Cut a product out of its background

A cutout can be geometrically correct and still look cheap. The usual giveaway is a pale rim left by the old background or a soft halo around an edge that should be machined and crisp. That is why this workflow opens with much less uncertainty than the hair workflow: the matte is asked to make a decision quickly instead of carrying partly transparent pixels a dozen rows into the object.

Work against the checkerboard first, then switch among a dark and a light backing. A white fringe disappears on white and a dark fringe disappears on black; seeing both is the fastest way to catch colour contamination before the product reaches a marketplace card.

Begin with the proposed shape, not the edge softness. Repair missing handles, straps and narrow gaps with the keep brush, then clear holes and enclosed background with the take-away brush. Only after the silhouette is correct should the band widen for fabric, bristles or translucent packaging.

Leave natural contact shadows out of a transparent cutout unless they are part of the brief. A shadow tied to the original surface rarely agrees with the light and perspective of the next background. If a subtle grounding shadow is needed, rebuild it where the product will finally be placed.

• Transparent products remain difficult. Glass contains the background in its pixels, so removing the background is also removing part of the object’s appearance.
• White on white needs manual guidance. The colour solver needs a measurable difference; when none exists, the brushes are the source of truth.

What background gives the cleanest product cutout?

A plain surface that differs from the object in both colour and brightness. Even lighting matters more than a particular colour: a white sweep with a grey shadow is harder than a consistent pale-grey board if the product itself is white.

Why does this route use less feather than the hair route?

A bottle, box, phone or shoe normally has a definite manufactured edge. A long alpha ramp turns that edge into a halo. This route starts with a three-pixel uncertainty band and an eighteen-percent feather, but both controls remain available when glass, fabric or fur needs a softer boundary.

Can it keep the hole inside a handle?

Usually, if the background inside the hole resembles the background outside it. When the proposal fills the hole, use the take-away brush inside it. The brush edits the matte directly and does not repaint the product pixels.

Does the output keep the original resolution?

Yes. The preview is reduced for responsiveness, but the accepted matte is applied to the full-resolution source when the PNG is written.

• Make a picture transparentThe same four steps, with the file-format question answered on the way out.
• Cut out hair and furA wider uncertain band and a softer ramp, set that way before you arrive.
• Hair, fur and every other soft edgeWhat the uncertain band is, what widening it costs, and the edges nobody wins.
• Cut the subject outOpen a photo with a clearly separable subject, let colour and contrast propose the edge, correct it by hand, save a transparent PNG.