Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers - Martin Evening [229]
Figure 9.63 The easiest way to get accustomed to working with the pen tool is to go to the Pen Options in the Options bar and check the Rubber Band option (circled).
Nudging with the arrow keys
When an anchor point is selected and you need to position it accurately, it can be nudged using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
Hiding/showing layer/vector masks
You can temporarily hide/show a layer mask by -clicking on the layer mask icon. Also, clicking a vector mask's icon in the Layers panel hides the path itself. Once hidden, hover over it with the cursor and it will temporarily become visible. Click it again to restore the visibility.
Vector masks
A vector mask is just like an image layer mask, except the mask is described using a vector path (Figure 9.64). A vector mask is therefore resolution-independent and can be transformed or scaled in size without any loss in quality and the mask can be edited using the pen path or shape tools. To add a vector mask from an existing path, go to the Paths panel, select a path to make it active, and choose Layer Add Vector Mask Current Path. Alternatively, you can go to the Masks panel and click on the ‘Add vector mask’ button (see Figure 9.23 on page 470).
Figure 9.23 The Masks panel controls.
Figure 9.64 A vector mask can be created from a currently active path such as the one displayed here in the image on the left. The path mode infl uences what is hidden and what is revealed when the path is converted into a vector mask, and if a path has been created in the ‘subtract from path area’ mode (as in the middle example), the area inside the path outline is hidden. If the path is created in the ‘add to path area’ mode (as in the right-hand example) the gray fill in the path icon represents the hidden areas, where everything outside the path outline is hidden. However, it is very easy to alter the path mode. Select the path selection tool (shown above), and click on the path to make all the path points active. You can then click on the path mode buttons in the Options bar to switch between the different path modes.
Isolating an object from the background
Let's now look at a practical example of where you might want to use a vector path to mask an object in preference to using a pixel layer mask. Remember, one of the benefits of using a vector mask is that you can use the direct path selection tool to manipulate the path points and fine-tune the outline of the vector mask.
1.
Here I used the pen tool to define the outline of the train and the mono rail. Note that the pen tool was in the path mode (circled green in the Options bar). Also, because I wanted to create a path that selected everything outside of the enclosed path, I checked the Subtract from Path Area button (circled in red) before I began drawing the path. When the path was complete, I went to the Paths panel, double-clicked the ‘Work Path’ name and clicked OK to rename it as ‘Path 1’ in the Save Path dialog. This saved the work path as a new permanent path. It is important to remember here that a work path is only temporary and will be overwritten as soon as you deselect it and create a new work path.
2.
With the Path 1 active, and white as the foreground color in the tools panel, I clicked on the Add New Adjustment Layer button in the Layers panel and selected the Gradient Fill option. I chose the foreground color (white) to transparency gradient and added this as a linear gradient using the settings shown here. This added a fog effect to the scene and as you can see, the vector mask prevented the Gradient Fill adjustment from being applied to the train and the mono rail.
3.
To make the scene look a little more like winter, I added a Photo Filter adjustment sandwiched between the Background layer and the Gradient Fill layer, then selected a cooling filter color from the Filter menu options.
Chapter 10. Essential Filters for Photo Editing
One of the key factors behind Photoshop's success has been the program's support for plug-in filters. A huge industry of third-party