# Can photoshop do this? if so, how?



## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 15, 2008)

i have a photo on my computer that i took with a digital camera, of a pencil drawing on posterboard. is it possible for photoshop to find the pencil lines, ignoring all the lighting oddities and stuff, and replace all the various shades of dark grey with black, on either a transparent or new plain black background? the only way i know of to do this is to spend a couple hours using the various erasing tools and then the pen tool, tracing sloppily with a mouse, and ending up with a less than perfect result.

this is the pic in question:


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## Uber Mega (Jan 15, 2008)

Yup...you have to use a combination of contrast, saturation/desaturation and erasing to bring out the guitars lines and make it easier to remove the surroundings.


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 15, 2008)

Uber Mega said:


> Yup...you have to use a combination of contrast, saturation/desaturation and erasing to bring out the guitars lines and make it easier to remove the surroundings.



that's kinda what i did earlier, but it took forever and didn't turn out very well. perhaps i was doing something wrong?

the problem was, the darker parts on the outsides of the pic would start to go too much into the desired lines, obscuring them.


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## Vegetta (Jan 15, 2008)

Illustrator - trace outlines - then you will have it as a vector file.

It can be a finicky bitch tho

or in photoshop outline what you want to keep with the pen tool and then stroke your path


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 16, 2008)

i think i've got it. give me a couple more hours of tweaking and hopefully i'll have a colorized version of that pic posted


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 16, 2008)

...and over 3 hours later:


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## Zepp88 (Jan 16, 2008)

That's some nice work dude


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## Despised_0515 (Jan 16, 2008)

that looks fuggin' sick man.


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 16, 2008)

so much work for that  that's the real neck/fingerboard that'll be used, and then i took the bridge and pickup switch from my Charvel, added a saddle to the bridge, and used pics of real Joe Barden pickups, Gotoh tuners, and a Carvin strat volume knob. oh, and the smudge tool is amazing


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 16, 2008)

Zepp88 said:


> That's some nice work dude



thanks dude (and yes, you too VE)....now i just need to get the real thing completed


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## Despised_0515 (Jan 16, 2008)

When do you plan on starting to work on it? That thing would be even more badass looking in the flesh.


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 16, 2008)

VicerExciser said:


> When do you plan on starting to work on it? That thing would be even more badass looking in the flesh.



the neck already exists, i had it custom made for me by Doug at SoulMate Guitars Home

i've done most of the wood work on the body, but i'm getting some help from the guys at Mouradian Guitar Repair in Cambridge, MA. hopefully i'll be getting it back from them before the end of the month, then i can do some cleanup work, a little bit more routing, sanding, and make the final design for the pickguard, which i'll send to Terrapin Guitars.

once it's ready for finishing, i'm planning to take it down to CT to have Michael Sherman do the finish. when i get it back from that, i'll have to make the rear cover plates, and put the whole thing together. 

still need to find out when the pickups i want will be available though. right now i'm hoping for Häussel to have their Klingen-PUs available in a full-size humbucker model for 6 and 7 strings before too long, although ideally i'd have real Joe Barden pickups in it....they're taking way too long, though.

provided everything goes right, and the pickups are ready on time, i could conceivably have the whole thing done in about 2 months.


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## Despised_0515 (Jan 16, 2008)

Siiiiiiiiiiick 
Would you mind taking any pics of it in progress?


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 16, 2008)

VicerExciser said:


> Siiiiiiiiiiick
> Would you mind taking any pics of it in progress?



i've got a few, but i don't want to post them in the open yet. i'll PM you.


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## Despised_0515 (Jan 16, 2008)

Thanks a lot man!


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