How to resize a subject pasted into a new background?

[Djard007]

I followed the steps in a YouTube video tutorial on how to remove the background of a photo then paste the subject into a new photo that served as a new background. But I was unable to figure out how she resized the subject, once pasted into a new background. As so often is the case, tutors skip steps and leave the student stranded. Once pasting the subject with a transparent background into the new background photo, she rolled the the mouse wheel to resize the subject, without altering the size of the background image. Can someone share the missing step with me?

[hartpaul]

Do you have a link to the YouTube video, allowing others to look at and see what is happening.
I would paste it as a new layer and then use the pick tool to scale it down in size.

[JoeB]

Was she using PSP or another graphic program?

[Djard007]

Here is the URL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nap10h2INNY

At the 2:42 minute mark she resizes the subject, using only the mouse; and in a fraction of a second, she zooms out, resizes the subject and pasts it back in, making no mention of the steps.

[JoeB]

Here is the URL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nap10h2INNY

At the 2:42 minute mark she resizes the subject, using only the mouse; and in a fraction of a second, she zooms out, resizes the subject and pasts it back in, making no mention of the steps.

I'm afraid you misinterpreted what she did. In fact, when rolling the scroll wheel she was not resizing but zooming out from both the background and the people layer. You are confusing "resizing" with "zooming", and she does both in this video.

First, just prior to pasting the people as a layer, look at the background image she is going to post it in to. It fills the width of her grey workspace area and is surrounded by the pick tool. When she pastes the people as a layer above the beach background that layer is even larger, covering the beach background and extending beyond the workspace, which is why you can only see the middle part of the people's bodies and are missing stuff left and right also. You can see that the pick tool is still active (the handle is still in the middle of the pic over the man's body) but you can't see the sides and top because they are surrounding the pasted image, which is outside of the workspace.

Then she uses the scroll wheel to zoom out. You'll see the pasted layer get smaller because if is still hiding the beach beneath it. However, the hidden beach is also getting smaller and staying behind the pasted layer. And now you can also see the rectangle of the pick tool in portrait shape because it is surrounding the pasted people layer. And remember, this stage is NOT resizing the images with the scroll wheel. Both layers retain their original pixel sizes. The images are simply being zoomed out with the scroll wheel to bring them completely into the work space and allow her extra space to work. And both layers are being zoomed out simultaneously.

Then she grabs the lower right node of the pick tool and drags it up and to the right. This is actual resizing, using the Pick Tool as @hartpaul suggested. And she is resizing the people layer only and using the pick tool to do so. With this actual resizing pixels are being removed to make the image actually smaller. Because the top of the people layer is well above the top of the beach layer the resized people now appear above the top of the beach layer. This makes the beach layer visible because the smaller people layer no longer covers it. And you can see that the beach layer is considerable smaller than it was originally in the workspace, because it was zoomed out along with the people layer with the scroll wheel. Note that it was zoomed out but, unlike the people layer, hasn't been resized. Then she drags the smaller, resized people layer back into position she wants it to be in on to the beach layer.

Does that help?

[Djard007]

I follow the steps in the video tutorial exactly; but when I hover the mouse over the lower right corner of the Pick Tool border of the subject layer, the cursor turns into either a Maltese cross (lets me resize only the right side only) or a curved double-ended arrow (lets me rotate the subject). I can zoom out and drag the Pick Tool frame outside the background image, but resizing the subject without distorting the subject with the Pick Tool is not possible in my version of PSP (X8).

I think the instructor in Corel's video tutorial needs to try and follow her own steps before posting. OK. I'm venting; but it surely seems computer tutorials are not made for beginners, skipping steps assumed are common knowledge. What am I overlooking? How can I resize the subject layer with the Pick Tool?

[JoeB]

What Mode do you have set in the Pick tool's tool option bar? If in Scale then - assuming you are accurate in placing your cursor on the node (and that can be finicky) - then you should also get a third option which will be a straight, angled, double-headed arrow.

[Djard007]

Thank you JoeB. The mode was set to "Perspective." The tutorial made no mention of the Pick Tool nor the need to set the mode to "Scale." But in writing users guides for other software, I have been guilty of the same. So I can't complain---though sometimes I still do (Walsh).

Again, thanks for your valuable help.

[JoeB]

No problem. I agree that in the video she did slide too quickly into the resize part and should have taken a few seconds to say to now use the Pick Tool to resize the layer. I just recognized the pick tool's marquee/outline and then checked the highlighted tool in her toolbar to confirm it was the pick tool she used. As you said, it's an easy thing to skip over when a person is writing a tutorial with a program they are completely familiar with.

But I wouldn't expect the tutorial to specifically mention using Scale mode because tutorial writers do expect people to know enough about the tools to have a basic working knowledge of how they operate (unless the tutorial is specifically about how to use a tool and not a process). And of course we all sometimes make the mistake when using tools to forget to check all of the options in the Tool Options bar before proceeding. It's usually a good idea to hit Reset first as @hartpaul suggested in another thread.