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Hi there. I'm relatively new to PS, having used Corel Photo-Paint for years. PS is much better in many respects, but there are a few tasks I was easily able to do in PP that I'm having trouble figuring out in PS. So I'll really appreciate your help.

Anyway, here's what I'm trying to do...

I have a large image, and I want to cut out pieces of that image that are in the shape of a different image. How do I get transparent PNG image to create a mask or marquee which I can then use to copy pieces from the larger image?

In Photo-Paint this was easily done using the "Create Mask from Object" function. You could select an object, then choose "create mask from object," which would highlight that object, then if you deleted that selected object, it would leave you with a mask that you could move around to capture parts of the image underneath the object. Presumably there are ways in PS to do that using the mask layers, right?
 

IamSam

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Hello and welcome to PSG.

Here are two ways.

One.
Create a selection of the object in your "different image".
Go to SELECT > SAVE SELECTION > give it a name.

Switch over to your "large image" document and got to SELECT > LOAD SELECTION > Under source document, choose the "different image" document and click OK.
You can drag a selection (marching ants) using one of Photoshop’s selection tools.
Once the selection is where you want it, click the "add layer mask" icon located at the bottom of the layers panel or go to LAYER > LAYER MASK > and choose hide or reveal all.

Two
You can drag a selection (marching ants) from one document to another while using one of Photoshop’s selection tools.

Create a selection of the object in your "different image".
Using one of the Selection Tools, drag the selection to the "large image".
Once the selection is where you want it, click the "add layer mask" icon located at the bottom of the layers panel or go to LAYER > LAYER MASK > and choose hide or reveal all.
 

Grudunza

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When I have the smaller image dragged into the larger one, after clicking "Add layer mask," when I go to LAYER > LAYER MASK both "hide all" and "reveal all" are grayed out.

??
 

gedstar

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I think you misunderstood what Sam said.
"Once the selection is where you want it, click the "add layer mask" icon located at the bottom of the layers panel or go to LAYER > LAYER MASK > and choose hide or reveal all"


Going to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All is the same as using the Layer Mask Icon, if you use the Alt key and hit the Layer Mask Icon it's the same as going to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All
You have already added a Layer Mask so the options to Reveal and Hide are going to be greyed out

You can use Ctrl + I to invert the Mask

Take a look here
http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/layers/layer-masks/
 
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Grudunza

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Right, I missed the "or," but regardless, it's not doing what I'm asking for. I'll put a picture together to try to explain it better.
 

IamSam

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When I have the smaller image dragged into the larger one, after clicking "Add layer mask," when I go to LAYER > LAYER MASK both "hide all" and "reveal all" are grayed out.

??
Are you dragging the image OR the selection of the image? You should be dragging the selection ONLY.

If you have dragged the image itself into the document, just highlight that layer, make a selection of the object, highlight the layer you wish to mask and click the "add layer ask" icon.

Check the visual here: http://www.creativetechs.com/tipsblog/drag-photoshop-selections-between-documents/
 
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Grudunza

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Okay, so I have an image here (PIC 1) with several different pictures I want to cut out of it, to be able to make each of those cutouts its own file...

psdg_1.jpg

Then I select the marquee circle and select one of them:

psdg_2.jpg

And then I can copy that selection and paste it to a new file to be able to save that new file as its own PNG (CUTOUT A):

psdg_3.jpg

And back in PIC 1, I can move the marquee circle to be able to do the same thing with the rest of the things I want to cut out, ending up with 10 individual PNG files like CUTOUT A:

psdg_4.jpg

But now I will open a new image (PIC 2), similar to the first:

psdg_5.jpg

And I drag CUTOUT A into PIC 2, because I want to be able to do the same cutouts on PIC 2 and have them be the exact same size/shape as the cutouts I did on PIC 1:

psdg_6.jpg

But how do I then get a marquee selection from CUTOUT A? (I did a marquee circle in this image to show what I want to be left with, but what I really want is for that marquee circle to have been created from CUTOUT A, so it matches its size/shape.)

psdg_7.jpg

Merely making a layer mask of CUTOUT A doesn't accomplish that, or at least, if so, then there's some kind of step that I'm missing or not understanding. As I explained originally, in Corel Photo-Paint, there is a way to select an object as a mask, and then delete the object while retaining its shape as a mask that you can then use in the same way as the marquee selection here. Is there some way to delete the image (CUTOUT A) while retaining its shape to use as the marquee selection?

Or, there's a probably a simpler way to do that whole kind of thing... Maybe a way to define or save a marquee selection to be able to re-use it later? That would work, too.
 

Grudunza

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Grudunza

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I got it. If I'm in the CUTOUT A file, and do SELECT > FOCUS AREA, and then click on the Marquee tool, I can then drag just the selected marquee circle over to the other image. That's what I was looking to do.

Thanks so much for the responses.
 

IamSam

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I wouldn't use the drag technique to drag a marquee selection from one document to another, I would do this........

me said:
One.
Create a selection of the object in your "different image".
Go to SELECT > SAVE SELECTION > give it a name.

Switch over to your "large image" document and got to SELECT > LOAD SELECTION > Under source document, choose the "different image" document and click OK.
You can drag a selection (marching ants) using one of Photoshop’s selection tools.
Once the selection is where you want it, click the "add layer mask" icon located at the bottom of the layers panel or go to LAYER > LAYER MASK > and choose hide or reveal all.
 

Grudunza

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I wouldn't use the drag technique to drag a marquee selection from one document to another, I would do this........

That seems more convoluted, and also doesn't seem to work. I can do the SAVE SELECTION in the cutout image...

psdg_8.jpg

But in my large image, when I do LOAD SELECTION, it's not giving me an option to choose any other document (note that UNTITLED-1 is not available)...

psdg_9.jpg

But regardless, dragging the selection to the larger image is one step, essentially. Saving the selection and loading it in the other picture is two steps, plus extra folder clicks. Now that I know how to do what I want, I'll stick with just dragging the selection over.
 

IamSam

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OK, if that's easier for you.


EDIT: You can drag the marquee selection to the tab if your using tabbed documents!
 
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