CS4: Just can't get the hang of this tool

[::trainwreck::]

i avoid the arcs, make lots and lots and lots of little straight lines all around the apple.

lol, thats like the first thing they teach you NOT to do in school. Actually, the idea is to get it as close as possible with the least amount of points. I'm pretty skilled with the pen tool, but that comes from being a graphic design student and also using adobe illustrator a lot. It takes quite a bit practice, but the plus side is that it can be more accurate then some of the other selection tools. One of the differences between CS4 and PS Elements is that PSE doesn't have the pen tool [I sat there forever trying to figure how the hell I could get to it when I first got PSE].

 

[Peano]

To the OP, I would suggest searching on Google for Photoshop pen tool tutorial. You'll find tons of them, and most will be mediocre or worse. Amazing how many really bad tutorials there are on this one tool. They're full of bad information such as this one, which claims it is impossible to produce a segement on a circle larger than 90 degrees).

But if you search and spend lots of time checking out tutorials, I suspect you can find one that -- finally -- speaks in a way that makes sense to you.

 

[Jon_Are]

Peano, I did see that tutorial, and it cured one of my frustrations (I had been trying to make selections >90 degrees and it was not working).

So I'm assuming there is a technique for a larger arc?

In any case, pen tool learners should be aware that it's not a straightforward selection. Best to keep it <90 degrees when first learning.

Jon

 

[Peano]

Peano, I did see that tutorial, and it cured one of my frustrations (I had been trying to make selections >90 degrees and it was not working).

So I'm assuming there is a technique for a larger arc?

Yes.

 

[musicaleCA]

...Is it just me or should that method be common sense?

I just played around with the pen tool until I understood what it was doing.

 

[Photoartomation]

i'm using "extract" filter

 

[Jon_Are]

Fair enough, Peano, and nice demonstration.

However...

Now click (and drag) at 9:00 and tell/show me what you get.

Here's what I get: some crazy, oustside-the-circle loop that is impossible to align with the circle.

And when I try to adjust it, it moves my previous carefully-placed arc out of position.

Jon

 

[Peano]

Fair enough, Peano, and nice demonstration.

However...

Now click (and drag) at 9:00 and tell/show me what you get.

Here's what I get: some crazy, oustside-the-circle loop that is impossible to align with the circle.

And when I try to adjust it, it moves my previous carefully-placed arc out of position.

Jon

On this one I placed the three anchor points in arbitrary places. The key is adjusting the individual handles.

• If you can see the path but not the anchor points, you activate the path by Ctrl-clicking anywhere on it.
• If you can see anchor points but some handles aren't visible, control-click on the anchor point where you want to see both handles.
• To adjust one handle, Alt-click on it, then adjust. (Alt-clicking makes only that handle active, so you don't mess up the adjustment you made on the opposite side of that anchor point.)

 

[Jon_Are]

So, basically, it's a matter of drawing semi-rough arcs, then going back and adjusting every one?

I ask because I'm usually (eventually) able to make a decent selection once I've gone back and adjusted virtually every piece of the path. This takes some time and seems like a clunky way to get it done.

The many tutorials I've followed imply that you can get a near-perfect selection on the first trip around, then you might have to go back and tweak it here and there.

This does not seem possible to me because, when making the path around the object, I always run into the odd, random, crazy loopy section that will not behave.

I appreciate your patience with this,

Jon

 

[MelissaMarieImagery]

Pen Tool = Practice

the more you use it the better you'll get at it, just like most photoshopping tools.

 

[Peano]

So, basically, it's a matter of drawing semi-rough arcs, then going back and adjusting every one?

I ask because I'm usually (eventually) able to make a decent selection once I've gone back and adjusted virtually every piece of the path. This takes some time and seems like a clunky way to get it done.

The many tutorials I've followed imply that you can get a near-perfect selection on the first trip around, then you might have to go back and tweak it here and there.

This does not seem possible to me because, when making the path around the object, I always run into the odd, random, crazy loopy section that will not behave.

You can adjust each segment (between anchor points) as you go along, or you can lay down the anchor points first and then make adjustment to each segment. Either way, you have to adjust the handles individually on each segment. If a segment falls on exactly the path you want first time out, that's purely accidental. There's nothing automatic about the pen tool.

How klunky it is and how quickly and accurately you can work depends on practice -- just like golf clubs or piano keys.

Here's a video in real-time (no audio) so you can see exactly what I did in selecting around the circle.

http://www.radiantpics.com/pentool.swf

 

[Jon_Are]

There's nothing automatic about the pen tool.

Yeah, I know nothing is automatic. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it the hard way.

Here's a video in real-time (no audio) so you can see exactly what I did in selecting around the circle.

That looks pretty much the same as when I do it, a good bit of grabbing of handles and adjusting them.

You've gone above and beyond, Peano; in fact, you've done everything short of stopping by the house and showing me in person. Consider yourself thanked. :thumbup::thumbup:

Jon