Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

[beefhitler]

So, I have noticed a lot of product and automobile retouchers use the Pen Tool more vs the Polygon Lasso Tool for making selections/masking etc. But I have also seen a lot of Photo Compositers use the Polygonal Lasso Tool more than any of the other alternatives while selecting sharp edges of an object manually.

Now, don't get me wrong, but I have read, watched and also personally experienced that the Polygonal Lasso Tool is a lot easier than the Pen Tool for making selections manually. Heard fellow retouchers tell me too they avoid the Pen Tool. I don't know any product/automobile retoucher so I have no idea what's the other side of the story.

So, is there anything about the Pen Tool vs the Polygonal Lasso Tool which makes it weapon of choice for a lot of these professional product/automobile retouchers?

What's so good about it and not the Lasso for these people?

[Repairman]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

The pen tool enables you to constantly edit and refine a line to fit the target edge. Duplication and further adjustment of a line is also a useful feature when working on similar shaped products.
Poly lasso has its uses but I'd hate to mask a car (lights, mirrors etc) with a series of straight edges. Doable, yes, but a pain.

[lacogada]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

I'm not a pro retoucher ... but, take the time to learn the pen tool, you will be glad you did.

[klev]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

I never worked on vehicles. I did work on some small product stuff. The pen tool is not the same thing. The polygonal lasso just connects straight edges, whereas the pen tool has the ability to apply spline based interpolation between anchor points. This means that it has built in smoothing. I just provided the other term in case you want to google the general case.

Let's say you want a fairly circular outline of a wheel. The polygonal lasso would provide inferior results and consume more time, because each line segment takes on a fixed angle with respect to the canvas. The only way to modify the angle is to add another point. I don't think most people would want to trace something semi-circular or elliptical using a series of straight line approximations, especially one that is difficult to edit.

This also applies to other smooth surfaces. If it's machined, welded, or extruded, the pen tool is a safe choice. You can also use it for other things. I'll add a couple tips. Don't use more points than necessary. Don't zoom in past 300%. I generally prefer 100-200%. Closer is misleading. If you need a corner rather than a smooth one, option click on that point.

[Sabrina81]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

So, is there anything about the Pen Tool vs the Polygonal Lasso Tool which makes it weapon of choice for a lot of these professional product/automobile retouchers?

What's so good about it and not the Lasso for these people?

The pen tool is far more accurate than the polygonal lasso. One huge difference is that a path made with the pen tool can have as many control points as you wish, and each of these can be individually tweaked to create a precise selection. A selection made with the polygonal lasso has no control points and hence lacks this precision and flexibility.

I suspect that most who avoid the pen tool do so because they haven't learned how to use it. True, the learning curve is steeper, but if you master this tool, you'll find it is far superior to the polygonal lasso.

[Kjonnnn]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

Thee polygonal lasso only does straight lines. You can do curves with the pen tool. Unless you're cutting out a car with all straight lines, using the polygonal lasso has to do a sloppy job.

[plugsnpixels]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

It's all a matter of using the right tool for the job. Sometimes the better tool is not nearly as fun ;-)

Using the Pen tool involves a bit of physics and a bit of sewing.

[Sabrina81]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

Thee polygonal lasso only does straight lines.

No, the polygonal lasso can do curved selections, but the precision depends on how good you are at drawing along a curve. The advantage of the pen tool is that it can draw mathematically precise curves.

[Sabrina81]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

It's all a matter of using the right tool for the job.

Exactly. Sometimes the polygonal lasso is more practical and easier to use than the pen tool. I use it quite often.

[plugsnpixels]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

I must admit I too use the polygonal lasso in preference to the Pen. If you're in close and make a lot of "samples", you can get away with it. Of course you can always apply slight smoothing later.

[Sabrina81]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

I must admit I too use the polygonal lasso in preference to the Pen.

Important question: Why? My guess is that you find the pen tool pretty awkward, difficult to use.

[klev]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

It's all a matter of using the right tool for the job. Sometimes the better tool is not nearly as fun ;-)

Using the Pen tool involves a bit of physics and a bit of sewing.

You might not have gotten used to it. With a graphics tablet, especially a large one, it's significantly easier to achieve smooth results with the pen tool. I don't know what you mean by physics.

[shumicpi]

Re: Regarding Pen Tool vs Polygonal Lasso Tool

So, I have noticed a lot of product and automobile retouchers use the Pen Tool more vs the Polygon Lasso Tool for making selections/masking etc. But I have also seen a lot of Photo Compositers use the Polygonal Lasso Tool more than any of the other alternatives while selecting sharp edges of an object manually.

Now, don't get me wrong, but I have read, watched and also personally experienced that the Polygonal Lasso Tool is a lot easier than the Pen Tool for making selections manually. Heard fellow retouchers tell me too they avoid the Pen Tool. I don't know any product/automobile retoucher so I have no idea what's the other side of the story.

So, is there anything about the Pen Tool vs the Polygonal Lasso Tool which makes it weapon of choice for a lot of these professional product/automobile retouchers?

What's so good about it and not the Lasso for these people?

To me pen tool is a better choice to select the edge of the images. And I feel like pen tool is way more easy to handle than lasso tool. Besides that I guess pen tool is always a better choice than polygonal lasso tool when its about the selecting the edge of hairy or blurry image.