How to straighten up a part of an image

[Jome]

I have just installed PSP 8 Ultimate.

Tried to straighten up this tower , using the perspective tool :


When aplly this tool , I end up with this :



Not the way I want it.

[LeviFiction]

That tool is designed for correcting the perspective of the image in case the whole image is skewed, not distorting parts of it.

In order to straighten the leaning tower you need to duplicate the layer so you're working on a copy. (in the layers palette, right-click on the background layer and select Duplicate) You can then either just rotate the layer, or you can use the perspective correction tool on this single layer. After correcting the layer, erase everything but the tower. The end result is a perfectly straight image, with a slightly distorted tower on its own layer.

[Jome]

I can't find "background layer" in the Layer palette
Should i just Duplicate here ?




If I do it , I end up with this :

[BrianCee]

that looks correct - but did you then follow the rest of Levifictions instructions and delete all but the tower from the new layer

[Jome]

I don't know if it was that he meant.
In the new layer I have to start over again with the "Perspectiv Tool "
Maybe it's better just forgetting " Perspectiv Tool " In the beginning and just duplicate the whole image to a new layer.

And if I use the "Delete" , I end up deleting the whole new layer :



__________

After correcting the layer, erase everything but the tower

How am I doing that ?

[LeviFiction]

I don't think I can explain myself properly. So here's an 8 minute video where I fumble around a lot showing one possible way to handle the effect you're looking for.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8FlFL ... p=drivesdk

[JoeB]

First of all, you should read the manual about how to use both the Perspective Correction tool AND the Straighten tool. In the first image you posted 2 things are apparent that you are doing wrong. The first is that, when using either tool, the selection line (in the Straighten tool) or rectangle lines (with the Perspective tool) should be lined up against the edges of the part of the image you are trying to straighten or correct the perspective. In your case, the left and right lines of the rectangle should be snugged up against the outer edges of the tower, just against the edges where the circular parts jut out a bit.

The second is that you are using the wrong tool and should be using the Straighten tool. Its guide line should be lined up on the left of the tower against those jutting edges of the circular parts of the tower.

But first you have to start by following Levi's instructions. These are the steps you should be taking.

1) Start with your original, unaltered image, which opens as a Background layer. A Background layer is one where if you delete part of the image you will see exposed whatever is shown in the Backgrund and Fill properties box in the Materials palette. It does not have a transparent background behind it. A Background layer that is Promoted becomes a normal Raster layer, which means that underneath it is simply transparency, not any color at all.

2) Click on Duplicate (as shown in your image) which will make a duplicate of the Background layer on top of the original and named Copy of Background Layer. This is a regular Raster layer with transparency, so if parts of it are deleted you will see whatever layer is below it (in this case, the original Background layer).

3) With this copy selected (highlighted in the Layers Palette), apply the Straighten tool as I described above. This will rotate that whole layer to the left, leaving the tower straight but, as had happened originally, will also rotate the rest of that image layer to the left just like it did for you originally with the Perspective Correction tool. You will see parts of the original Background layer showing underneath the rotated top layer.

4) Delete all of the upper, rotated layer EXCEPT for the tower. This will reveal the original background layer underneath with the straightened tower still on its own layer above it. There are several ways to delete this stuff. Either use the eraser tool to erase it, or use the Freehand selection tool in Point to Point mode to make a selection all around the straightened tower and then invert the selection and hit the Delete keyboard key.

That said, in this image you will end up with some of the leaning tower of the bottom, background layer showing because it is leaning to the right of the straightened tower. You will either have to go to that Background layer and use either the Clone tool or the Magic Fill tool to fill over those exposed parts with the surrounding sky, or alternatively, you could try NOT deleting the part of the sky in the upper, straightened layer that covers the exposed part of the tower underneath it.

Another issue you will have is that you have to include, with the straightened tower, the people in front of it so don't delete them from the upper layer either otherwise they may look like they're leaning right. However, that may now be the case but in any event you are going to have some issues with parts of underneath background layer around the tower not fitting in properly and will likely have to do more detailed work with the clone or Magic Fill tool to fix those issues.

All of that said, those in this forum are only too happy helping people having difficulty with some aspects of PSP because it is a powerful program and not everything is intuitive or well explained in the manuals and videos. However, we do expect new users of the program to familiarize themselves with it using the resources available, because this is not a tutorial forum as such for teaching the basics that are available in Help and the manual. Besides the manual, Levifiction has created quite a few videos about how to use PSP and that's a great resource. You'll find more such resources with Google.

[Joelle]

My method :

Make a selection around the tower, I used the Freehand Selection Tool, set to EdgeSeeker with these settings:

Leave a big chunk of the sky so it will cover bits of leaning tower in the original, but make the selection tight at the base where the people are, you don't want half a person you can always tidy up the promoted selection by cloning the edges of the sky.
To Promote the selection:
Shift+Ctrl+P on the keyboard, or Selections>Promote Selection to Layer.

I then used the Straighten Tool on the tower, down the middle of the tower.
Place one end at the top, and the other end at the bottom, lining it up with the pillars of the 'galleries'.
Click Apply and you have managed something no-one in real life has managed

Use the Pick Tool (K on the keyboard) to adjust the path where 3 visitors are as it will be out of alignment.
Click on the left bottom node and hold the Shift key as you do so, then push it up until it lines up.
Ditto on the right hand side, but pull down a bit.
Experimenting is half the fun

Joëlle

[Kathy_9]

Nice work Joelle and a very straightforward explanation. Pisa will never be the same again.

[Joelle]

He he, if there is no leaning tower, the tourists won't come. Maybe it's better left alone!
Thanks Kathy

Joëlle

[Jome]

Thanks for the video.

However I find Joelle's tutorial the easiest.
Even a newbie like me , can now straighten up the tower in about 1 min

[JoeB]

Thanks for the video.

However I find Joelle's tutorial the easiest.
Even a newbie like me , can now straighten up the tower in about 1 min

I agree that Joelle's method is the easiest and fastest. As they say, there's more than one way to skin a cat, and her method does it causing less torture to the cat.

[Joelle]

I am always kind to animals ..
Happy tower (and everything else) straightening!

Joëlle