Lesson 5
Cleaning an Image
Plus - Hints for Scanning Images.

by Maureen Williams

In this lesson we will be using the Eraser Tool 
and recapping on the tools used in previous lessons. 
If unsure how to proceed, refer to the instructions in the earlier lessons..

Requirements: 
Paint Shop Pro - download a free 30-day trial from Jasc Software
     (I am using PSP 7.04 but these instructions should also work with other versions)

An image of your choice or use the one provided.

A scanner if you wish to scan your own image.

Remember to save frequently!

The picture used in this lesson was cut from some old wrapping paper and has very simple lines for you to start with. Practice cleaning images as this will be a crucial step in a lot of future projects in this group

You may say "why bother scanning the image when I can just cut out the wrapping paper". 

This is true, but by scanning a favourite wrapping paper you will always have the image if you want to use it again. How many times have you tried to find a particular sheet of wrapping paper you bought a couple of years ago or someone has given you just one or two pictures, which you really like?

Using a cleaned image allows you to position a variety of different images to create a unique background for a diorama.

 Step One

Left click on the image to obtain a larger picture. 
Right click on the larger  image and select Copy. 

Open PSP, right click and select Paste as New Image.
 Alternatively, you may prefer to save the image to your hard drive.

Step Two

 In the Layer Palette right click on the Background Layer and select Promote to Layer.

Step Three

Click on the Zoom Tool and enlarge the image for easier working.

Step Four

Select the Lasso Tool set to Point to Point, with Antialias checked. 

Step Five

Select a starting point and take small steps to trace around a section of the outline of the image.
Move the cursor out away from the image, then go across and back in to the starting point.

 Right click inside the selection. You will notice the "marching ants" around the selected area.
 Hit your Delete key.

Note:  If you don't see the checks but instead the area fills with colour you forgot
 to Promote the Layer before you started. Go back to Step Two.

Step Six

Work around the edge in this manner, removing a border right around the image.
Don't worry too much about being absolutely precise at this stage - we will tackle any touch ups later.
 The main thing is not to bite into the image we want to keep.

Step Seven

Once you have cleaned a border use the Lasso tool to encircle the image, 
being careful not to touch any of the outer section of the wrapping paper background.

 Right click to join up the outline and do a single left click in the centre of the image. 
You will see the marching ants have now outlined the image.

Step Eight

Go to Selections, Invert and then hit the Delete key.

Your image should now have a transparent background 
(shown as the little checks of the work surface in PSP).

CTRL+D to Deselect.

Step Nine

In the Layer Palette click on the Create Layer icon (far left) to create a new layer.
(or go to Layers, Create New Raster Layer).
Drag this layer to the bottom (or click on Layers, Arrange, Send to Bottom)
Flood fill this new layer (Layer2) with a bright colour that isn't in your image.
 Don't worry - this is only  a temporary layer to help with the final clean up.

 

Step Ten

Make sure you are on your Image layer (layer 1 in the layer palette) 
Zoom in so you can see the individual pixels. I used 4:1.
Select the Eraser Tool set to 1.

As you work around the edge of your image the pixels in the original 
background colour will show up against the bright colour you have chosen.

Click on any stray individual pixels to erase them.
 If you make a mistake just Undo (this key is your friend!)

Step Eleven

Once you are happy with your cleaned image hold  down the Left Mouse Button
 on Layer1 (the image layer) and drag it onto the PSP workspace.
This will give you a cropped version of your image without the green background layer.

Alternatively, you can delete the green layer (layer2) from your working image
 and then manually crop your image.

You can now save your image as a .psp file or export it as a tube if you want to use it again later.
See Lesson 6 - How to Create a Tube.

I hope you've been able to follow this tutorial. 
If you have any problems don't hesitate to email me.

Hints for Scanning Images

• Always scan at a high resolution - I would suggest 300 dpi as a minimum. 
  You can always reduce the size of an scanned image in PSP without losing any detail. However, if you try to enlarge a small image it becomes very pixelated and blocky where the computer tries to compensate for missing pixels.

• Only scan the area you wish to use (not the whole page). Do a preview of your image and select your chosen area to scan. This will reduce the size of your transfer file if you have problems with space on your computer and will process much quicker than scanning unnecessary background areas.

• If you have a Magazine setting on your scanner, experiment with using it, as this will give you a clearer scanned image without artefacts or lines spoiling the result.

• Unless you understand what each of the settings on your scanner do, choose the highest quality Preset available. e.g. on my scanner I use Colour Photo (fine) rather than just the Colour Photo setting.

If you have any queries regarding scanning images or your particular scanner settings
 feel free to post the question to the group as someone may also have the same
 scanner and be able to give you some pointers for getting a better scanned image.

Revision Plan

Scan and Clean some of your favourite wrapping paper 
or other images using the above instructions.
Save in .psp format. We will be using these in the next lesson.

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