Creating Your First Cut-Out

To make a cut-out, paint masks over your image to indicate which parts to keep and which part to remove. Fluid Mask uses three types of
mask:

• Keep mask: indicates the part of the image to retain.

• Delete mask: indicates the part of the image to remove.

• Blend mask: indicates the border of the cut-out across which Fluid Mask will create a blended transition.
To create a mask, you simply paint the image with the brush tools located on the Tool Palette.

1. Paint keep masks using the green-colored tools.

 2. Paint delete masks with the red colored tools.

3. Blend masks are normally applied automatically, but you can paint them yourself using the blue-colored tools.

Painting Masks
When you open an image, Fluid Mask automatically analyzes it to identify the distinct areas of color and texture within the image.

Note: You can see the progress of lengthy operations such as image analysis on the progress bar at the bottom of the Fluid Mask

window. If required, you can cancel an operation using the button)

When Fluid Mask image analysis is finished, the edges of the "objects" found will be overlaid as blue outlines on the image don t worry
nothing has been altered yet and your image is still untouched. You can now use these objects as a guide to flood-fill the areas you want to
keep and those you want to delete.

Note: You can check or uncheck Show Object Edges at the bottom of the Fluid Mask window to hide or reveal the edges of the
objects).

To create a mask, select a brush from the Tool Palette and start painting (i.e. filling "objects"). Use the green, keep tools to paint the parts of
the image you want to keep. Use the red, delete tools to paint the parts of the image you want to remove. (The blue tools create a special
mask for blending the border of the cutout.)

There are three brushes for each type of mask:

Exact brushes mask only those pixels touched directly by your stroke (like a traditional paint brush).
 Local brushes work like a combination of a traditional paint brush and a paint bucket tool. Every image object that includes
any pixels under your brush stroke will be flood-filled. If you turn the brush strength above the minimum, neighboring objects that are similar
in color and texture will also be filled.

When using the local brush, paint a stroke through the segments you want masked. Any segments touched will be
flood-filled.

Global brushes work much like the local brushes, except they will fill similar objects anywhere in your image (when the
strength is above the minimum).

When using either local or global brushes, you can control the extent of the flood-fill of neighboring objects using the Strength setting at the
top of the window). At minimum strength, only those objects touched by the brush will be filled. At maximum strength, large areas of the
image can be masked in a single stroke. Use the Undo function (Ctrl-Z) while experimenting with the brush strength.

For more information on brushes and the other tools, see About Fluid Mask Tools.

To save your current masks, select Save Project from the File menu (Ctrl-Shift-S). You can load the saved project to restore your masks as
long as you haven't changed the underlying image between Fluid Mask sessions.

Note: If you mask an image with only one type of mask (either keep or delete), Fluid Mask will mask the rest of the image for you
when you click the Create Cut-out button (Ctrl-U) or select Auto-fill from the Image menu (Ctrl-F).
Finishing Up

When you have finished masking, click the Create Cut-out button ( ) on the Tool Palette (Ctrl-U). The Fluid Mask window will
display the cut-out in the Cut-out view.

To review:

The steps to make a cut-out are:

Note, you can paint the masks in any order, but with this image, the background was very simple, so it was easiest to
paint the delete mask first.
After you make the cut-out, zoom in and pan around the image to inspect the edges. It often helps to adjust the background color to make
sure the blended edges will look good against your cut-out's intended background. For example, if you know your cut-out will be placed
against a dark background, choose a dark background color in Fluid Mask. Any bright pixels that spoil the cut-out edge will become obvious.

Click on the Workspace tab (or press "2" on the keyboard) to return to the masking view. You can edit the masks at anytime and click
Create Cut-out again to see the results of your changes.

When you are satisfied with the cut-out displayed in the Cut-out view, do one of the following:

• If you are using Fluid Mask as a plug-in, select Save and Apply (Ctrl-S) from the File menu. Your cut-out will replace the contents of the layer active when you
started Fluid Mask.
• If you are using Fluid Mask on its own, select Save (Ctrl-S) or Save As from the File menu.

If you decide not to complete the cut-out, choose Exit (Ctrl-Q) from the File menu. Fluid Mask will close and no changes will be made to the
image.

To start over without exiting Fluid Mask, you can select Revert from the File menu.

Using Fluid Mask

Note, if you are just beginning to use Fluid Mask, we recommend that you start with the Getting Started section of this manual, which
introduces the basic concepts of masking and cutting-out images.

Fluid Mask simplifies the task of cutting out images in two primary ways:

Fast masking tools combined with image analysis, the Fluid Mask tools allow you to quickly mask even complex cut-outs.

Intelligent blending Fluid Mask uses the characteristics of the edges between image objects to calculate the optimum blend between
them. Sharp edges remain sharp. Transparent and blurred edges are feathered across their widths and background colors are removed
(something not easily duplicated when making cut-outs manually with image editing applications).
 A Typical Workflow

Making a cut-out in Fluid Mask typically involves the following steps:

1. Finding objects

2. Applying masks

3. Tidying up and making the final cut-out

4. Saving the cut-out

As you become accustomed to Fluid Mask, you will undoubtedly develop your own preferred methods for making image cut-outs. The
following sections discuss how to use Fluid Mask efficiently.
 Note: One way to let Fluid Mask do more of the work, is to use the auto-fill feature. To use auto-fill, you mask part of the image then
let Fluid Mask fill in the rest with either the keep or delete mask. You can select the Auto-Fill Image (Ctrl-F) commands from the Image
menu. Note, Fluid Mask will automatically perform an auto-fill when you click the cut-out button with a partially masked image.

Finding Objects
When you first open an image, Fluid Mask finds the areas of similar color and texture within it and marks these as image objects. The edges
of these objects are shown on the image as blue outlines when Show Object Edges is checked.
 The object edges serve both as a guide for masking flood-fill operations and as the basis for Fluid Mask's blending calculations. Having
good edges can improve the quality of the final cut-out as well as speed up the process of creating the mask. Before starting to mask, it is a
good idea to check that the borders around the parts of the image you intend to cut out have been properly outlined.

You may want to adjust the Edge Finding options to deal with the following issues:

• If many segments of the cut-out border are missing or inaccurate, adjust the Edge Threshold and Number of Objects settings.
• If so many small objects are found that it is difficult to mask them, then you can decrease the Number of Objects setting.
• If your image has a lattice-like structure, such as a fence with open panels or tree branches against the sky, move the Number of Objects slider to 100%.
This effectively makes every pixel in the image into a separate object. When applying masks in this mode it is especially helpful to adjust the Strength
setting of the global and local brushes.
• If your image has low contrast edges along the intended cut-out border, click the Advanced button ( ) to show the Edge Contrast option. Set the Edge
Contrast to Low. Alternately, if the important edges in the image are high-contrast, choose the High setting to reduce the number of unnecessary image
objects.
• If your image contains a highly textured area, such as a lawn, you can change the Filter Out Texture option depending on how you want to cut out such an
area. If you want to treat the areas as a single object, choose the Coarse setting. Fluid Mask will combine the individual objects into a few large ones.
When you want to cut out the individual parts of the area, choose the Fine setting. Fluid Mask will preserve the individual elements within the textured
area.
• If none of the above remedies solve the problem, you can use the Force Edge tool to draw a line manually. One drawback to using the a forced edge is that
smart blending cannot be used.

Note: If a problem with the objects or edges only affects part of an image, you can use the patch tools to apply different Edge
Finding options to just a part of an image. This can be much easier than trying to find the settings which give you the best compromise
across parts of an image that may have wildly different characteristics.

Applying Masks
To create a mask, simply select a brush and start painting over the image. The color of the tool indicates which type of mask you will create:

Green: Keep mask brushes: paint over areas you want to keep.

Red: Delete mask brushes: paint over areas you want to remove.
 Blue: Blend mask brushes: use as the border between keep and delete masks.

Grey: Eraser brushes: erase existing masks.

You can change the color used as the overlay for each type of mask on the Workspace Settings dialog.

Local brushes typically give you the best combination of speed and control. Global brushes are useful when an image has a lattice structure
with mixed areas of background and foreground. Exact brushes are good for touching up small areas along the border of your cut-out. See
Brushes to learn more about the different kinds of brushes.

Adjust brush strength and brush size as needed to mask your image quickly. Fluid Mask has an unlimited Undo feature so you can always
back up a bit if your mask flows into the wrong areas.

Keeping the following keyboard shortcuts in mind when painting can make masking quicker:

• Brush size: [ = decrease, ] = increase

• Keep brushes: K = exact, Shift-K = local, Ctrl-K = global

• Delete brushes: D = exact, Shift-D = local, Ctrl-D = global

• Blend brushes: C = exact, Shift-C = local, Ctrl-C = global

• Erasers: E = exact, Shift-E = local, Ctrl-E = global

• Undo: Ctrl-Z

• Preview Cut-out tool: T

• Zoom: Ctrl+= = increase, Ctrl+- = decrease

When first masking an image, it is generally easiest to let Fluid Mask apply the blend masks automatically. If there is a problem with blending
along an edge after you try a cut-out, you can fix it later.
 Note: If you try to paint over another mask and nothing happens, examine the protection settings on the Tool Options bar. When a
mask type is protected, you cannot paint over it. To paint over the mask, uncheck the Protect option. Fluid Mask remembers separate
settings for each type of brush.

Next: Making the Cut-out

Tidying up and Making the Cut-out

When you are happy with the masks you have painted, you can create and view the cut-out. To do this click the Create Cut-out
button on the tool palette or use the shortcut key, Ctrl-U. Fluid Mask will render your cut-out and display it in the Cut-out view.

If you find some edges that need to be tidied up, you may find it helpful to use the Preview Cut-out tool along with the keyboard
shortcuts:

1. Make a note of the problem area.

2. Switch back to the Workspace view (press the '2' key).

3. Using the Preview Cut-out tool ('T'), drag a marquee around the problem area.

4. Hold your mouse cursor over the pixels that need to be touched up.

5. Without moving the mouse, use a shortcut key to select the masking tool you wish to use. For example, to select the Exact Blend brush, press 'C'.

The preview of the cut-out goes away and you can see the masks. Because you didn't move the mouse to select a tool from the tool palette, you don't have
to find the pixels you need to touch up again.

6. Touch up the problem area.

7. Repeat this process of previewing an area and then switching to a masking tool until the edges of your cut-out are completely tidied up.

You can jump between the cut-out, workspace and source views of your image by selecting the appropriate tab at any time from the
top of the image editing window or using the shortcut keys 1 , 2 or 3 .
 Saving the cut-out
When you are satisfied with the cut-out displayed in the Cut-out view, do one of the following:

If you are using Fluid Mask as a plug-in, select Save and Apply (Ctrl-S) from the File menu. Your cut-out will replace the contents of the
layer active when you started Fluid Mask.

If you are using Fluid Mask as a standalone application, select Save (Ctrl-S) or Save As from the File menu.

Note: You must create a cut-out by clicking , pressing Ctrl-U, or selecting the Create Cut-out command from the Image menu,
before you can save and apply the cut-out in the original application or to file.

If you decide not to complete the cut-out, choose Exit (Ctrl-Q) from the File menu. Fluid Mask will close and no changes will be made to the
image. You can also start over without exiting Fluid Mask, by selecting Revert from the File menu.

Fixing Cut-out Problems

Cut-out problems generally stem from either an edge problem or a blending problem. Edge problems can often be fixed by adjusting the
Edge Finding options, while blending problems can be fixed by adjusting the Edge Blending options or touching up the blend masks.

Note: In both cases, you can either create a patch to use localized settings for the problem area or you can apply the setting
changes to the whole image (applying changes to a patch is usually much faster).

To fix edge problems:

• If color contrast across a missing edge is low, adjust the Edge Threshold lower and the Number of Objects setting higher.
• If this doesn't work, set the advanced Edge Contrast setting to low with the Edge Finding options.
• If the edge still isn t found, you can draw an edge manually using the Forced Edge tool. (See Forced Edge Tool.)
 To fix blending problems:

• Make sure the blend mask starts at a dominant foreground color and ends at a dominant background color.
• If the blend is too noisy, adjust the Intelligent Blending setting toward Feather. You can also use a very thin blend mask.
• If background colors aren t being removed, adjust the Intelligent Blending setting toward Smart on the Edge Blending palette.
• If contrast is low across the edge you may have to use a very thin blend mask or feather the blend.
• Use a patch for the area and use the Complex - Hair options on the Patch Properties Edge Blending tab.

To learn more about how blend masks work, see Understanding Blend Masks

Challenging Images
When dealing with complex and challenging cut-outs, you will need to use some of Fluid Mask's more sophisticated mask editing tools.
These include the Patch and Color Workspace tools.

You may find the following techniques useful for dealing with certain types of challenging images (or parts of an image):
Hair
Lattices
Comple
x
Images

(Click a link above to jump to the topic dealing with that type of image

Hair
Images with areas of wispy hair through which the background can be seen can be masked with liberal amounts of blending.

The following example illustrates the technique:

1. Load the image.

2. Mask the entire area in which background can be seen through the hair with a blend mask. The blend mask doesn't need to be applied
with much precision at all.

3. Mask the rest of the image as appropriate.

4. Click the Create Cut-out button to make the cut-out.
 This image shows the cut-out composited against a white background.

If the background colors appear to "bleed" into the cut-out image, the usual cause is that some strands of hair extend into the area covered
with the delete mask. Fix the problem by extending the blend mask over the hairs.

Lattices
Images containing lattice-like structures, including irregular shapes like tree limbs, can often be tackled more quickly with the following
techniques:
• Using the Color Sampler tool and the Color Workspace to isolate foreground and background colors and assign them to the appropriate type of mask.

• By setting the number of edges on the Edge Finding palette to 100% and using the Global brushes to mask, adjusting the brush strength to control how
much of the image is masked with each stroke.

The following example illustrates the first technique:

1. Load the image.

2. Open the Color Workspace.

3. Select the colors present in the background, then click the Delete (red) paint bucket to mask the selected colors with the Delete mask.
 If there are areas where the foreground colors are the same as the background, you can use patches to divide up the
image and use the Color Workspace separately in each patch.

4. Because this image has so much fine structure in the foreground areas, set the Blend Mask Width setting on the Edge Blending palette to
"Thin."

5. Use the Clean tool to fill in any small holes in the areas masked so far.

6. Use the Auto-Fill with Keep command from the Image menu to mask the foreground area automatically.
7. Inspecting the masks to find any problems that may need touch-up.

8.Click the Create Cut-out button.

 This image shows the cut-out composited against a light-green background.

Complex Images
Images in which areas of background and foreground intermix, possibly even with a measure of transparency thrown in are certainly
challenging, but they can usually be tackled with the techniques illustrated in Hair and Lattices. However, when you add to this situation,
foreground colors that are both darker and lighter than the foreground, such as you frequently find with the highlights and shadows of hair,
then a couple additional tools are useful.

Patches are useful for isolating problem areas so that you can adjust the Edge Finding and Blending options to suit the problem without
affecting the entire image. The Patch edge blending options also includes an additional option, Complex - Hair, for use when the foreground
is both darker and lighter then the background. The Complex - Hair option is computationally expensive, so you should keep the patches as
small as possible to avoid excessive cut-out rendering times.

In the first Hair example, simply painting blend mask over the area of mixed hair and background was good enough because the hair was
fairly even in tone and distinct from the background. The image In this example is more complex and getting a good cut-out requires
masking some of the pixels in the area with keep and delete masks to help the blending process. The masks still don't need to be
painstakingly accurate and time consuming to create. The trick is to provide hints to the blending process as to which areas are foreground
and which are background.

1. Load the image.

2. In this example, we will use a patch (and ignore the rest of the image.
3. Quickly mask the really obvious parts of the foreground.
4. Now, use the Color Workspace to mask the solid, easily identifiable strands of hair. We don't need to mask every pixel.
5. Still using the color workspace, select the intermediate colors - both colors that are darker and colors that are lighter than the background
- and assign them to the blend mask.
6. Look for any stray strands or ends of hair that may have been missed. Draw a line of blend mask over these with the Blend Exact brush.
7. Select Clean All from the Image menu to fill in any holes.

8. Fill the rest of the patch with delete mask using the Auto-Fill with Delete from the Patch menu.

9. View the cutout by selecting Preview Cut-out in Patch from the Patch menu.
10. If patches of background are showing in the cut-out, usually a few well placed pixels of delete mask will take care of the problem.

11. If too much detail is lost, or alternately, too much noise from the background is showing up in the cut-out, Check the Complex - Hair
option on the Patch Properties dialog.
12. Start with a medium level of detail setting, and experiment to find the optimum value. Move the slider toward High to increase the amount
of detail. If this adds too much noise to the cut-out, move the slider back toward Low.
The Fluid Mask Workspace
This section discusses the tools, work area, and options that Fluid Mask provides for making cut-outs.
• Tool Options: Lets you set options for the current tool.

• Tool Palette: Lets you choose a masking tool.

• View Tabs:

• Source: Shows the original image.

• Workspace: Shows the image, any masks you have created and image objects.

• Cut-out: Shows the image with masks applied.

• View Options: Lets you set the options for the workspace display.

• Navigator: Lets you pan and zoom around your image.

• Edge Finding options: Lets you set and apply options for finding objects of similar color and texture in your image.

• Edge Blending options: Lets you set options for blending the edge of your cut-out.

Arranging the Workspace

You can close or undock the options panels to arrange the workspace as you like. (To open an option panel that has been closed, use the
Window menu.)

The Screen Modes options, available from the tool palette ( ) and the View menu, allow you to choose a basic window
arrangement:

• Standard: a normal application window

• Full Screen with Menu: Maximizes the working area, while providing access to the menus

• Full Screen: Maximizes the working area, but removes the menus.

You can also cycle through the screen modes using the "F" key
The Tool Palette
Select masking tools from the tool palette. When you select a tool, any options available for that tool are shown above the image display.
These options are described in the sections covering the individual tools.

Note: Some tools on the palette, like the Patch tool , have a small triangle in the corner. The triangle indicates that there is a menu,
which you can open by holding down the mouse button when selecting the tool.

The masking tools include:

Keep Exact, Local, and Global Brushes: Paint and flood-fill the masks for the areas of the image to keep. See Brushes.

Delete Exact, Local, and Global Brushes: Paint and flood-fill the masks for the areas of the image to remove. See Brushes.

Blend Exact, Local, and Global Brushes: Paint and flood-fill the masks for the borders between keep and delete masks to
keep. See Brushes.

Eraser Exact, Local, and Global Brushes: Erase existing masks. See Brushes.

Patch tools: Create a patch in the image. You can set unique object finding and edge blending options for a patch. A patch
also constrains the affects of the masking tools. Any masking action begun inside a patch will not cross the patch border. See Working with
Patches.

Force Edge: Draw an edge manually. See Force Edge Tool.

 Color Sampler tool: Select colors from the image when using the Color Workspace. (Also opens the Color Workspace dialog.)

Preview cut-out: View part of the image as it will appear when the cut-out is made. Drag a marquee over the area to preview. Click on
the image or select a different tool to restore the mask view.

Clean: Eliminates small holes in masks. See Clean Tool.

Select tool: Use the select tool to select patches and lines drawn with the Force Edge tool.

Hand tool: pan the image when zoomed in.

Zoom tool: zoom into the image by clicking or dragging a marquee around the area of interest.

Background display: Choose the background color against which the cut-out will be composited in the Cut-out view. You can
choose a color by clicking the colored square, or view the background as "transparent" diamond pattern.

Create Cut-out: Renders the image to the Output view. You must click the Create Cut-out button before you can save the cut-out.

Color Workspace: Opens the Color Workspace palette, which allows you to assign masks to selected colors within a patch or the
entire image. If a patch is active, the color selections made in the workspace will only apply to that patch. Otherwise, color selections will be
applied to the entire image. See Using the Color Workspace.
 Screen Mode: Choose a basic window arrangement. Standard: a normal application window, Full Screen with Menu: Maximizes
the working area, while providing access to the menus, or Full Screen: Maximizes the working area, removing the menus.

The Image Display

The Fluid Mask displays your image in one of three views (accessed by the tabs along the top of the image):

1. Source: The Source view shows the original image.

2. Workspace: The Workspace view is where you create the cut-out masks.

3. Cut-out: The Cut-out view shows the cut-out image composited against the chosen background color or a "transparent" diamond
pattern. (The background is not included when the cut-out is saved.)
Note: The Cut-out view is only updated when you click the Create Cut-out button on the Tool Palette or use the Preview Cut-out tool. Fluid
Mask does not automatically redo the cut-out when you change the masks.

View Options

Located below the image display, the following controls let you adjust the workspace display:
• Show Object Edges: shows the edges of the objects found in the image. These objects will be flood-filled when you use the local and
global brushes. (The brushes work the same whether or not the edges are shown.)

• Mask Opacity: Sets the opacity of the mask overlay. Setting a lower opacity allows you to see more of the details in your image. Setting a
high opacity can help you spot unmasked areas.

• Workspace Resolution: Sets the working resolution as a ratio to the image's actual resolution. For example, if you set the resolution to 1:1,
Fluid Mask will show one pixel for every pixel in the image, but if you set a resolution of 1:2, Fluid Mask will show one pixel for every four
image pixels. Choosing a lower working resolution can speed up many Fluid Mask operations, at a small cost to the accuracy of object
finding. Unless your cut-out has very detailed, complex edges, this is often a worthwhile trade-off. When you save the final cut-out, the
finished image always retains the resolution of the original image, no matter what working resolution you choose.

Note: Changing the workspace resolution will clear any existing masks.

Brushes
Brushes are your main tools for creating masks. The color of the brush indicates the type of mask that it will paint.

1. Green: Keep mask brushes: paint over areas you want to keep.

2. Red: Delete mask brushes: paint over areas you want to remove.

3. Blue: Blend mask brushes: use as the border between keep and delete masks.

4. Grey: Eraser brushes: erase existing masks.

Note: To select one of the blend or eraser brushes that is not currently shown on the tool palette, hold the mouse button down for a moment
when selecting the tool. A menu will open giving you access to the other brushes.
 Using Brushes

Exact brushes only mask those pixels in the image touched by your stroke. Local and global brushes, on the other hand, will flood-fill entire
image segments. Depending on brush strength, segments similar in color and texture may also be filled. A Local brush will only fill
neighboring segments, but a Global brush will fill similar segments anywhere in the image.

You can constrain the action of a brush using a patch. Create a patch using the Patch tool. Any brush strokes begun within a patch will only
change the masks inside that patch. You can also add your own edges to an image using the Force Edge tool. When flood-filling image
segments, Fluid Mask will treat a forced edge just like a normal edge.

You can also protect existing masks from your brush strokes by checking the Protect... options for the mask on the Tool Options bar.
Using these options can be helpful when you have one mask just the way you want it and need to mask the adjacent areas. For example, if
you masked part of an image object with a keep mask using the exact brush, and want to fill the rest of the object with a delete mask, then
you should check Protect Keep. Otherwise, the delete brush will overwrite the keep mask when it fills the object.

Brush options

Each brush type has a number of options that can be adjusted to help your masking:

Size

Adjusts the size of your brush. The brush cursor is displayed at the center of your image while you adjust the size slider so that you can see
exactly how large your brush will be.

Strength

Determines how far your mask selections will "grow" outside the segments under your brush stroke. (Local and Global brushes only.)

When you set the brush strength above zero, the flood-fill operation may also expand into other objects similar in color and texture. The
higher the strength, the less similar an object has to be for it to be filled.
Holding down the "Ctrl" key when you release the mouse at the end of painting a mask gives you a weaker brush. This can save you from
having to change brush strength too often, and makes working with hair and complex areas containing many colors easier.

Protect Keep

If checked, brushes will not paint or fill over areas already masked with a keep mask.

Protect Delete

If checked, brushes will not paint or fill over areas already masked with a delete mask.

Protect Blend

If checked, brushes will not paint or fill over areas already masked with a blend mask.

The mask protection settings can be set independently for the exact, local, and global brushes.

Edge Finding
The Edge Finding options allow you to control how Fluid Mask analyses all or part of your image. When you open Fluid Mask, the program
calculates reasonable values for these options. Sometimes you may find it helpful to adjust the settings with the goal of finding the important
edges in your image, while at the same time keeping the total number of objects as small as possible.
 The settings you make on the main Edge Finding palette apply to the entire image. However, sometimes different areas of an image have
such varied characteristics that it is difficult to find settings that work for the entire image. To solve this problem, you can create a patch over
part of an image using the Patch tools and apply a unique set of edge finding options to just that area using the Patch Properties dialog.

The edge finding settings all change the number and size of the objects Fluid Mask will detect in an image. In general, the best way to dial in
the optimum settings is to start with the default settings and then work from top to bottom of the Options Palette. In other words, find the best
edge width threshold first, then the best setting for the number of objects, and so on.

• Edge Width Threshold: sets the minimum width in pixels of a color or texture transition that Fluid Mask will recognize as an edge. If you set
a small threshold, Fluid Mask will find many in-focus and sharp edges; if you set a larger threshold, Fluid Mask will find fewer but broader
edges such as found with out of focus edges.

• Number of Objects: Sets how finely Fluid Mask divides an image into objects. The higher the setting, the more objects Fluid Mask will
identify.

When working with fine detail like tree leaves and branches, move the slider all the way to the right this is the optimal setting for finding
these kinds of objects. You will note that the Show Object Edges check box at the bottom of the screen has been turned off at this
setting, as indicating such fine objects is not useful.

• Defaults button: Restores the edge detection settings to the original, calculated values.

• Revert button: Restores the edge detection settings to the last settings you applied.

• Apply button: Applies the current settings and re-analyzes the image.
 Advanced Options

Click the Advanced button to reveal the advanced options. These options do not need to be adjusted for most images.

• Edge Contrast: Sets how much difference in color there must be for an edge to be identified.

• Choose Low to have Fluid Mask identify low contrast changes as an image edge.

• Choose Medium or High when there is plenty of contrast between the image to be cut out and the background. A higher setting will result in fewer
edges — useful for complex images..

• Filter out Texture: Sets how Fluid Mask should combine highly textured areas.

• Choose Fine to have Fluid Mask treat each object within a textured area separately, such as when you are cutting out leaves against the sky.

• Choose Coarse to have Fluid Mask treat textured areas as a single area, such as when you want a lawn to be treated as a single object with one
edge rather than as several small objects with many edges.

The Clean Tool

Use the Clean tool ( ) to remove small holes from a mask.

To clean a mask, select the tool on the tool palette and click anywhere in the mask. All masks of that type will be cleaned, unless you clicked
inside a region.

The Clean tool has a single option:

Strength determines the maximum size of the holes that will be filled.
 In addition to the Clean tool, you can choose various Clean commands from the Image menu.

Cleaning will only fill unmasked holes, it will not remove small masked areas. Nor will it fill unmasked areas along the perimeter of a
mask.

The Force Edge Tool

Use the Force Edge ( )tool to add your own edges to an image. You may find this necessary in cases where there is too little contrast
between the part of the image you are cutting out and the background.

To create an edge

1. Select the Force Edge tool from the tool palette.

2. Set the desired Feather width on the Tool Options panel.

3. Click on the image to start the line.

4. Click on the image to create each intermediate point in the line.

5. Double-click on the image to create the last point and finish the line.

You cannot add new points to a line, but you can create a second line intersecting the first.

To move a line

1. Select the Select tool from the tool palette.

2. Click on the line to be moved.

The control points for the line will appear.

3. Move the control points to the desired location.

 To delete a line

1. Select the Select tool from the tool palette.

2. Click on the line to be deleted.

The control points for the line will appear.

3. Press Delete on the keyboard (Or select Delete from the Edit menu).

Force Edge Tool Options

The Force Edge tool has a single option:

Feather Width sets how wide any blending across the forced edge will be.

For blending to occur, there must be a blend mask applied along the line as well. Fluid Mask cannot perform smart blending along a forced
edge.

Working with Patches

Use patches to highlight areas of your image for special treatment. Within a patch you can:

• Apply a independent set of object finding and edge blending options.

• Use the Color Workspace to mask the area by color.

• Control the amount of detail retained in complex blending situations (such as images that show strands of hair against the background)..

Note: Patches constrain the actions of the masking tools. Thus, if you only want a tool to affect the masks in one part of your image,
you can draw a patch around that part before using the tool.
 To create a rectangular patch

1. Select the Rectangle Patch tool (hold the mouse down over the current patch tool to view additional brushes) from the Tool Palette.

2. Drag a marquee over the area of your image that you want in the patch.
The patch is created.

To create a polygonal patch

1. Select the Polygon Patch tool (hold the mouse down over the current patch tool to view additional brushes) from the Tool Palette.

2. Click on your image to create the first point in the patch.

3. Click the location for each subsequent point.

4. Double-click on the location of the last point to finish the patch.

The patch is created.

To create a painted patch

1. Select the Patch Brush tool (hold the mouse down over the current patch tool to view additional brushes) from the Tool Palette.

2. Set the brush size as desired.

3. Paint as necessary to cover the area of the patch without releasing the mouse button. (Once you release the mouse, you cannot
make the current patch any larger.)
A new patch is created.

To select a patch and make it active

1. Select the Select tool from the Tool Palette.

2. Click inside the patch.

The patch will be highlighted.
 (To deactivate a patch, click outside the patch area or press the Escape key.)

To apply edge finding options to a patch

1. Select the patch to make it active.

2. Choose the Patch Properties command from the Window menu (F11).
The Patch Properties dialog opens.

3. Under the Edge Finding tab, check Analyze Patch Separately.

The Object Finding options are enabled.

4. Set the options as desired.

5. Click Apply.
Fluid Mask analyzes the image area defined by the patch using the new settings.

To edit a patch

1. Select the patch to make it active.

2. Drag the endpoints to the desired locations.

Note, you cannot edit a painted patch.

To delete a patch

1. Select the patch to make it active.

2. Press Delete on the keyboard, or select Delete from the Edit menu.

To apply edge blending options to a patch

1. Select the patch to make it active.

2. Choose the Patch Properties command from the Window menu (F11).
The Patch Properties dialog opens.

3. Under the Edge Blending tab, check Override for Active Patch.
The Edge Blending options are enabled.

4. Set the options as desired.

Fluid Mask will use the new blending options for image area defined by the patch
when you create the cut-out.

To set adjust the amount of detail in a complex blend

1. Select the patch to make it active.

2. Choose the Patch Properties command from the Window menu (F11).
The Patch Properties dialog opens.

3. Select the Edge Blending tab.

4. Check Complex - Hair.

5. Adjust the Level of Detail slider.

A high level of detail will retain more detail within the blended areas, but may also pick up more noise from the background. Choose
a setting that produces the best compromise. Use the Preview Cut-out in Patch command on the Patch menu to see the results of
choosing different settings.

To protect a patch from changes

1. Select the patch to make it active.

2. Choose the Patch Properties command from the Window menu (F11).
The Patch Properties dialog opens.

3. Check Protect Patch (at the bottom of the dialog).

Mask operations outside the patch, such as a global brush flood-fill, will not overwrite the masks within the patch.
 To open the Color Workspace for a patch

1. Select the patch to make it active.

2. If necessary, select Color Workspace from the Window menu (W).

To Preview the cut-out within a patch

1. Select the patch to make it active.

2. Select the Preview Cut-out in Patch from the Patch menu.

Using the Color Workspace

The Color Workspace allows you to mask an image or patch area by color.

Select the Color Workspace tool ( ) from the Tool palette or choose Color Workspace from the Window menu to open the Color
Workspace. (The Color Workspace will also open automatically whenever you create a patch.)
Use the Color Workspace to fine tune masks and to deal with problem edges and complex detail. The Color Workspace can be very helpful
when you have an edge that is too complex to accurately paint with a brush or when only pixels of a particular color should be masked.

To fine tune and create masks with the Color Workspace, you select colors either directly from your image (using the Color Sampler tool

) or on the Color Workspace display itself. In both cases, the selected colors are highlighted on the image and on the display.
 The default highlight color is yellow. You can change the highlight color on the Workspace Settings dialog.

You can then choose to assign those colors to one of the three types of mask with the Add buttons ( ). You can also
choose Unassigned (grey bucket) to erase any masks currently applied to the selected color.

The Color Workspace dialog

The Color Workspace has several controls to help you identify and mask pixels by color:

• Views: Allows you to toggle the display of colors masked with a particular type of mask. (Use the grey view button to show or
hide unmasked colors.)

• Mode: The type of color graph shown. You can choose from a histogram or a 2D chart.
• Axes: Allow you to choose the color attributes to use as the horizontal and vertical axes.

• Add buttons: Assigns the corresponding type of mask to the currently selected colors. For example, clicking the red bucket will
assign the delete mask to all pixels of the selected color. Click the grey bucket to remove any masks from the selected colors.

• Resolution: Determines the number of colors shown on the color graph. Set to Coarse to combine similar colors so that fewer entries are displayed. Set to
Fine to show each unique color as an individual entry.

Note: You can resize the Color Workspace window, which can be helpful when you increase the color resolution setting.

To mask selected colors in an image

(If you are using the Color Workspace with a patch, make sure the patch is active.)

1. Select the Color Sampler tool.

If not already shown, the Color Workspace will open.

2. Click on the image to select a color. If a patch is active, you must select within the patch.

3. Hold the Shift key down while clicking to add colors to the selection. Hold the Alt key down to remove colors from the selection.
The selected colors are highlighted on the Color Workspace and any pixels in the image or active patch of the selected colors are also highlighted
on the image.

Note: To increase the tolerance of the color selection, set the color resolution toward coarse.

4. Click the Add button for the corresponding mask type. (For example, click the red bucket to mask pixels in the color selection with the delete
mask.)

To mask selected colors with the Color Workspace

(If you are using the Color Workspace with a patch, make sure the patch is active.)

1. Open the Color Workspace, if necessary.

 2. Adjust the Mode, Axes, and Resolution to best differentiate the colors you wish to mask.

3. Click on the color graph to select a color. You can also drag a marquee on the graph to select several colors at once.

4. Hold the Shift key down while clicking or dragging to add colors to the selection. Hold the Alt key down to remove colors from the selection.
The selected colors are highlighted on the Color Workspace and any pixels in the image or active patch of the selected colors are also highlighted
on the image.

5. Click the Add button for the corresponding mask type. (For example, click the red bucket to mask pixels in the color selection with the delete
mask.)

To change the mask type of selected colors

(If you are using the Color Workspace with a patch, make sure the patch is active.)

1. Open the Color Workspace, if necessary.

2. Adjust the Mode, Axes, and Resolution to best differentiate the colors you wish to remask.

3. Toggle off the View buttons so that only colors assigned to the mask of interest are shown.

4. Select the colors to remask.

5. Click the Add button for the new mask type.

To unmask selected colors

(If you are using the Color Workspace with a patch, make sure the patch is active.)

1. Open the Color Workspace, if necessary.

2. Adjust the Mode, Axes, and Resolution to best differentiate the colors you wish to unmask.

3. Select the colors to unmask.

4. Click the grey Add button remove any mask from the pixels in the color selection.

Edge Blending Options

 The Edge Blending options control how Fluid Mask applies blend masks and how it creates the border transition across the blend mask
when you make a cut-out.

Blend Mask Width

The Blend Mask Width setting determines the thickness of the blend mask that Fluid Mask automatically creates whenever a masking
operation results in a border between a keep and a delete mask. The settings include:

• None: No blend mask will be applied.

• Thin: A thin blend mask will always be applied.

• Medium: A thin blend mask will be applied to sharp edges. A medium-thickness blend mask will be applied to edges that are less sharp.

• Thick: Fluid Mask will apply a blend mask with a thickness appropriate to the sharpness of the edge.

Intelligent Blending

The Intelligent Blending setting determines how Fluid Mask will treat the border of your cut-out. Fluid Mask has two methods for blending the
edges along the cut-out border, Feather and Smart. The Feather method is a simple even transition across the edge. The Smart method
uses the characteristics of color and texture variations around and across an edge to determine how an edge should be blended. Sharp
edges remain sharp. Blurred edges retain the softness of the original, with the background colors removed. See Blend Masks for more
information.

Smart blending typically produces higher quality results. However, if an edge has low contrast or a lot of noise, the edge produced may be
uneven. In such circumstances, feather blending should be used. You can use a patch to apply a distinct set of Edge Blending options to a
problematic section of a cut-out border, while retaining the benefits of smart blending for the rest of the image.
 If you set the Intelligent Blending slider all the way to one side or the other, Fluid Mask will always use the chosen method for blending. If
you choose one of the intermediate settings, Fluid Mask will choose which method to use based on edge characteristics. If the slider is
closer to one side, the choice will be weighted toward that method. Fluid Mask makes the decision for each edge along the border of your
cut-out.

Workspace Settings
Access the Workspace Settings dialog from the Edit menu (Ctrl-P). The General tab allows you to change whether Fluid Mask uses its
default Edge Finding settings when it loads a new image or whether it uses the settings from your last session. The Colors tab allows you to
choose the colors to use for each type of graphic appearing in the workspace overlay.

To change the start-up options

You can specify whether Fluid Mask will calculate new defaults for the object finding and edge blending options or whether it will restore the
settings you used previously.

1. Select Workspace Settings from the Edit menu.

The Workspace Settings dialog opens.

2. Select the General tab.

• Use Defaults: Fluid Mask will calculate reasonable default values based on the image.

• Restore From Last Session: Fluid Mask will use the settings in use the last time you exited Fluid Mask.

To change the overlay colors

1. Select Workspace Settings from the Edit menu.

The Workspace Settings dialog opens.
 2. Select the Colors tab.

3. Click the box next to the overlay element to be changed, which shows the current color.
The Color Picker dialog opens.

4. Choose a new color for the overlay.

5. Click Ok on the Color Picker dialog.

The Workspace Settings dialog displays the new color.

6. Click Ok on the Workspace Settings dialog.

Any masks of the changed typed will now be displayed using the new color. (The colors shown on the Tool Palette will not
change.)

Navigator
Use the Navigator palette to zoom in and out and to pan about your image.

You can drag the view box within the thumbnail image to change your view and move the slider to zoom in or out, or change the zoom
percentage value.
 The keyboard shortcuts, "Ctrl+" and "Ctrl-", will also zoom in and out of the image.

Note: Double-clicking a patch will zoom the view to fit the patch.

Menus
This section provides a brief description of each of the Fluid Mask menu commands:

• File

• Open: opens an image file. (Ctrl-O)

• Close: exits Fluid Mask without applying changes. (Ctrl-W)

• Save: Saves the current cut-out to the existing file. (Ctrl-S)

• Save As: Saves the current cut-out as a new file.

• Save and Apply: exits Fluid Mask and transfers your cut-out to the host application (only available when Fluid Mask is used as a plug-in).

• Revert: Removes all masks.

 • Load Project: Loads a saved project. A project can only be loaded if the underlying image has not been changed between Fluid Mask sessions. (Ctrl-Shift-O)

• Save Project: Saves the current masks, patches, forced edges and tool settings. (Ctrl-Shift-S)

• Save Project As: Saves the project as a new file.

• Revert Project: Returns the project to the state existing when you last saved or loaded the project.

• Exit Fluid Mask: exits Fluid Mask without applying changes. (Ctrl-Q)

• Edit

• Undo: Removes the last change. Fluid Mask can undo a virtually unlimited number of operations. (Ctrl-Z)

• Redo: Restores the last change that was undone. (Ctrl-Y)

• Cancel: cancels an operation in progress (such as applying object finding settings or flood-filling a large area). (Ctrl-X)

• Workspace Settings: Opens the Workspace Settings dialog.

• Image

• Clean All: Cleans all masks. See Clean Tool.

• Clean All Keep: Cleans only the keep masks.

• Clean All Delete: Cleans only the delete masks.

• Clean All Blend: Cleans only the blend masks.

• Clean Last Selection: Cleans the mask area created by your last brush stroke.

• Auto-Fill Image: If you have only created one type of mask, either keep, or delete, but not both, then this command will fill the rest of the image with the
opposite type of mask. For example, if you mask some of your image with a keep mask and select this command, then Fluid Mask will fill the rest of the image with
a delete mask. Blend masks will be applied to the borders between the two masks according to the settings in the Edge Blending Options palette. (Ctrl-F)

• Auto-Fill with Keep: Fills any unmasked areas of the image with the keep mask.

• Auto-Fill with Delete: Fills any unmasked areas of the image with the delete mask.
 • Select Patch Contents: Selects all the colors within the selected region.

• Create Cut-out: Creates the cut-out based on the current masks. (Ctrl-U)

• Workspace Resolution: Change the display resolution.

• Preview Cut-out: Selects the Preview Cut-out tool. (T)

• Select Tool: Selects the Select tool. (A)

• Clean Tool: Selects the Clean tool. (L)

• Force Edge Tool: Selects the Force Edge tool. (G)

• Color Sampler: Selects the Color Sampler tool. (S)

• Brush

• Keep Exact Brush: Selects the Keep Exact brush. (K)

• Keep Local Brush: Selects the Keep Local brush. (Shift-K)

• Keep Global Brush: Selects the Keep Global brush. (Ctrl-K)

• Delete Exact Brush: Selects the Delete Exact brush. (D)

• Delete Local Brush: Selects the Delete Local brush. (Shift-D)

• Delete Global Brush: Selects the Delete Global brush. (Ctrl-D)

• Blend Exact Brush: Selects the Blend Exact brush. (B)

• Blend Local Brush: Selects the Blend Local brush. (Shift-B)

• Blend Global Brush: Selects the Blend Global brush. (Ctrl-B)

• Erase Exact Brush: Selects the Erase Exact brush. (E)

• Erase Local Brush: Selects the Erase Local brush. (Shift-E)

 • Erase Global Brush: Selects the Erase Global brush. (Ctrl-E)

• Patch

• Rectangle Patch: Selects the Rectangle Patch tool. (R)

• Polygon Patch: Selects the Polygon Patch tool. (P)

• Patch Brush: Selects the Patch Brush tool. (U)

• Delete Patch: Deletes the selected patch. (Delete)

• Erase Mask in Patch: Erases all masks within the selected patch.

• Protect Patch: Protects masks in the selected patch from changes.

• Auto-fill with Keep: Fills any unmasked areas in the selected patch with the keep mask. (Ctrl-Shift-K)

• Auto-fill with Delete: Fills any unmasked areas in the selected patch with the delete mask. (Ctrl-Shift-D)

• Preview Cut-out in Patch: shows a test-cut-out of the area within the selected patch.

• View

• Source: Switches the image display to the source view. (1)

• Workspace: Switches to the workspace view. (2)

• Cut-out: Switches to the cut-out view. (3)

• Show Object Edges: Displays the edges of the objects detected by Fluid Mask. (F2)

• Screen Mode

• Standard Screen Mode: Sets the Fluid Mask application to use a standard window.

• Full Screen with Menus Mode: Maximizes the Fluid Mask display, while retaining access to the menus.

• Full Screen Mode: Maximizes the Fluid Mask display.

 • Zoom In: Magnifies the image. (Ctrl++)

• Zoom Out: Widens the image display. (Ctrl+-)

• Fit On Screen: Sets the display to the zoom level that will show the entire image. (Ctrl+0)

• Hand Tool: Pans the image (when zoomed in). (H)

• Zoom Tool: Selects the Zoom tool. (Z)

• Window

• Tools: Opens the Tool palette. (F5)

• Navigator: Opens the Navigator palette. (F6)

• Color Workspace: Opens the Color Workspace dialog. (C)

• Edge Finding: Opens the Edge Finding palette. (F7)

• Edge Blending: Opens the Edge Blending Options palette. (F8)

• Patch Properties: Opens the Patch Properties dialog. (F9)

• Tip: Opens the Tip window. (F10)

• Options: Shows the Tool Options bar.