CBT Cafe > Fireworks > Selections & Masking

Fireworks MX: Removing a Background from an Image - Bitmap Selection Method

(Lesson from the Fireworks MX: Selections and Masking Techniques Training CD)

One of the tasks I do most often in Fireworks MX is isolate and remove parts of images. It doesn't matter how many photo cds or custom images I have, I always have to modify at least some part of an image to make it work in a project and a lot of those times I'm simply removing an image from a solid colored background.

I know Fireworks is normally regarded as an awesome vector program but its bitmap editing tools are equally as. So powerful, in fact, that I can do just about any type of object or image selecting I need to without leaving Fireworks MX.

This example is a good starting point for using the Magic Wand tool to select and remove a solid background from an image.

Step 1: Getting Started

Open an object or image that has a solid background you'd like to remove. You can even use the example below.

Step 2: Selecting and Deleting the Background

Select the Magic Wand Tool (W)
In the Property inspector set the Wand Tool's Tolerance to 20 and the Edge to Anti-Alias.
Click anywhere in the white area to select the background. You may need to click and hold the Shift Key to create more than one selection. Sometimes the white background is not contiguous because the object covers a larger portion of the canvas.
Click Delete to remove the background
Import a new graphic (Control-R or Command-R) for the background or click and drag your image on to another open document in Fireworks

Note: Rather than deleting the background you can reverse your selection to select the rocket. Currently, the white background is selected. Go up to Select>Select Inverse to reverse the selection and select the rocket. This turns the selection "inside out" and you can verify this by the "marching ants" around only the rocket.

You can now Cut (Control-X or Command-X) to cut the rocket out and then Paste (Control-V or Command-V) it on top of another image or background.

Image placed over new background with Perspective Shadow effect.

Want more information?
What if the object is a piece of clip art or a logo? What if you only wanted to change part of the logo's color or background? Do you know which images work best with hard edges vs. anti-alias edges?

Check out the Selections and Masking Techniques Training CD for more, in-depth, project-based tutorials for creating selections.

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