Melon Head

Melon Head Tutorial

Working With Selection Tools in Adobe Photoshop

You will be following along with an Adobe Photoshop tutorial taking small images of fruit and creating Chef Melonhead shown to the right.

We are starting with this activity in order to get a grasp of how to manipulate images using the tools in Photoshop.

In this lesson you will learn the following:

  1. Use the marquee, lasso, and magic wand tools to select parts of an image in various ways
  2. Reposition a selection marquee
  3. Deselect a selection
  4. Move and duplicate a selection
  5. Constrain the movement of a selection
  6. Adjust a selection with the arrow keys
  7. Add to and subtract from selections
  8. Rotate, scale, and transform a selection
  9. Combine selection tools
  10. Crop an image

Getting Started

  1. Create a new folder in your Digital Media folder and title it "melonHead"
  2. Right click on the image of the fruit below. Save it as "Fruits" in the "melonHead" folder
Fruits

Tool Overview

Selection Tools

Note: In this lesson, you will use just the marquee, lasso, magic wand, and move tools

Selecting with the Elliptical Marquee Tool

You’ll use the elliptical marquee tool to select eyes for the face. Note that in most cases, making a new selection replaces the existing selection.

  1. Select the zoom tool (small magnifying class) and click twice on the blueberry to zoom in to a 300% view
  2. Hold down the mouse button on the rectangular marquee tool, and drag to the elliptical marquee tool (make sure it is the round one – under the rectangle)
  3. Move the pointer over the blueberry, and drag it diagonally from the top left to the bottom right edge of the blueberry to create a selection. Do not release the mouse button

Repositioning a Selection Border While Creating It

If a selection border isn’t placed exactly where you want it, you can adjust its position and size while creating it.

  1. Still holding down the mouse button, hold down the spacebar and drag the selection. The border moves as you drag
  2. Release the spacebar (but not the mouse button), and drag again. Notice that when you drag without the spacebar, the size and shape of the selection changes, but its point of origin does not
  3. When the selection border is positioned and sized correctly, release the mouse button
Blueberries

Selecting From a Center Point

Sometimes it’s easier to make elliptical or rectangular selections by drawing a selection from the center point of the object to the outside edge. Using this method, you’ll reselect the blueberry.

  1. Choose Select > Deselect
  2. Position the marquee tool at the approximate center of the blueberry
  3. Click and begin dragging. Then, without releasing the mouse button, hold down Alt (Windows), and continue dragging the selection to the blueberry’s outer edge. Notice that the selection is centered over its starting point
  4. When you have the entire blueberry selected, release first the mouse button and then the Alt/Option key

If necessary, adjust the selection border using one of the methods you learned earlier.

Moving a Selection

Now you’ll use the move tool to move the blueberry onto the carrot slice to create an eye for the face.  Then you’ll duplicate and move the selection to make a second eye.

    Moving selection
  1. Make sure that the blueberry is selected. Then click the move tool (the arrow), and position the pointer within the blueberry’s selection. The pointer becomes an arrow with a pair of scissors to indicate that dragging the selection will cut it from its present location and move it to the new location
  2. Drag the blueberry onto the carrot slice
  3. Choose Select > Deselect
  4. Take the time to save. Choose File > Save as – Save as "melonhead" in the "melonHead" folder in the "digtial_media" folder

Moving and Duplicating Simultaneously

Next you’ll move and duplicate a selection simultaneously.

    Duplicate
  1. Choose View > Fit on Screen to resize the document to fit on your screen
  2. Select the Elliptical Marquee Tool
  3. Drag a selection around the carrot slice containing the blueberry. If necessary, adjust the selection border
  4. Click the Move Tool, then hold down the Alt key, and position the pointer within the selection. The pointer becomes a double arrow, which indicates a duplicate will be made when you move the selection.
  5. Continue holding down the Alt key, and drag a duplicate of the eye onto the left side of the melon face. Release the mouse button and the Alt key, but do not deselect the eye. Holding down Shift when you move a selection constrains the movement horizontally or vertically.  Using this technique, you’ll drag a copy of the left eye to the right side of the face so that the two eyes  are level.
  6. Hold down the Shift + Alt keys, and drag a copy of the eye to the right side of the face
Duplicate Finish

Moving with a Keyboard shortcut

Next you’ll select the kiwi fruit for the melon’s mouth and then move it onto the melon using a keyboard shortcut.

  1. Select the Elliptical Marquee tool from the toolbox
  2. Kiwi
  3. Drag a selection around the kiwi fruit using one of the methods you learned earlier
  4. With the marquee tool still selected, hold down the Control key, and position the pointer within the selection. A pair of scissors appears with the pointer to indicate the selection will be cut from its current location
  5. Drag the kiwi mouth onto the face. Do not deselect

Moving with the Arrow Keys

You can make minor adjustments to the position of a selection using the arrow keys, which allows you to nudge the selection.

Note: The arrow keys adjust the position of a selection only if you’ve already moved the selection or if you have the move tool selected. If you try the arrow keys on a selection that has not yet been moved, they will adjust the selection border, not the part of the image that is selected.

  1. Press the up arrow key a few times to move the mouth upward. Notice that each time you press the arrow key, the mouth moves in 1-pixel increments. Experiment with the other arrow keys to see how they affect the selection
  2. Now hold down Shift and press an arrow key. Notice that the selection moves in 10-pixel increments
  3. Use the arrow keys to nudge the mouth until it is positioned where you want it. Then choose View > Show Edges
  4. Choose File > Save

Selecting with the Magic Wand

The magic wand tool lets you select adjacent pixels in an image based on their similarity in color. You’ll use the magic wand tool to select the pear tomato, which you’ll use as a nose for the face.

  1. Double-click the Magic Wand tool (looks kinda like a cigarette ) in the toolbox to select the tool Note: the options palette is towards the top of the photoshop document
    • In the Magic Wand Options palette, the Tolerance setting controls how many similar tones of a color are selected when you click an area. The default value is 32, indicating that 32 similar lighter tones and 32 similar darker tones will be selected
  2. For Tolerance, enter 50 to increase the number of shades that will be selected
  3. Click the Magic Wand tool anywhere within the pear tomato. Most of it will be selected
  4. To select the remaining area of the pear tomato, hold down Shift and click the unselected areas
    • Notice that a plus sign appears with the magic wand pointer indicating that you’re adding to the current selection
    Selection Tool
  5. When the pear tomato is completely selected, hold down Control, position the pointer within the selection, and drag the tomato nose onto the melon face
  6. Choose Select > Deselect
  7. Choose File > Save

Selecting with the Lasso Tool

You can use the lasso tool to make selections that require both freehand and straight lines. You’ll select a bow tie for the face using the lasso tool this way. It takes a bit of practice to use the lasso tool to alternate between straight line and freehand selections—if you make a mistake while you’re selecting the bow tie, simply deselect and start again.

  1. Select the Zoom tool, and click twice on the bow tie pasta to enlarge its view to 300%
  2. Select the lasso tool (little rope like thing). Starting at the top left corner of the bow tie pasta, drag to the right to create a freehand outline across the curves at the top of the bow tie. Continue holding down the mouse
  3. To select the right edge of the bow tie, hold down the Alt key, release the mouse button, and then begin outlining with short, straight lines by clicking along the edge. (Notice that the pointer changes from the lasso icon to the polygon lasso icon.) When you reach the bottom right corner of the bow tie, do not release the mouse button
  4. Release the Alt key, and drag to the left to create a freehand outline across the bottom of the bow tie. (The pointer returns to the lasso icon)
  5. Hold down the Alt key again, and click the mouse button along the left edge of the bow tie to draw straight lines
  6. To complete the selection, make sure that the last straight line crosses the start of the selection, release the Alt key, and then release the mouse button
  7. Bow Tie
  8. Choose View > Fit on Screen to resize the document to fit on your screen
  9. Hold down the Control key and drag the bow tie selection to the bottom of the melon face
  10. Choose File > Save

Adding and Subtracting Selections

Holding down the Shift key while you are selecting an area adds to the current selection; holding down the Alt key subtracts from the selection. You’ll now use these techniques with the lasso tool to perfect a rough selection of the mushroom image. The mushroom will become a hat for the melon face

  1. Select the zoom tool, and click twice on the mushroom to enlarge its view to 300%
  2. Select the lasso tool, and drag a rough outline around the mushroom (include some of the area outside the mushroom and some of the stem)
  3. Hold down Shift. A plus sign appears with the lasso tool pointer
  4. Drag the lasso tool around an area you want to add to the selection; then release the mouse button. The area is added to the current selection
Mushroom

Note: If you release the mouse button while drawing a selection with the lasso tool, the selection closes itself by drawing a straight line between the starting point and the point where you release the mouse. To create a more precise border, end the selection by crossing the starting point.

Subtracting Part of the Selection

  1. Hold down the Alt key . A minus sign appears with the lasso tool point
  2. Drag the lasso tool around an area you want to remove from the selection; then repeat the process until you’ve finished removing all the unwanted parts of the selection
  3. Mushroom 2
  4. Choose View > Fit on Screen
  5. To move the mushroom hat onto the melon head, hold down Alt+Control at the same time, and drag a copy of the mushroom to the top of the melon
  6. Choose File > Save

Selecting with the Magnetic Lasso

You can use the magnetic lasso tool to make freehand selections of areas with high contrast edges. When you draw with the magnetic lasso, the border automatically snaps to the edge you are tracing. You can also control the direction of the tool’s path by clicking the mouse to place occasional fastening points in the selection border.

You’ll now make an ear for the melon face by using the magnetic lasso to select the red part of the grapefruit slice.

  1. Select the zoom tool, and click the grapefruit slice to zoom in to a 200% view
  2. Hold down the mouse button on the lasso tool in the toolbox, and drag to the magnetic lasso tool to select it
  3. Now click once at the lower left corner of the red flesh of the grapefruit slice, release the mouse button, and begin tracing the outline of the flesh by dragging to the right over the curved upper edge. Notice that the tool snaps to the edge and automatically puts in fastening points
    • If you think the tool is not following the edge closely enough (in low contrast areas), you can place your own fastening point in the border by clicking the mouse button. You can add as many fastening points as you feel necessary. You can also remove fastening points and back up in the path by pressing the Delete key and moving the mouse back to the last remaining fastening point.
  4. When you reach the lower right corner of the grapefruit flesh, double-click the mouse button, which signals the magnetic lasso tool to return to the starting point and close the selection. Notice that the tool automatically follows the remaining edge of the flesh as it completes the border. You can now move the selected part of the grapefruit next to the melon
  5. Orange
  6. Double-click the hand tool to fit the image on screen
  7. Click the move tool, and drag the grapefruit ear to the middle of the left side of the melon face. Do not deselect
  8. Choose File > Save

Transforming a Selection

Next you’ll use the Free Transform command to rotate and scale the melon’s left ear, and then you’ll duplicate and flip a copy to create a right ear.

  1. Choose Image>Transform > Free Transform. A bounding box appears around the ear selection
  2. To rotate the ear, position the pointer outside a corner handle until you see a double-headed arrow, and then drag in the direction you want the ear to rotate. Notice that the ear rotates around the selection’s center point
  3. To scale the ear, position the pointer directly on one of the corner handles, and drag to reduce the size of the ear. To scale the ear proportionately, hold down Shift as you drag
  4. To reposition the ear, place your pointer within the bounding box, but not on the center point, and drag
    • Note: If you place the pointer on the center point and drag, you will move the center point. If you don’t like the results of a Free Transform, press Escape and start over
    ear
  5. When you have the ear positioned correctly, press Enter to apply the transformation. The ear remains selected

You will now move a copy of the ear to the right side of the face, flip the ear horizontally, and finetune its placement.

  1. Position the pointer within the ear selection, hold down Shift+Alt and drag a copy of the ear to the right side of the face
  2. Choose Image>Rotate> Flip Horizontal
  3. If necessary, place the pointer within the selection, and drag to reposition it next to the melon face
  4. If necessary, choose Image > Free Transform, rotate the ear to fit the right side of the face, and press Enter to complete the transformation
  5. Choose File > Save

Combining Selection Tools

As you already know, the magic wand tool makes selections based on color. If an object you want to select is on a solid-colored background, it can be much easier to select the object and the background and then use the magic wand tool to subtract the background color, leaving the desired object selected.

You’ll see how this works by using the rectangular marquee tool and the magic wand tool to select radish eyebrows for the face.

  1. Hold down the mouse button on the elliptical marquee tool, and drag to the rectangular marquee tool
  2. Drag a selection around the radishes. Notice that some of the white background is included in the selection.
  3. At this point, the radishes and the white background area are selected. You’ll subtract the white area from the selection, resulting in only the radishes being selected
  4. Click the magic wand tool in the toolbox; then hold down the Alt key. A minus sign appears with the magic wand pointer
  5. Click anywhere in the white area surrounding the radishes. Now only the radishes are selected
  6. Eybrows
  7. To duplicate and move the radish eyebrow to the melon face, hold down Alt+Control ) and drag the radish above the left eye on the melon face. Do not deselect
  8. Eybrows finish
  9. Hold down Shift+Alt+Control, position the pointer within the selection, and drag to duplicate and reposition another eyebrow above the right eye
  10. Choose Image>Rotate> Flip Layer Horizontal to adjust the right eyebrow. If you like, reposition the eyebrow using any of the methods you’ve learned
  11. Choose File > Save

Cropping the Completed Image

To complete the artwork, you’ll crop the image to a final size.

    Crop
  1. Choose the crop tool from the toolbox
  2. Move the pointer into the image window, and drag diagonally from the top left to the bottom right corner of the completed artwork to create a crop marquee
  3. If you need to reposition the crop marquee, position the pointer anywhere inside the marquee and drag
  4. If you want to resize the marquee, drag a handle
  5. When the marquee is positioned where you want it, press Enter to crop the image
  6. Choose File > Save
  7. Choose File > Save for Web>melonhead (this will make your image a jpeg)
  8. Place on your daily log and worklinks – Make sure you put on the jpeg – not the psd