Which Tutorial for Photoshop Elements??

[SUZI]

Hello Everyone

I am getting ready to purchase Photoshop Elements 6, but I know I will need a good book/tutorial to go with it. I have not used any of the prior Elements -- only the free-download trial. Any suggestions? Photoshop for Dummies?

Thanks again!

 

[Dom13]

Wish I could help you but by the time I got PSE I had enough experience with other photo editing software that I was able to figure out most of what I needed and use help to get the rest. I have used the Dummies books for other things and they've been great for beginners but can be found lacking for users with a little more experience.

 

[SUZI]

Hi Dom13

Thanks for your response. I'll get the Dummies -- I'm a beginner.
I hope it is OK to ask a question. I have tried this different ways on PSE and just can't figure it out. I am trying to put a clipart (which I believe is a GIF) onto a background.

PSE states I have to change the clipart to RGB mode, which I did.
So, now I have 2 images in the "bin" -- the background photo and the clipart.
I put the background photo onto my workspace.
Then I drag the clipart onto the background photo.
It works, except that the clipart is surrounded by a gray square.
Am I just supposed to erase the gray square? I'm sure there is a better way since erasing can become cumbersome?

I appreciate your help (please feel free to ignore this post if you are busy-I understand)
Thanks!

 

[Dom13]

You want to Magic Erase the grey. If you right click on the eraser on the tool bar you should see 3 options. The Magic Eraser is the eraser with the "star" on it. You then use it like the fill tool by clicking on the area you want to erase. You may have to experiment with the tolerance levels to get the right amount of erasure. The anit-aliasing option will smooth out the edges but you may have to adjust the tolerance back a bit to get what you want.

Question: is the background of the original clipart transparent? If so convert the image to RGB mode BEFORE copying it to the clip board. Then paste it on your background and the transparency should remain intact.

 

[SUZI]

Question: is the background of the original clipart transparent? If so convert the image to RGB mode BEFORE copying it to the clip board. Then paste it on your background and the transparency should remain intact.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Dom!
Yes, the background of the original clipart is transparent (it is from Disneyclipart.com) I have tried to convert it to RGB mode. However, after I convert it, I cannot "copy" and "paste" it. The error message is that no pixels have been selected. So, what I end up doing is "selecting" the image with the wand, then copy, then paste onto my photo. I am sure there is a concept that I am not understanding. I think the easiest thing to do is just erase the background as you suggested originally.

I really appreciate your help above! Have a good weekend.

 

[Dom13]

To copy the entire image go to Select on the menu bar and click All. You'll then be able to copy the image. You can also draw a box around the area you want using the select tool (dashed box on the tool bar pictured above) then copy it.