Modifying and touching up your pictures

The following sections describe how to:

• retouch pictures using the zoom tool and brush tool
• use masking to protect portions of your images
• change color images to black and white
• blank out uniform or non-uniform backgrounds

Retouching a picture

When you need to retouch a picture you can use the restore tool or you can use the zoom and brush tools. (For more information on the restore tool, see "Undoing a step" on page 419.)

To retouch with the zoom and brush tools:

1. Zoom in on the area of the canvas that you wish to retouch.

   You may need to zoom in more than once to get the desired magnification.

2. Select the brush tool and set the desired options.
3. To match the color of the area being retouched, use the pick button on the palette tool to pick the color from the area.

   If you want to use more than one color, you can use the pick button and the put option to place the colors on the block palette.

   For more information on the pick button and the put option, see "Using the swatches" on page 382 or "Using the swatches" on page 383.

4. Touch up the zoomed image using the selected brush and color.

Using masking to protect portions of your picture

Masking is a way to block off portions of your images so that they are not affected by VizPaint2D operations.

With VizPaint2D, you can:

• use the paint tools to place a mask over the parts of an image that you want to protect
• generate a mask from the alpha channel, chrominance, or luminance-using all or part of an image
• switch the positive and negative portions of an existing mask so that the mask is the only portion of an image that is affected by paint operations
• read and write mask files

Setting up

1. Load the picture you want to mask.
2. Use the setup tool to choose a color for displaying the mask.

   This color affects only how the mask is displayed. Choose a color that contrasts with the picture displayed on the canvas.

3. Display the paint mode tool. Select the mask paint option and the rgb mask display option.

   The mask paint option specifies that the work you do will only affect the mask. The rgb mask display option displays both your mask and the picture you have loaded.

Creating masks

• You can create the mask using the paint tools.

  The brush, fill, grade, line, and shapes tools can all be used to create masks. These tools work the same when used for masks as they do for other operations.

  However, the only modes available are over, erase, and replace. This is because masks are always placed over images.

• If you prefer, you can create masks from a picture's luminance or chrominance values.

  Select picture(TM)make mask to display the make mask tool. Use the sliders and the color selector to choose a luminance or chrominance range and create the mask.

Modifying existing masks

• You can create a negative of the mask using the invert option in the make mask tool.
• Use other VizPaint2D operations with masks.

  Paint options such as flip, reflect, and so on, work the same way for masks as they do for regular images. Again, be sure that the mask paint option is selected.

Erasing masks

• To erase portions of a mask, use the erase option in the brush tool.
• To clear the entire mask, use the clear tool.

Saving mask files

Masks are saved separately from pictures in mask files. Mask files use the extension .msk.

1. To save a mask, use the save tool.
2. Enter a name for the mask file and select msk in the format list.

   We recommend using the same filename for the mask file and the image file. The filenames will remind you that the files go together; their extensions will indicate which is the image and which is the mask.

To load a mask with its associated image

In the paint mode tool, select the rgb-mask display mode. This will allow you to see both the mask and the image when you import them.

1. Load the image using picture(TM)load.
2. Now, load the mask (.msk extension) with picture(TM)load.

   Make sure that you've selected the mask paint mode in the paint mode tool.

3. Select the canvas that contains the rgb image.
4. Select paste-up(TM)paste.
5. Choose the name of the canvas that contains mask file.

   The paste tool will display a swatch of the mask, which should be monochrome.

6. Paste the mask into the rgb canvas.

Changing a color image to black and white

You can use the grade tool to change all or part of a color image to black and white. For basic information on the grade tool, see "Undoing a step" on page 404.

To change a color image to a black and white image:

1. Select the grade tool.

   If your image does not cover the entire canvas, click part and position the outline tool around the area that you want to change.

2. Select saturation from the mode pull-down menu.
3. Select a very desaturated color (like white) for the left/top and the right/bottom color.
4. Click grade.

The image changes from a color image to a black-and-white image.

Changing the color of an object on the canvas

You can change the color of an object that was not created in VizPaint2D with the fill tool. For basic information on the fill tool, see "Undoing a step" on page 402.

To change the color of an object:

1. Select the fill tool and click part.
2. Set the range to a low value (around 10).
3. Select the new color from the palette tool and click on the fill color selector.
4. Adjust the outline tool so that it just encloses the object you want to fill.
5. Move the seed point to the object being filled.
6. Click fill.

The new color is painted on the image.

Blanking out a background

If the background of a canvas is relatively uniform and contrasts well with the foreground, you can blank it out using the fill tool. For basic information on the fill tool, see "Undoing a step" on page 402.

To blank out a uniform background:

1. Select a low range (around 10).
2. Move the seed point to the background area being filled.
3. Select erase from the mode pull-down menu.
4. Click fill.

If the background is less uniform and does not have a great deal of contrast with the foreground, use the brush tool to create a contrasting outline around the background area. If necessary for greater precision, you can use the zoom tool to zoom in on a picture.

To blank out a background that is not uniform:

1. Use the brush tool to paint an outline around the area you want to fill.
2. Select the fill tool.
3. Select a medium range (around 50 or 60).
4. Move the seed point to the background area being filled.
5. Select erase from the mode pull-down menu.
6. Click fill.

   The area within the outline is erased.

7. To erase the outline, move the seed point to the outline and click fill.