iCreate » Tutorials & Tips

Use Instant Alpha to quickly cut out images in Preview

Freddie Harrison — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:55:32 +0000

Preview is the application that opens by default when you double-click on a JPG, PNG or other image file on your Mac. As OS X has matured, Preview has taken on some interesting features that are not immediately obvious but that provide some of the functionality of bigger image editing programs. The ability to identify areas of an image that are of similar tone and colour is one such tool, and can be used to cut parts of a picture out of their background. It works with the alpha channel, which is a part of a digital image that stores information about transparency and the way that existing colours overlap. You don’t need Photoshop to work with the alpha channel – you can do it from Preview.

Step 1: Open your image
Take an image where you want to cut something out of its background or remove an element from the whole picture, leaving only the background.

Step 2: Choose the tool
Go to the Select button in the Toolbar in Preview and click on it to reveal the additional tools. Select the tool called Instant Alpha.

Step 3: Select the background
Click somewhere in the background and drag the mouse to choose a larger area. The detection works best where the background colour is quite uniform.

Step 4: Redo if necessary
If Preview has included some incorrect areas, click once to undo the selection. Drag the mouse while holding to increase or decrease the sensitivity of the tool.

Step 5: Hit backspace
With the areas selected, hit backspace on your keyboard. The selected content is deleted. With complex backgrounds it’s better to work in stages.

Step 6: Keep removing background
It’s rare that one or two selections will clear a whole background so you may need to keep selecting areas and deleting them manually.

Step 7: Use the other tools
If you’re left with lots of small, fiddly areas of background, switch to the Rectangle or Lasso tool and draw around larger areas to delete them quickly.

Step 8: Stick with it
When you have lots of tiny areas to remove, such as areas between strands of hair, you will have to spend a while deleting but you will end up with a cut out image.

Step 9: Reverse the process
To remove the subject rather than background, select using the Instant Alpha tool then choose Edit>Invert Selection. Hitting backspace will remove the subject.

(Click on the image below to zoom in and view the annotations)

Use the Select tool to crop in Preview – OS X Tutorial

Freddie Harrison — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:55:33 +0000

The composition of a picture is almost as important as the lighting, exposure and colour balance. You may not realise it but almost every photograph that you see in a book, gallery or magazine will have either been framed meticulously when it was taken or, more likely, cropped manually afterwards. The reasons for cropping are numerous. For a start, you often need to centre your subject within the frame to make them the focus of the image. Or, you may need to remove an overhanging tree branch from an otherwise clean scene. In yet another example, cropping can be used to change the message given by a picture, for instance by removing a person from it, a trick that some tabloid newspapers are not averse to using. Luckily, cropping in Preview is easy enough to do. Read our step-by-step tutorial to find out exactly how it works…

Step 1: Choose a picture
Find a picture that could be improved by cropping and double-click to open it. It should automatically open in the Preview application.

Step 2: Select an area
Click the Select box in the toolbar. The default tool is the Rectangular Selection tool and if you click and drag round an area, you will see a marquee appear.

Step 3: Resize the box
Drag the handles at the corners and edges of the marquee to change its size. When you’re done, select Tools>Crop or press Command+K.

Step 4: Crop the picture
The area inside the marquee will be kept while the rest is discarded. Save the image under a new filename so as not to overwrite the original.

Step 5: Use a different tool
Take the original image, choose Elliptical Selection under the Select tool and select an area. You can hold the Shift key to constrain it to a perfect circle.

Step 6: Reposition crop area
Instead of dragging the resize handles at the corners and edges, you can drag from the centre of the selected area to reposition it.

Step 7: Crop the image
With your circular area selected, choose Tools>Crop as before and you will be left with a circular image rather than a square one.

Step 8: Use the Lasso
The Lasso tool can be used to draw custom selection areas. Click in the image and draw freehand around a shape, just like if you were cutting with scissors.

Step 9: Cut it out
Choose Edit>Invert Selection, then press backspace to erase everything except the area selected. This is a good way to cut things out in a freehand manner.

Add graphics to your Keynote presentations – iWork Tutorial

Freddie Harrison — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:55:28 +0000

It’s easy to create presentations in Keynote, but not so easy to make them stand out from the normal templates. This tutorial is designed to show you how to turn an average presentation into a great one by adding a few simple graphical elements. There a few ways to do this and although we’ve added three different elements to one slide, don’t feel restricted by this. Keep things simple by adding one element per slide or make a standing element by having the same thing throughout – this can help hold a presentation together if you have included a lot of information or images. The important thing is to experiment and have fun.

Step 1: Text box
The first way to add graphics that we’re going to show you is by using text. When you’re ready, go to the top of the interface and click on Text Box.

Step 2: Position text box
Position the text box in a place that you can see it clearly and then open the Font panel by tapping the icon at the top right of the interface.

Step 3: Choose a font
Make sure that ‘All fonts’ is selected and choose a font that is made up of graphical elements, such as Bodoni Ornaments or Zapf Dingbats.

Step 4: Test the font
Try out a few different letters until you find something you like. Then size it up using the Font panel and add some colour using the colour palette.

Step 5: Shapes
The second way to add graphics to presentations is by drawing them. Go to the Shape tool at the top of the interface and select the last option.

Step 6: Draw a shape
Click the mouse to add a new point and hold down the mouse key and drag to make a curve. When you’ve joined the dots together, add some colour.

Step 7: Stock images
Another way to add graphics is to use stock. Some sites are free, such as this one, and others such as iStock charge a fee. You’ll need to create an account first.

Step 8: Download an image
Type a keyword into the search facility and when you find something you like, click on it. Under ‘Availability’ check the licensing restrictions and then hit download.

Step 9: Import
You’ll need to import the image into iPhoto in order to see it in Keynote. Drag and drop to the place you want, then resize as required.

(Click on the image below to zoom in and view the annotations)

iWeb Tutorial: Link to external webpages

Freddie Harrison — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:06:43 +0000

When you create multiple pages on your site, iWeb takes care to link them all together, making sure your readers can access every page no matter which pagethey may be reading. There are, of course, ways to limit this, should you not wish your navigation menu to become so full as to lose its usefulness. But if your site is simple, iWeb’s automatic link creation helps you get online in next to no time.

But what if you wanted to be a little more advanced, and be able to link to a page that someone else created on the web? Better still, how about linking from other sites to your own, as a means of boosting traffic to your own pages?

Step 1: Find an address
Open your web browser and find the page you’d like to link to. If you’re using Safari or Firefox, use the keyboard shortcut Cmd+L to highlight the address.

Step 2: Into iWeb
Copy the address (Command+C) and head to iWeb. There’s no need to display the actual address on your site – just highlight part of your text and link to it.

Step 3: The Inspector
With the desired section highlighted (you can also select an image if you prefer), reveal the Inspector by clicking on its blue button, lower-right of the interface.

Step 4: Already copied
Select the Link Inspector (second from the right) and click on the ‘Enable as a hyperlink’ tick box. You’ll notice that the address you copied is already in the URL field.

Step 5: Publishing
The easiest way to link to your site from another is in a forum or comments section. Start by publishing your site using the settings supplied by your web host.

Step 6: Visit your site
Once the upload process is complete, iWeb will offer you the option of visiting the site online. Do so to launch your browser and see the results of your work.

Step 7: Copy the link
Locate the page you’d like to link to (it doesn’t have to be the main page; you can link to any one you desire) then repeat the process carried out in steps 1 and 2.

Step 8: Add a comment
Add a comment or new post in a forum of your choice and paste your address in there (either directly as a URL or embedded within text, as per step 2).

Step 9: Monitor your visitors
Then it’s just a question of sitting back and checking how many visits you’re getting from the various places you’ve linked to, using your host’s traffic analysis.

(Click on the image below to view the annotations)

iWeb External Links Tutorial - Annotated Points

iPhone Tutorial: Use the YouTube application

Freddie Harrison — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:47:11 +0000

Despite the fact that there are many sites on the web which are designed to host your videos, YouTube remains the undisputed champion in that field. The drawback until recently has been its absolute reliance on Adobe’s Flash, a format deemed unsuitable by Apple for its portable devices. As a result, the YouTube app was born, a place where you can watch H.264 versions of most of the same videos.

With the release of iOS 3.2 for the iPad and 4.0 for the iPhone and iPod touch, the landscape changed slightly and you can now watch YouTube videos straight from your browser, so you may think that the YouTube app is no longer necessary. But the program’s interface is designed to take advantage of your iPhone’s size and touch screen and you may find that it’s often a more pleasant experience than visiting www.youtube.com from Safari.

Through the course of this tutorial, we’ll be showing you how to find your way around the program as well as seeing how you can customise the interface to make the program function the way you like it to.

Step 1: Menu buttons
You’ll find the interface is sparse, with just five buttons at the bottom of the screen. Tap on the first one to take you to YouTube’s recommendations.

Step 2: Scrolling through
Videos are shown in a list you can scroll through by swiping your finger up or down the screen. Tapping on one of them will take you to the video.

Step 3: Re-orientation
You can watch in most orientations: with the home button to the left, right or bottom. Double-tap on the video to take it in and out of Full-screen mode.

Step 4: Get info
Click on Done (top-left) to be taken to the video’s info page. Swipe down to Rate, Comment or Flag the video.

Step 5: Comment and sign in
Tap on the Rate, Comment or Flag button. If you aren’t already signed in, you’ll be asked to do so once you’ve clicked on the Send button (top-right).

Step 6: Making favourites
Tap on the Back button (top-left) to be taken to the video’s summary page. From there, you can add it to your playlist or share it with your friends.

Click on the image below to zoom in and view the annotations.

iPhone Tutorial: The YouTube App Explained

Great tips for taking panning shots with your camera

Jimmy Hayes — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:04:28 +0000

Panning photos are a great way of conveying a sense of action, energy or motion and they’re easy to master once you have the basic technique nailed.

Join Andrew Newey in his weekly travel photography blog at http://news.dphotographer.co.uk/category/blog/ and bag yourself some must-have photography techniques.

Tutorial: Create your own keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS X

Ben Harvell — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:12:25 +0000

Is there a process in your favourite application that you use over and over? Creating a custom keyboard command for it is easier than you think…

a manual task. So, we fully understand how annoying it is when certain tasks that need to be done in any piece of software don’t have a keyboard shortcut. We also understand that software makers can’t shortcut everything, but sometimes what they omit is shocking. Nevertheless there is a way you can add your own, and in Snow Leopard the process has become much more organised and a hell of a lot easier. It means that you can create specific

keyboard shortcuts for any task that you repeat so you can save yourself some valuable time.

1: Open it up

Open System Preferences either from your Dock, Apple menu or Applications folder, and then click on the Keyboard option in the Hardware section.

2: Quick click

Click on the Keyboard shortcuts tab at the top of the newly loaded Keyboard Preference pane. This takes you to the screen with all the time-saving power.

3: Double check, edit, add new

You can now see all of the shortcuts by application. Click on Application shortcuts and then use the plus button at the bottom of the window to add a new shortcut.

4: Drop down, type in

Use the drop-down menu to select the application you wish to make the shortcut for and then type the command you wish to shorten. Enter the shortcut you’d like to use and click Add.

Is there a process in your favourite application that you use over and over? Creating a custom keyboard command for it is easier than you think…

We think it’s really important that everyone who uses a computer does so in order to enhance their lives. You probably already subscribe to this philosophy because you are a Mac user. There is little point in using a computer if it’s going to frustrate, annoy or cost you time compared with a manual task. So, we fully understand how annoying it is when certain tasks that need to be done in any piece of software don’t have a keyboard shortcut. We also understand that software makers can’t shortcut everything, but sometimes what they omit is shocking. Nevertheless there is a way you can add your own, and in Snow Leopard the process has become much more organised and a hell of a lot easier. It means that you can create specific keyboard shortcuts for any task that you repeat so you can save yourself some valuable time.

1: Open it up

Open System Preferences either from your Dock, Apple menu or Applications folder, and then click on the Keyboard option in the Hardware section.

2: Quick click

Click on the Keyboard shortcuts tab at the top of the newly loaded Keyboard Preference pane. This takes you to the screen with all the time-saving power.

3: Double check, edit, add new

You can now see all of the shortcuts by application. Click on Application shortcuts and then use the plus button at the bottom of the window to add a new shortcut.

4: Drop down, type in

Use the drop-down menu to select the application you wish to make the shortcut for and then type the command you wish to shorten. Enter the shortcut you’d like to use and click Add.

10 Top Tips for iPhone Creatives

iKungFu — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:18:07 +0000

For those with creative tastes, take note of these ten top tips to get the most from your iPhone whether you’re taking photos, shooting movies or scouting locations.
Click the title of each tip to access the corresponding iPhone app on the App Store

Lesson 43 – Calculator

KungFu Guru — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:17:34 +0000

A quick guide to using the scientific calculator on your iPhone

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Lesson 42 – Send Video

KungFu Guru — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:14:41 +0000

A quick guide to sending links to YouTube videos on your iPhone

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Lesson 41 – Join WiFi

KungFu Guru — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:12:33 +0000

A quick guide to joining WiFi networks on your iPhone

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iCreate » Tutorials & Tips

Use Instant Alpha to quickly cut out images in Preview

Use the Select tool to crop in Preview – OS X Tutorial

Add graphics to your Keynote presentations – iWork Tutorial

iWeb Tutorial: Link to external webpages

iPhone Tutorial: Use the YouTube application

Great tips for taking panning shots with your camera

Tutorial: Create your own keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS X

10 Top Tips for iPhone Creatives

1.Preparation is key

2.GoogleEarth

3.Location matters

4.More than a snap

5.Communication

6.Taking pictures

7.After the shoot

8.Photogene

9.World gallery

10.Share it with the world

Lesson 43 – Calculator

Lesson 42 – Send Video

Lesson 41 – Join WiFi