Removing Bacgrounds from Badge Pictures

[wright241]

I cannot recall where I saw a comment about the difficulties of removing backgrounds from badge pictures, but here are a few tips on how I managed to remove the blue - and other colours - from these AAC badges.
If you know all this, then ignore it; if you don't own any graphics manipulation software (Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop etc - then you might "just" find it interesting).
They were all taken against a blue backgound, however, this is irrelevant as long as the background contrasts with the badge - the first shows the before and after pictures using PSP8 (chosen 'cos its "shiny"), the other 3 are a plastic one, a WM one and a brooch. Black is very good - duh, unless of course its a blackened badge. Thick white, non-reflective card is very good - even with silver, shiny (AA) badges.

Step 1 - PSP8 Settings(metric): size140; Hardness100%;Step17; Density100%; Thickness100%; Rotation0; Opacity0; sampling:cont; limits:contiguous; autotoleranceY; ignorelightnessY
TIP1: you SHOULD use a contrasting background.
However BOTH AAC badges only took around 6 mins - see the results - which included some tidying up on the edges.
TIP2:Keep the centre of the tool tip as close as possible to the edge of the badge.
TIP3:do about 5mm at a time - if you screw up, undoing 5mm is better than undoing everything - i.e. release the left mouse button fairly regularly.
Fine tuning the various controls would probably improve this.

Badge 1 - a "before" version of badge 2; Badges 3, 4 & 5 are "after" pictures. Note that I did not have to do ANY retouching - after using the background erase tool - to the WM voided crown parts.

If you have a graphics tablet - even better.
I managed to do a large intricate CBP in about 1 minute.
Good hunting.

[Peter Brydon]

So much for modern technology, I remember Ray Westlake tellling me that he used to remove the backgrounds of pictures of badges to be used as illustrations in his books with snowpake ( white correction fluid )

P.B.

[wright241]

Originally Posted by 8thfoot

So much for modern technology, I remember Ray Westlake tellling me that he used to remove the backgrounds of pictures of badges to be used as illustrations in his books with snowpake ( white correction fluid )

P.B.

PB,
Well I am old enough to still use that as well..... a bottle I have is about 25 years old and still doing sterling stuff. But sometimes, just sometimes, you just have to move with the times....
david