I have opened up a new document in Photoshop and did a quick drawing with the pencil and have tried everything I can think of to "smooth" out the lines but to no avail. I have an email sent to my graphic designer "mentor" and I am willing to bet she may know a way. Other than that it may be Monday when bradyj or some other graphics wiz shows up.
MNS
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[size=1]"If you want to be "in the biz" you are going to have to roll with the changes or get out, basically."
This is a crude method, but you could try just duplicating the layer with your drawing, and then gaussian blur the bottom layer a bit. this will provide some elementary aa. It doesn't always fit the ticket though.
There are two possible solutions I have been shown/told, although I do no know if you will like either of them.
1 Create a new transparent layer and use the paintbrush tool with anti-aliasing on and trace your pencil drawing.
2) If you go to the Adobe Exchange and look in the "actions" section for Photoshop there is a "pencil drawing" action available that may be able to replicate your drawing in smooth lines.
Still have not heard from my "mentor"..
MNS
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[size=1]"If you want to be "in the biz" you are going to have to roll with the changes or get out, basically."
There are a couple of ways to accomplish this, and I'll give you the easiest and most convenient. If you find this unsatisfactory, then I will offer others.
1) Open up your photoshop document. (I am not sure the equivalent PC button: probably alt or ctrl) Hold down the apple button, and click on the layer you wish to have the anti-aliasing. This will select the object on that layer. If you have a 'layer mask' on it, do this to the mask (which, in the future, if you're cropping something, go with the layer mask rather than delete the image, it would make this much easier).
2) Go to your toolbar menu above, and go select > modify > contract. 'Contract' about 1 to 2 pixels depending on your file resolution and size.
3) Now, go select > feather. 'Feather' your selection 1 to 2 pixels depending on what you chose in number 2.
4) Now, you can reverse the selection by going select > inverse. At this point either apply a 'mask' or delete the edge away. It will anti-alias for you, and naturally blend into the background beneath it. Should you find the blur is not good enough, try it again and choose larger numbers for the options above.
Either way we do this, you are going to lose a couple hard pixels on your edge. If you need to, add more.
Also: If you 'transform' your image (edit > transform) and make it larger or smaller, this will automatically anti-alias for you. However, it does not give you a lot of control.
Also, Also: If you're working in gif format, with limited colors, swing it back to RGB before you do this.
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// Art is what you can get away with. <-- Andy Warhol
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there is are bunch of steps you can do to try to make a pencil line less jagged but since you are drawing with pixels it never comes out completely smooth. it is just blurring things
You can try feathering or doing what not but it is still sampling the pixels and will appear pixelated to some degree.
She said tracing it with the paintbrush may be your best bet.
Also, if you draw on paper and scan it into Photoshop it will be smooth. The pencil tool in Photoshop is what most people use to do pixel art.
MNS
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[size=1]"If you want to be "in the biz" you are going to have to roll with the changes or get out, basically."
Originally posted by bradyj That's what anti-aliasing is. It's pixelating the edges of an image to blend it to the background.
Paintbrush can do it, but I would go with a more accurate selection. You can control the lines of the pixel closer.
Either way, I can think of forty different ways to accomplish this.
I opened a document up in PS and drew a quick circle with a %px pencil and attempted your method posted above. It just made the image lighter but did not remove the jagged edges.
I am now curious as to more of the forty or so ways you know how to do it. "We" would like to see them and learn something. Nothing she or anyone she works with in ger studio knows of a way of doing it.
Thanks.
MNS
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[size=1]"If you want to be "in the biz" you are going to have to roll with the changes or get out, basically."
From what I know, we weren't talking of using the pencil tool for anything. I made the bar of a T, with no anti-aliasing, and did my described method. I used the lasso tool, created a sharp edge with no feather or blur, and filled it. Then used my method to create anti-aliasing... which is essentially a blurred pixel edge that blends colors of a background to the foreground. Much like a 'trap' in screen printing.
None of the five artists in my studio that work under me had any problems with this method. Other methods could include a gaussian blur instead of a feather, the blur tool instead of a feather. An anti-aliased selection prior to creating your fill, etc...
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// Art is what you can get away with. <-- Andy Warhol
...:.:::: bradyjfrey.com : htmldog : ::::.:...
Originally posted by MotherNatrsSon That is what we were talking about.
MNS
*#&$^ing Whoops!!
Sorry guys, you were right, I was reading a little too into it. My fault.
Then, alternative to the paintbrush. Instead of 'drawing' with the pencil, draw lines in your 'paths' and then 'stroke' those lines with any brush option other than pencil. You can adjust the controls, by selecting a brush (which makes it active) and then applying a stroke on your path instead.
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// Art is what you can get away with. <-- Andy Warhol
...:.:::: bradyjfrey.com : htmldog : ::::.:...
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anti-aliased problem
