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Selecting images in KnockOut 2 |
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(Page 3 of 3)
Transparences
Working with transparences is a separate issue altogether and you cannot do without the manual. The basic rule for transparences is to do the outside selection first and then pin a number of pixels of opaque places in the mainly transparent object (I experimented with this dragonfly). The resulted picture had transparencies in opaque places and contained background in most transparent places. The manual turned out not to be over-detailed on the subject. I did the pinning several times, used different places. The best thing I could get is shown below. As you see, on the one hand, the fiber of the wing is lost mostly; on the other hand, the transparencies between the fibers are in the image. May be the Tutorial shows it better?With the wine glass (above) it was a little better but still – a lot of background color leaked through and had to be erased, a number of flashes was lost; the semitransparent stem became transparent after the first attempt and looks a bit strange in the second. Shadow
Knock Out 2 allows to select not only objects but their shadows as well. There’s a second pair of selecting tools for it: Inside Shadow and Outside Shadow. They work just the same as the main selecting tools, with all the options accessible. On the picture below you see a selected CD case with its shadow falling on the desk also selected. The result is very good. And the selection process goes smooth and easy. You can even work with the shadows of transparent objects in the same manner.So the program gives a rather good overall impression. It is easy to set up, has a good clear manual and several tutorials covering the main subtleties, and a friendly intuitively understandable interface. Once you found the way to draw the outlines the selection process will take less and less time with you. The weakest point of KnockOut 2 is the selection of transparent objects, and it can loose fine details at the edge when the background is clustered or has colors similar to foreground ones (see manul picture). If you need to make a lot of selections and cutouts KnockOut 2 will be a great help for it really speeds up the process and makes it much easier. KnockOut 2 is sold directly from Corel website at the price of $99 (quite fair for the things it can do). Unfortunately, there is no trial available and you can only work with the bought and registered copy. The good news is the 30 days money back guarantee, that is you can return it if you are not satisfied.
Look also at the comparison of selecting tools and selection results and at the rating of the plug-ins.
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Reviews 
