Good morning,

First time here & a bit of a newbie I'm afraid. I hope this is the right place to post - the skills here seem phenomenal - so maybe I should have gone elsewhere...

I use PSE2, so need reasonably simple advice if possible please.

Re. the attached, I got in a mess with the edges of this vase, most jarring (I think) are my efforts to retrieve the curving edge that runs horizontally across the vase, where slope meets vertical. I used a facility I think called paths. A blob with the paintbrush, move a fraction further on, press shift, do another blob & they join up. It still looks crude to me, and I would love to know of a better method for doing this, or maybe I just need to improve my skills. The outer edges aren't great either...

All help or criticisms of any sort would be hugely welcome!

Best wishes, Canna.

Good morning canna,

To be honest with you I like the vase the way it is. I find it interesting.

If you are looking for a smoother, more controled line (if I understand your question) I suggest using the pen tool (does p.e. have this tool?). It takes a little getting used to but once you get the hang of making bezier curves it is an awesome tool.


AP

Really nice image Canna. Hope you can get it to where you like it. I downloaded my camera version of Elements but couldn't see anything for paths. I really think that you can smooth out the edges with paths ( if you know how to hold and drag to make curves) or with some of the other selection tools. Just zoom in and be precise, invert and do some cloning. It's an image thats worth taking the time IMHO.

Good Luck
dave

Hi,

A big thanks for your time and suggestions.

AP

I also have a Serif PP 8 photo editing prog, which I haven't used for a while, and I suspect it may do 'bezier curves' under some guise. I've left a note on their forum asking about this.

I agree that 'imperfectness' in pix can often enhance, but (maybe because I've tried to get it right for so long) this vase is driving me nuts. My efforts at curves often do drive me nuts.


Duv,

Am going to ask at a Photoshop E. forum to see if I can replicate what you suggest.

To be honest I seem to spend my life going round curving edges with a hard brush reduced to a slimline 3 percent roundness, then going over the little jaggies with with the blur tool (set small). Patient work suits me fine - I see fantastic examples of the fruits of patient work here - but it's only worth it when it gets you somewhere in the end!

I wondered also about creating better edges using visual tricks - maybe different contrasts or whatever?

Thanks again for the suggestions - very very helpful! You've given me load to check out.

Best wishes,
Canna.