Sierra Schmidt
Knowing how to COB (Cut Out Background) is important if you want to be in journalism and/or on the yearbook staff. COB’s can be incorporated on all kinds of pages in the yearbook and are important to know how to do. COB’s are used by themselves, in an infographic, and even by the stories which changes the way the story looks. This post involves two parts; how to COB and the Do’s and Don’ts of COB’s.
Picking Pictures
The pictures are the most visually impactful part of every page in a yearbook. COB’s can mix up the look so not every picture is just in a box. If you are doing a sports COB, it is important the COB has the ball in it. Make sure the person in the COB is standing on a line, and try to get feet because the feet are used as a base for the COB. The picture HAS to be clear and focused in order for it to be a good COB.
Photoshop
Take the selected picture and open in Adobe Photoshop. Copy the layer first, which unlocks the layer for editing. On the left side of the screen on the tool bar, there should be a tool called “Lasso Tool.” Click on the arrow on that tool to change it to Polygonal Lasso Tool. Trace the tool around the person, clicking the mouse around small sections of the body. After reconnecting each side of the polygonal lasso tool, creating a “marching ants” dotted line around the cobbed section, push the delete button. Make sure not to cut off any limbs. The hair can be tricky, so COB it and look at how it looks before deleting it. After finishing, save as a PDF file so you will be able to easily enter the picture into your spread on Monarch.
Common Troubles
Many difficulties can occur while cobbing through Photoshop. Hands and fingers can be complicated. After using the Polygonal Lasso Tool to trace around the area, reconnect both ends to get the marching ants line. Push delete and see if the hand/fingers look natural. If they do, push “control D” to deselect the selected area. If it does not look the way you want it to, push “control Z” to undo, then deselect and start again. Control Z DOES NOT work after deselecting. These same steps can be taken while cobbing other difficult areas, such as hair and faces.
Do’s and Don’ts; Picture Examples
DON’TS
-legs cut off
-no ball in picture
-hard to see face
-not clear/focused
DO’S
-feet on line
-ball in picture
-clear and focused
Conclusion
All in all, cobbing can change the whole appearance of the page and add a new perspective of photography to the yearbook. A bad COB can ruin all the great aspects of a page, so take these directions into consideration while cobbing.
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