Ok. Now that you have your images, it's time to cut them out in preparation to stick them onto a background.
* Open PhotoShop and import your image (by going file ~ import) :P)
*Use the "magic wand" tool to remove the majority of the unwanted stuff around the image. It just saves time. You could leave your image like this, but you will see a lot of white stuff that you don't want. It takes a lot of time to cut out an image properly though, so if you're just doing a mock-up, the magic wand tool will suffice. If, however, there is a lot of different colours surrounding your image and the wand only removes something the size of a pin head each time, then skip this step.
* Now, get the "eraser" tool and select the fuzzy edged eraser. Let's use size 10 for now.
* Get the hang of using the tool. Click ad drag to erase stuff. you should notice it lags a little bit. That’s BAD for precision graphics. Now, try using a clicking motion (click very quickly while moving the mouse around slowly). You will notice that there is no lag. just keep clicking around your picture (it takes ages, I know) taking just a small bit of the black line off (just the smallest amount).
* You will notice that the smaller the brush size, the smaller the fuzzy edge around it. The fuzzy edge is good so the image cut out isn't too sharp, as would be the case with the heavy, solid eraser. The drawback is that you are left with a semi-transparent bit of stuff left. Therefore, I recommend using a size 6 brush, going smaller for fine detail (i use brush sizes, 9-fuzzy, 6-fuzzy, 5-fuzzy, 3-fuzzy and 1 solid (because you're only erasing one pixel.))
* I also recommend putting the picture on a different layer and making a layer underneath dark green, blue or red. This makes it easier to spot bits that haven't been erased.
* Once you've gone around the image with the fuzzy :P, get out the solid eraser, size 15 or above and get rid of the rest of the stuff around the pic, making sure not to cut into the fuzzy black line you spent so much time doing...
*Now your image should be cut out neatly and be ready to put on a background. Remember that you can do a rush job, but it looks much better if you take your time (about 1/2 hour - an hour usually!) be patient and all will be good.
