Reset selection feather

M
Posted By
Malameel
Feb 16, 2004
Views
1167
Replies
9
Status
Closed
Okay, weird explaination of my problem.

If I make a selection with the lasso tool around a person’s clothes and feather it at about 25, and then later decide that I need as part of the selection the entire person with a feather of say 5, it seems that would need to start the selection over because if I try to build off the first selection I will have a selection of 25 for the skin and then 5 for everything I selected later which gives bad masking results.

Also in a (related issue maybe?) If I have a mask around a person and I try to fill that selection I do not always get a solid color, but a gradiant as if there are smaller selections within the mask, yet there are no visiable selections (no running ants) anywhere to deselect.

So I guess the question boils down to how can I make a selection go to 0 feather and for the selection only apply to selection that is seen? (All of course without starting over… for all you smart@$$es! 🙂 )

I hope I was clear. Thanks.
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SF
Scott_Falkner
Feb 16, 2004
For the first issue, I suggest saving the selection before feathering it. You can also get pretty tricky with feathering by using a Gaussian lur on the mask. That’s the same thing as feathering, but you can blur diffent parts of he mask at different values.

And you won’t get marching ants around anyplace that is between 50% slected and 100% selected. Make the selection a mask (Q for quickmask) and use levels to turn all the dark grays black and all the light grays white.
M
Malameel
Feb 17, 2004
When using the levels to intensify the contrast, it minimizes the feathering which I do want. However, different places have different amounts which I want to syncronize to the same value.

You are right on saving the selection first, however, that doesn’t help me now unfortunetly once I already have several selections made. I am trying to avoid starting over.

Also, as far as blurring a mask, that is cool, yet if I need to make changes later, I want to reload the selection from the mask and change it and then refeather it and make my mask on an adjustment layer.

Finally, on the 50%-100% thing, how do I get rid of the unshown values?
M
Malameel
Feb 18, 2004
Anybody?
M
Malameel
Feb 20, 2004
Ah come on guys? Is only way to reduce or eliminate the feather on a selection is to recreate it? There has to be something.
CW
Colin_Walls
Feb 20, 2004
I am rather confused.

You seem to understand about selections and masks being the same thing, in effect [or, at least, the fact that they are interchangeable]. So what’s the problem? A feather on a selection is just a mask with a fuzzy edge. So why not just use the sharpen tool on the bit that you want less fuzzy [for example].

Personally, I only use a selection [no feather!] to create an initial mask and then use masks exclusively. Masks are reusable and flexible; selections are almost a one-way street.
O
Ol__Whozit
Feb 20, 2004
Do you understand how Feather works?
If you want to play with varying levels, turn off anti-alias when you make your original selection. That is the only way to set feather to ‘0’. Save the hard jagged edged thing, and then play with duplicates. If you feather a selection 25, and then feather another part of that selection at 5, you’ve reduced the edges of the portion further, losing detail. To then try to reassemble the data with the sharpen tool will result in distorted information.
In this situation, there is no way. You will have to start over. In the future, don’t feather your original selection.
M
Malameel
Feb 20, 2004
I am glad I got a repley, however I am not sure about your answer.

"To then try to reassemble the data with the sharpen tool will result in distorted information."

I guess you are talking about the mask. That I understand. I guess the short answer is start over if I already made the selection and later I needed to update a selection.
SA
Sven-Martin_Adelhoff
Feb 22, 2004
There is a function which sets all pixel below 50% (or any other value) to black, and all others to white. If have no idea how this is called in the english version (threshold?). It is in the same menu as curves, hue/saturation and that stuff. I guess, if you blur a black/white mask, then apply this function, you should end up right where you started
CW
Colin_Walls
Feb 22, 2004
S-M A:

Yes, if you changed a feathered selection to a mask, and then applied Threshold, that would work like you say.

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