Brilliant thread, can't wait to next Monday.... DITI No.19 (PSP9) 1.Selected the whole castle using selection in smart edge mode and copied to a new image. 2.Used clone brush to extend the bottom walls over the boarding. 3.Copied the modified castle as new layer into the bacground shot. 4.Used deform tool in scale mode to reduce size and then copied a mirror version as new layer. 5.Used clone brush to make the wall between to two towers and extend wall down to the rocks. 6. Clone brush to make foliage in front of bottom walls. 7.Used chanel mixer to change colour on castle. 8.Flaten layers, and soft edge brush aoround the edges of the castle. Clone brush to remove existing parts of original castle in the background. 9. Reduce size to 700 pix and small sharpen. There probally an easier way, but thats the only way I know how to do it at the moment. Haven't got to grip with masks yet!!! I was trying to get the castle to the same colour as the bridge but run out of time and still not sure how to it! Steve

#28 - Can I play too?

I tend to use the quick mask tool.

#1 enter quick mask mode and paint the area I want to
extract (castle first) then click on Load selection.
then save selection as an alpha channel
This way the selected area can be loaded as a path
or mask for export as a vector to illustrator.
(This is just because I am use to working wirh production graphics, so it is mainly ut of habit)

#2 I opened the new photo I shot of myself with an empty
hand. Then again in quick mask mode I painted my fingers
and thumb.... Again loading selection... bla bla bla...

#3 Paste or drag castle to a second layer..
#4 Paste fingers to third layer making sure
layer three is the upper most layer....

#5 A few transform adjustments on the castle to make
it fit my hand.

#6 Copy and paste some peices if brick from the castle
and transform adjust to make them look like they
are falling off the bottom...

#7 Flatten, optimise & upload....

It sounds more complicated then it actually is but
the whole process took about 10 min...

Yeah, production will make you fast...would probably take me triple that time. ;] Great explanations everyone. It is interesting to know your processes, mainly because it if were my I might have gone about them a little differently.

DAMN YOU PPL ARE ALL SO GOOD!