cutting out a logo from white background

[molucca]

Steve,

I think colors work similar to grays.

Here is a cleaning method. The initial separation was using Smart Mask and P3 as a host. This gives me pixel erasing capability as well.

I recolored light and dark to black and made a bitmap copy. I make the sizes the same for easier application fo the transparency.

I sent the image to Mezzoforce Ice 2 rom P3. The plugin returns a border and a clouded tarnsparent area. I trimmed the return to size, and used the black image for bitmap transparency.

Rich

[zaphodeist]

Please explain a bit further. I can make a white background transparent by overlaying the same image from bitmap gallery with transparency, like Steve did. OK fine. Stained glass transparency does the same. How did you get the image to be a black mask in XXP though? It appears you've got rid of the background before turning the image black

[molucca]

John,

This is a different case. I did an Akvis Smart Mask separation from XXP3 as a host.

I was getting ready to apply a plugin, but knowing the plugin returns a non clear background. I didn't draw an object, and needed another way.

Because the image was transparent, I could recolor light and dark to black. If the image had a white background, the entire image would be black. Black will give full opacity.
Making a bitmap copy put the image in the Bitmap Gallery. A black PNG work the same as a black and white image.

I ran the plugin, trimmed the image and used the image in the Bitmap Gallery to clear the transparent area.

I got SM for free by writing a tutorial. It is useful for me since I very seldom draw any longer.

Maybe a Stained Glass Transparency could be used to drop the white, and be able to recolor the rest to black.

Rich

[zaphodeist]

Thanks Rich - I get the drift now

[molucca]

I looked at the sample image. It must be the image compression that causes a variation in pixel colors. I could see why the trace was like it was. Just the trace function showing what is there. Maybe saving at 100% quality would help.

Rich

[handrawn]

.. I needed to clone a few times to add opacity back to the non-white areas.

do this myself as a useful quick,but approximate, correction - can cause anti-aliasing issues as well

[steve.ledger]

I rarely use bitmap transparency to isolate an image from the background, always preferring to slice it out with the shape editor wherever possible.
That's not to say I 'never' use bitmap transparency, I just prefer the cleaner results I get using vector tools.

Using Xtreme for only bitmap operations instead of it's primary role as a vector illustration/drawing application is (to me) rather like buying an amphibious car and thinking you bought a boat

[handrawn]

here smooth lines is what is needed I would think

this is not always the case


using a bitmap as a transparency mask is no less a 'vector' thing than using a bitmap fill

[SmartEd]

IMHO If you want to work with bitmap's use photoshop

[handrawn]

so you would obviously take the vector pen tool out of photoshop, which is not a vector application?

EDIT: ignore the rest here [see next post]

the method Rich describes does not in any case work as far as I can see in xtreme 5 - because applying a bitmap as a transparency does not seem to work that way any more

the basic method for xtreme 2 is as attached

perhaps some one can get it to work in xtreme 5?