Floating objects

[Valboo Profile Private message]

After seeing Rick's tutorial on keyframing and Cherub's pencil show, I'm wondering if there is a tutorial out there to show how you have objects (i.e. the baseball bat and ball or the pencils) seemingly floating through air. I think I can handle the keyframing now but have no idea how the actual pictures are developed. Can anyone help me on this, or is there a tutorial that shows how it is done?

Once again, your assistance would be appreciated.

Val

[nannybear Profile Private messageWebsite]

Hi Val, What those would be are transparent png files. All that is visible is just the bat or the ball etc. Then you just move it around using keyframes. Hope this helps. You would build these in an image editor. I use Adobe Photoshop CS2. Cheers Jan

[Valboo Profile Private message]

Thanks, Jan. . .I thought that was how it had to be done. Guess I have to upgrade my Photoshop Elements 3 as I think it will be easier to do it in the newer version.

Val

[Mike S.]

Thanks, Jan. . .I thought that was how it had to be done. Guess I have to upgrade my Photoshop Elements 3 as I think it will be easier to do it in the newer version.
Val

Val,

I haven't used PS Elements 3 but try this to see if it works. It does work in PSE4.

1. Open a photo that contains something that you want to float.
2. Create a duplicate layer by going to the layers palette and dragging the background layer to the "new layer" icon. In PSE4 that icon is in the upper part of the layers palette and looks like a small screen over a larger screen. The duplicate layer created will be named "background copy" though you can rename it to anything you want.
3. Delete the background layer by right clicking it in the layers palette and clicking delete or drag it over the trashcan icon.
4. Click the eraser tool in the tool palette at the left side of the screen. It is the 16th icon down from the top in PSE4.
5. Make the brush size larger or smaller to your liking by pressing the [ or ] keys.
6. Erase the portions of the photo that you don't want. Those erased portions should show a checkerboard pattern which indicates alpha transparency.
7. Save the photo in the .PSD format.

When this photo is inserted as an upper layer in Proshow, it should just show the object you wanted to float. Put movement on this layer to make the object float around the screen.

Once you get the idea, don't delete the original background photo as in step-3 above. Instead click the eye icon in the layers palette for the background layer to make the background layer transparent. Then be sure to click the "background copy" layer to make it the active layer and continue with steps 4-6. Do your intermediate saves while erasing what you don't want from the photo with the background layer still existing. This will allow you to correct previously erased portions of the "background copy" layer by using the original background layer.

After all editing is complete, then delete the background layer and save only the "background copy" layer which will have transparency as a .PSD file. This will be the file you use in Proshow.

Mike S.

[cherub Profile Private messageWebsite]

After seeing Rick's tutorial on keyframing and Cherub's pencil show, I'm wondering if there is a tutorial out there to show how you have objects (i.e. the baseball bat and ball or the pencils) seemingly floating through air. I think I can handle the keyframing now but have no idea how the actual pictures are developed. Can anyone help me on this, or is there a tutorial that shows how it is done?

Once again, your assistance would be appreciated.

Val

I don't know how I missed your post Val ! I'm very pleased that you watched my "Playing with Pencils" show.
Mike S. gave you a very good description of what is involved in getting the images.
I work in PaintShop Pro, but the process is quite similar. Personally I prefer to save the images in png format as well, and that is what
I insert in Producer. Png is usually lighter in bytes than the psp format.

[Mike S.]

Val,

There are also extraction tools in PSE4 and above and in Photoshop. Photoshop also has a quick mask that helps extract objects. Using the magic wand to select large areas of the same color and then deleting the selection also helps. There are so many ways to extract objects using Elements and especially using Photoshop. The eraser method I posted is the simplest just to get started.

Mike S.