PSP Help - Cropping characters?

[saft]

Hi guys. There's a certain type of icon I'd really like to make, But alas I really struggle with trying to cut and crop the image I want onto somewhere else, So fear the easiest way I've been attempting to do it is by deleting the background out and then doing it that way but it doesn't look particularly tidy when you do so

Comments

[seether_79]

Don't know if this helps but when I'm taking out a background I user the eraser set as a soft brush and erase it that way. It looks much cleaner, or at least I think so lol :D

[saft]

My problem is I haven't got a very steady hand, But I have tried it that way. I'd just like to try and learn how to do it properly ^-^"

[laury_kos]

you can use the pen tool to extract the image from the background
here is a good tutorial for it:
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/photoshops-pen-tool-the-comprehensive-guide/

I use pen tool if I want to end up with that result like on the icon,but normally I use Layer mask to erase backgrounds.

hope it helps

[saft]

Ooh it has :) Still can't really get a steady crop because I'm quite shakey but it was improved the general outcome. Thanks ever so much.

[laury_kos]

practice will do~ :D
my hand is shaky too and i'm already used to make it work that way XD.
oh wait, pen tool does straight line crops,doesn't it?

[nomadicwriter]

You could try using layer masks. They basically allow you to erase the background in a non-permanent way so if you screw up or decide you want part of the image back again it's easy to fix. I wrote a tutorial on using them here.

[heartagram_lala]

I find layer masks the best thing to use when cutting out a character from the background, because whatever you do isn't permanent and you can adjust it later and fix any mistakes =D