Fireworks MX: Bitmap Selections: Combining Tools to Isolate
and Duplicate Objects
Version:
Fireworks MX
Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Objectives: Create a selection
around an object by combining several bitmap selection tools.
Tools & Techniques: Lasso Tool,
Oval Marquee Tool, Magic Wand Tool, Isolating and Selecting
Objects, Bitmap Selections, Adding and Subtracting Selections
Preview final |
View the QuickTime Movie
Often when creating more difficult selections, you'll find by
combining your bitmap selection tools you can more efficiently
create your selection.
If you previewed the
final example you can see how beneficial selections are. By
creating the bitmap selection around her hat, we were then able
to duplicate the hat selection and modify the colors of each
copy.
We finished the project by using the Swap Image behavior in
Fireworks MX to add the interactivity to the page.
Step 1: Selecting the Right
Tool for the Job
In this example the object we want to select is this woman's
hat. We're not going to select it to delete it. We only want to
create a selection around the hat for the purpose of creating
multiple copies of the hat and then changing the color of each
of the duplicate hats.
Since this example is working with the selection tools, the
Lasso Tool (L) will most likely be our best tool. But before
we begin creating a detailed selection around her hat using the
Lasso Tool (L) (which can be a tedious job for even the most
seasoned designer) we should take a look at the area just
outside the hat.
For the most part, the area behind her hat is monochromatic.
There is the grayish/off white sand area and then there's the
sea or sky behind her. With the exception of the subtle texture
in those areas as well as the slight gradation between them, we
can treat each area as a solid color.
This is helpful to know, especially if our goal was to remove
the woman from the background. Let's take a moment and review
the steps we'd take if we wanted to remove the woman from the
background.
- Selecting the
Magic Wand Tool (W) with a
Tolerance of 20 and the Edge set
to Anti-Alias, click once in the sand area (Depending
on the image and type of new background, you may find setting
the Edge to Feather with an Amount of 1
would work better)
- Hold down the Shift key and click again in the top area
where the sea is
- Continue Shift-Clicking
until you've selected enough of the background that would
enable you to remove it
In this example we now have enough of the background that we
could easily remove it using the
Eraser Tool (E) to remove the extra area.
But we're not selecting the the background in this example.
We only want to select and duplicate the woman's hat. We can use
one of the background techniques to assist us in creating our
hat selection.
Select either the
Lasso Tool (L) or one of the
Oval Marquee Tools with the Edge set to Anti-Alias and
create a loose selection around the woman's hat as show in the
example below:
Step 2: Creating Reverse
Selections
Once the loose selection is created we can apply the same
selection technique we used earlier when we used the
Magic Wand Tool (W) to add selections. This time, however,
we'll subtract from the selection
Select the
Magic Wand Tool (W)
- Set the Edge to Anti-Alias
and the Tolerance to around 20
(this number will vary depending on each image and situation
but it's a good starting point in most cases)
- Click and hold the Alt Key
with the
Magic Wand Tool (W) selected and begin clicking inside the
selection. You will see a minus sign
next to the Magic Wand Tool
indicating you're ready to begin subtracting from the
selection
- Continue Alt-Clicking until
you've selected everything inside the original selection
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