Working with Bitmap Images

Working with Bitmap Images/Creating a Feathered Edge

Once photos are scanned and digitized, the are composed of pixels, the smallest component of a bitmap image. The pixels are what distinguish a bitmapped image from a vector image, which consists of paths. Resolution is a word that comes up often when working with bitmap images. Fireworks has a separate environment called Bitmap mode for working with bitmap images.

There are two ways that an image can be transformed:

by changing the canvas size or
by changing the image size itself.

Using the bitmap selection tools available in the Tools panel, the puppy photo will take on a life of its own as you crop the image to exclude the areas of the image that are unneeded and then modify the image in other ways as well. This is fun, so let's go ahead and get started.

Working in bitmap mode requires that a portion of the image first be selected. Unlike vectors you can’t simply use the Pointer tool to select an object on the canvas. You must first define the bitmapped area that you want to work with and then perform your operations. Luckily, there are some great tools available at the top of the Tools panel to help in this process.

Save the picture of the puppy below to your student folder.

The first tool you’ll try is the Marquee tool, and it’s the simplest to use. This tool will create either a rectangular or oval selection area on the image based on the option you choose. Try an oval marquee first, drawing an oval marquee around the rose. Once an area is selected, you will see the “marching ants” dashed line that dances around your selection. I drew jagged areas as you can see from the cut out below, but without the background:
In the Marquee tool's Options panel (accessed by double-clicking any Marquee too), under the Edge choices, select Feather, and enter the number of pixels wide you'd like to have feathered. The larger the number, the larger the area affected. I used 30 pixels for this activity.
Copy and paste the selected image into a new document. See my final product below:

If you see areas you need to add to the selection, then hold down the Shift key, select the Lasso tool (not the polygon lasso tool), and add the areas.

In areas where you may have gotten too much of the background, hold down the Alt key and with the Lasso tool, draw around the area to deselect.