Extracting hair from a difficult background

[Segunda]

Thanks Fubster for the quick tut. Thanks to all for the tips. I will do the best I can and show my final later in this topic.

[JollyRoger]

I second LCD's suggestion of going with a hair brush for the finishing touches.

Use the colour picker to get the woman's hair colour right, then add several layers of hair above and below your image. Remember to use several hair colours - from the darkest areas to the highlight areas.

I recommend using Ron's Hair Brush set.

[Segunda]

I'm also curious how you guys would do this one (extract ben affleck from the background). Especially at the eyebrow and eyelash, and the top of the back of his head.

[attachment=16829:87916692_3.jpg]

[Kernie]

I'd do it the exact same way as described above. Carefully cut him out with the pen tool (guesstimating the curve of the back of his head that you can't define) and then paint back whisks of hair with hair brushes, the smudge tool, or some other appropriate method to have hairs that overlap the hard edge of the mask.

[JollyRoger]

[LittleCoolDude]

I would avoid that picture all together. I'd probably break my mouse with frustration lol

[JollyRoger]

QUOTE (LittleCoolDude @ Aug 9 2011, 09:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would avoid that picture all together. I'd probably break my mouse with frustration lol

Just get a Wacom

[Segunda]

Haha, this is detail work, very hard!

This is my final for the last picture:

[attachment=16842:rebuild.jpg]

Used refine mask, pen tool, and smudge tool...

The other one will come soon.

[sauron]

The eyelashes and eyebrows need a bit more work on them. It's a very hard image to cut out.

The back hair looks too fake now, personally I think you would be better of just feathering the image so it blends into the background when cut out.

[Segunda]

QUOTE (sauron @ Aug 10 2011, 02:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The eyelashes and eyebrows need a bit more work on them. It's a very hard image to cut out.

The back hair looks too fake now, personally I think you would be better of just feathering the image so it blends into the background when cut out.

If so, how would you do this? I don't design very often, the only way to learn is from others & online tutorials. But when I see online tutorials they almost always have a simple background

The back hair was an option, I can imagine it looks a bit fake. You would use the feather option also, or can we give it another try with a different approach?