Effective cutouts using Photoshop

Hello!
The following tutorial should help anyone looking to improve their ability to cut out images in photoshop. Having worked as a graphic designer and layout artist for over 10 years now, I have seen every level of cutout from crappy rough edges to the superbly flawless. When done right, and incorporated into a composition thoughtfully, cutouts can add pop and interest to final imagery.

Images to cut

I will be using the following 2 examples. The one on the left represents the minority of all photos that most designers will work with. It is high contrast and therefore very easy to work with and cut out. It is the type of image we all wish we could work with all the time.

The second image represents the majority of images that, in reality, we will work with most of the time. This would be considered more difficult and requires a bit more patience and skill to cut out.

Photo on left from Shutterstock.com. Photo on right from Deseret News by Jeffrey D. Allred.

Using the 'Select and Mask...' option

Lets get started with the easy photo of the Mom and girl. After opening activate the lasso (L) tool in the tools palette. Once selected the 'Select and Mask...' option will show up in the options bar at the top of the screen.

Select and mask interface

Once you click on 'Select and mask...' a new interface will fill your screen. This work space' sole purpose is to help you make the best selection for your image, as quickly as possible.

Leia Organa speed photo manipulation video

Thought I would post this little video I made showing (In fast forward) how I created the fan art of Leia last month. This was fun. Took a couple hours. Enjoy!

Cub Scout Money

Thought I would share this little project I did in Gimp 2.8.

I took an image of a normal Dollar bill and altered it with the appropriate images and text in Gimp.

My wife is using these as part of a little store for the scouts. If they behave well they get these scout bucks they can save up to purchase things in the store. So far it seems to be working well.

Here is a link to the 11x17 pdf file if there are any den leaders out there who would like to print these for their own purposes.

Captain America Photo composite

Hello people of the internet

The following is a Photo illustration I did for my brothers Birthday last August. This was a lot of fun. I created a video for this documenting my progress in Gimp 2.8. It is a speed painting of sorts, so no explanatory dialogue. Hope you enjoy

Blue version

 Green version. I changed the letter on forehead to a 'G' on this version