Design your own backgrounds.
Quickstart for Backdrop Designer
12 easy steps for creating a digital backdrop.
[ from: Digital Anarchy] f/x tools for revolutionaries

www.digitalanarchy.com

Backdrop Designer : Quickstart Guide The Basics of Backdrop Designer
In this Quickstart Guide, we will discus the basics of Backdrop Designers. This tutorial will give you a good overview of the creation process. There are really only eight simple steps involved in making a backdrop. If youre in a hurry or simply love our presets exactly the way they ship, then you can boil down the necessary steps to four. Wow!

Table of Contents

Step 01: Open Backdrop Designer Step 02: Select Texture preset Step 03: Select Shadow preset Step 04: Evaluate the results 9
Step 05: Adjust Shadow Opacity Step 06: Transform the Shadow Step 07: Adjust Shadow Blur Step 09: Mutate the Texture TIP: The Undo function
Step 10: Adjust Texture Blur Step 12: Load & replace
Step 11: Adjust Texture color TIP: Set sliders to default
Step 13: Save a preset combo
Step 14: Render the backdrop
2007, digital anarchy : f/x tools for revolutionaries
| create your own backgrounds
Backdrop Designer : Quickstart Guide
Step 01: Open Backdrop Designer
Open up a Photoshop le, and select the layer to which you want to add your Backdrop graphic. Alternately, create a new Photoshop le that is 640x480 pixels, at 150 dpi. In Photoshop, go to the Filter menu, then the Digital Anarchy submenu. Choose Backdrop Designer. A custom interface will open, but technically you are still in Photoshop. Backdrop Designer is resolution independent. This means that its output will take on the physical dimensions and the pixel-based resolution of your image, always with a high quality render. You may notice that the Preview Window is proportinal to the height and width of your Photoshop le. This is great, because it gives a true preview of what your nal result will be.
Step 02: Select Texture preset
On the left side of the screen, click on the LOAD button that is next to the Texture Window. This brings up the Texture Preset Manager. In the Texture Preset Manager, the graphics are divided into categories according to attributes like style, color, realism, and softness. These categories include Pastels, Orange, Aquas and Earth. For this exercise, scroll down the left side until you get to the Old Masters category (one of our favorites!). Select the preset thats second over in the rst row, called Rusty Smoke. Click the OK checkmark button, or press your Return or Enter key.
In the Preview Window, you will see the Rusty Smoke texture you just selected. It is visually aected by a Shadow. By default, the last shadow that was applied by Backdrop Designer will show up in the Shadow window.
Step 03: Select Shadow preset
On the right side of the screen, click the LOAD button thats next to the Shadow Window. This takes you into the Shadow Preset Manager, which is also organized into categories according to attributes. All of these presets are grayscale images, meaning, they are made of black, white, and the gray values inbetween. There are no colors. Scroll down to the Fabrics-1 category, and select the second Shadow in the third row, called Twice Hung. Many of the Shadow presets are organized by material simulation, or light eects (like Hot Spots), or cast objects (Fences, Windows). Click OK or hit the Return/Enter key.
Step 04: Evaluate the results
In the Preview Window, our Twice Hung Shadow is now applied to the Rusty Smoke Texture. This shadow is a Distortion Shadow, meaning, its gray values distort the underlying colored texture.

Texture

Shadow
If you like the graphic that youve created then. Youre nished! Skip to Step 11, save your combination as a new preset, and apply the backdrop to your Photoshop le. If you want to customize this backdrop, then do the following steps in the order you prefer, and do only the ones that t the changes you need.
Step 05: Adjust Shadow Opacity
Sense of depth is primarily created through the shadows/highlights of the backdrop. That makes the sharpness and opacity of this Shadow important. In the Shadow Window, increase the Opacity slider to 100. Notice that the Shadow image gets darker overall, but especially in the shadowy areas. Imagine the Shadow as a layer sitting over the Texture. Increasing its Opacity is like increasing the opacity of a layer in Photoshop thats above another layer. If you increase Opacity, the Shadow layer dominates the lower Texture layer. Decreasing Opacity means the Texture shows through the Shadow. The Shadow will never blot out the underlying Texture (unless you set Texture Brightness to 100%). This is because, behind the scenes, Backdrop Designer is using a blend mode to combine the Shadow and Texture.

Opacity at 50 (top) Opacity at 100 (below)
Step 06: Transform the Shadow
The Shadow Window has a set of Transform tools. Their functions are pretty basic (Rotate, Scale, Move) and can provide an easy change to the presets attributes. In particular, the Scale Tool can completely change the look of your Shadow. A Shadow can have dramatically dierent looks at dierent scales. NOTE: The Texture Window and the Preview Window also have transform controls. Their functions work the same as the Shadow transform tools.
Weve scaled the Shadow down a bit and shifted it to the left with the Move tool. Looks similar to the original, maybe a little sharper.
Blur at 30 (top) Blur at 100 (below)
The Shadow has been scaled down 300%. Now the Backdrop looks more like crushed plastic or silk.
The Shadow has been scaled up about 300% and rotated clockwise about 20 degrees. Now the Backdrop is vertical, soft and calm.
Step 07: Adjust Shadow Blur
The Blur control softens up the Shadow, making its edges less sharp and blending shades of gray together. Adjusting Blur value is similar in principle to applying a Gaussian Blur in Photoshop.
Set Blur to 100. Notice that the seams in our Shadow layer smooth out. In general, the shadows do not appear as dark as they were before the adjustment. If we were using the Shadow for distortion, changing the Blur level would also aect the amount of distortion.
Step 08: Adjust Shadow Bend
The Texture preset that were using is pretty abstract. Abstract textures dont really have well-dened features, so distorting them just makes them look more abstract. You can use the Bend Editor to create the illusion that a Texture is wrapping around the shadowy areas. The Bend Editor controls the amount of distortion provided by the Shadow, or bump map.
2007, digital anarchy : f/x tools for revolutionaries | create your own backgrounds
The amount of Bend will give add a sense of depth to the backdrop you are creating, particularly when combined with the shadows and highlights of the Shadow. In this case, the Shadow we are using doesnt need additional distortion. Its black, white and gray values are already creating a feeling of bumpy depth. But this is still a good step to keep in mind. Bend is only apprpriate for some images, but when it works it works really well.

The Bend button opens up the Bend Editor.
Lets turn our Bend value down to 0. Click on the Bend button beneath the Shadow Window. This opens up the Bend Editor. Set Bend Amount to 0, then click OK. (You cant use the Return or Enter key.)
Using a dierent Texture and Shadow preset as an example. LEFT: Bend Editor at 70. RIGHT: Bend Editor at 0. Its a subtle change and a little dicult to see. The high Bend setting deepends and stretches the left-side cerase.
Step 09: Mutate the Texture
The squares around the Texture Window are Mutation Wells. These are automatically generated variations of your Texture preset. The mutations are random but their level of variation is tied to the Mutate Level slider. To produce results that are similar but slightly varied, keep the Mutate Level to a low amount like 1 or 2%. To generate mutations, simply click (dont drag) inside the main preview well of the Texture Window. The surrounding Mutate Wells will change with each click. To limit the attributes that vary, click on the Mutation Options button. Uncheck Color, then click OK.
LEFT: Mutate Level is set to 1% and all Mutation attributes are active. RIGHT: Mutate Level is still at 1% but Mutate Color was turned o. The variations are very close to the original Texture and can provide an interesting happy accident change.
Now that you have turned o color changes, Mutate will produce results that are very similar to the original texture. These variations are quite often usable and may give you the tweak you were looking for. To select a Mutate texture, just click inside that Well. The Mutate texture will load in the Texture Window. NOTE: The Shadow Window and the Preview Window also have mutation controls. Their functions work the same as the Texture Mutation Wells.

TIP: The Undo function

Dont like what you just did? Backdrop Designer supports one level of Undo. If you have made a choice you dont like, that function can often be undone with Control-Z/Win [Apple-Z/Mac]. Some functions are undoable; others are not. You can undo/redo your last preset load. You can undo/redo a mutation that has been selected. Unfortunately, you cant undo changes in the Texture/Shadow attributes. If you change the level of Texture Blur, for instance, you will need to adjust by hand to get back the previous setting. You cannot undo/redo saving or deleting a preset.
Step 10: Adjust Texture Blur
In comparison to Shadow attributes, the Texture preset often has less impact on the realism of your backdrop. It can, however, cause a major visual shift in overall presentation because of the color adjustments that are available. Our Rusty Smoke preset does have some well dened noise. Noise refers to the pattern of randomly distributed color specks seen throughout our Texture. As our rst adjustment, lets turn the Blur Amount up to 80 in the Texture Window. Increasing the Blur value smooths out the noise, and makes the Texture seem more out of focus and in the background.

Blur at 0 (top) Blur at 80 (below) The leftmost swatches show just the Color Texture. The swatches at right are enlarged composites of each Texture and its Shadow.
Step 11: Adjust Texture color
If youre not crazy about the Textures coloration, another set of adjustments in the Texture Window are for Hue, Saturation and Brightness. These color controls work just like their Photoshop counterparts and their changes are pretty noticeable! Hue causes the Texture to shift its color hues. Saturation increases the intensity of the colors. Brightness controls how light or dark a Texture is. Often when you adjust the Brightness of a Texture, you will need to adjust Brightness for the Shadow its working with (and vice versa).
In this example, Hue, Saturaton and Brightness are all changed from the Rusty Smoke defaults.
Hue has been changed from the previous example.
Hue is the same but Saturation and Brightness have shifted.
Step 12: Load & replace
Of course, if you just arent satised with the Texture or Shadow, you can always load in a dierent graphic through their Preset Managers. A cool function of Backdrop Designer is that if you load in a new Texture, your Shadow settings will remain the same. If you load in a new Shadow, your Texture will remain. This funciton is very useful if you set up a Shadow that you like, but then realize the Texture isnt going to work.
In this example, weve replaced our Texture with the Purple Haze preset from the Colors Purple category.
In this example, weve replaced our Shadow with the Under the Covers preset from the Fabrics-3 category.
TIP: Set sliders to default
Sometimes when you load in a Texture preset, the texture doesnt look like its thumbnail preview in the Preset Manager. For instance, the colors may look completely dierent. This is because the Texture sliders arent at their defaults. Changing the Texture sliders to customize your last preset is a pretty common. For the next preset to look correct, you need to set these sliders back to their defaults. Thats easy to x! Set Blur Amount to 50%. Set Hue Shift, Saturation Shift and Brightness Shift to 0%. (The Mutate Level slider is unrelated; see Step 07.) Now your preset looks as it should.
LEFT: Our Old Masters> Rusty Smoke preset loaded in with a pink tone. Yuck! Notice where the Blur, Hue, Saturation and Brightness sliders are. RIGHT: Weve moved the four sliders to their default -or neutral- positions. The Texure preset immediately previews correctly.
Now save your Texture/Shadow combinations. Saving custom presets is a great way to preserve the backdrops that your customers most prefer. Create a new preset that you have already made perfect, then use that backdrop later on for another project. To do so, click the Add Preset button in the top right menu bar. The Combo Preset Manager opens up with a new entry activated. Enter a name for the preset and add Notes if desired (like PS 101 Elementary School). Once you click the OK button, the preset will be saved into the selected catagory. You can even create a new category by clicking on the New Category button and typing a name.

Click the OK checkmark button in the Menu Bar. Then sit back and let Backdrop Designer render. The render time depends upon the speed of your computer, and the size and resolution of your Photoshop le. Most likely, the render will take 3-7 minutes. Please be patient. We hope this tutorial has given you some familiarity with how Backdrop Designer works. The lter can be used as quickly or as deeply as time allows. Experiment with adjustment controls and compositing dierent Textures and Shadows. Or simply choose a pair of presets and quickly move on. The choice is yours.
The image we started this tutorial with. The layer behind the model has Backdrop rendered on it. 12

[ for primatte chromakey 2.0 ] complex masks in minutes
[ for backdrop designer 1.0 ] make your own background
how to composite a background
Merge an image masked by Primatte Chromakey with a background created in Backdrop Designer. Its a simple process using layers in Photoshop!
[ from: Digital Anarchy ] f/x tools for revolutionaries
primatte & backdrop : composite a background add a background behind your subject
A question that we often regarding Primatte Chromakey, Backdrop Designer, or the two products together is this: Once Ive gotten rid of the background behind my model, how do I add a dierent background behind her?
This is really a Photoshop-related question. In order to insert a new background behind the person (or object) in your photo, you will not work inside of Primatte or Backdrop Designer. Instead you will do some basic functions in your Layers palette and with the Copy/Paste commands in Photoshop.
explanation of this tutorial
There are two scenarios that you will encounter in trying to composite two layers together. You may want to place a new background directly into your Photoshop le. We will show you this as Scenario A. [ gure a ] Or you may have two separate photographs that you want to merge together. We will explain this in Scenario B. [ gure b ]

[ gure a ]

[ gure b ]
Both of our examples assume that you are using Primatte Chromakey to remove your original background, and Backdrop Designer to create the new background. You can use the information in this tutorial if you are working with your own replacement background (lets say, a photo of the Grand Canyon), or if youre removing the original background with Photoshop tools (like the Eraser). Just substitute what we are saying about either plugin with your own media.
2006, digital anarchy : f/x tools for revolutionaries | primatte chromakey & backdrop designer.
primatte & backdrop : composite a background scenario A: add a background to your photo
In our rst example, we will add a new background to a photograph.

step 01: set up file

First, you need to set up your le. In Photoshop, open up the photograph that you want to use. If you are working with Primatte, this will be a person (or object) shot against a blue or green background. We will use a blonde model against a greenscreen as our demo image. Your Photoshop le will have one layer showing in the Layers palette (open through the Windows> Layers menu). [ gure 1 ] Your layer may read as Layer 0. We have renamed ours by clicking down on the text row and typing a custom name.

[ gure 1 ]

step 02: delete background
Use Primatte to remove the green/blue from your image. NOTE: Before you use Primatte, make sure that le layer is a regular nonBackground layer. (Do this by double-clicking the layer row, then hitting the OK button.) If you are not using Primatte, then remove the original background using Photoshops Eraser tool or the method youve chosen.

step 03: apply primatte

When you are nished working in Primatte, click the Apply button. Back in Photoshop, you will see your original image against gray and white squares. This checkerboard represents where there is transparency in your le; that is, what part of the Photoshop image is see-through. [ gure 2 ]

[ gure 2 ]

If you dont know how to use Primatte, please listen to our introductory video tutorials at http://www.digitalanarchy. com/primatte/primatte_tutes.html
primatte & backdrop : composite a background

step 04: add new layer

Now that our subject is isolated, lets add a new background behind her. In the Photoshop Layers palette, create a second layer in your Photoshop le. To do so, click on the New Layer icon at the bottom right of your Layers palette. [ gure 3a ] This will create a new layer. A layer is like a transparent piece of digital paper that lays over other transparent papers. Nothing will visually change in your Photoshop le. However you will see a new row in your Layers palette, most likely named Layer 1.
[ gure 3b ] [ gure 3a ] [ gure 3b ]
step 05: move layer below
You need to place that new layer behind (or, below) the Primatte-treated layer. This will allow our new backdrop to show through. In your Layers palette, click down on Layer 1 and physically drag the layer row to the bottom of the stack. [ gure 4 ] Dont double-click; this will open a dialog box that you dont need. Just single-click and drag downwards. If you like, you can rename the new layer. Weve renamed ours BACKDROP.

[ gure 4 ]

step 06: create background
Lets add the image that will be your new background. Make sure that your BACKDROP layer is selected (it will appear highlighted). [ gure 5a ] Your Primatte/subject layer is still on a transparent layer. Nothing has changed yet visually in your image. [ gure 5b ]

[ gure 5a ]

[ gure 5b ]
If you are using Backdrop Designer to create a new image, apply that plugin to the bottom layer with Filter> Digital Anarchy> Backdrop Designer.

step 07: apply backdrop

When you are nished working in Backdrop, click the Apply button. Back in Photoshop, youll see your subject against the backdrop graphic you have chosen. [ gure 6 ] That BACKDROP layer is viewable through the transparent areas of the Primatte-treated layer. You will no longer see a checkerboard grid since the transparency (or unlled pixels) in your photograph no longer exist. If you click the Layer palettes Eye icons on/ o, you will see what is on each layer. Youre nished. Wow, that was easy!
If you dont know how to use Backdrop, please listen to our introductory video tutorials at http://www.digitalanarchy. com/backdrop/backdrop_tutes.html

[ gure 6 ]

scenario B: merge two photos together
Now lets look at this scenario in a dierent way. We will merge two existing photos using similar processes as in Scenario A, but with dierent steps.

step 01: set up files

First, lets set up our les. In Photoshop, open up the two photographs that you want to merge. If you are working with Primatte, this will be a person (or object) shot against a blue or green background. You will also open a photo that you want to use as the new background. In our demo, we are working two Photoshop les. One shows a blonde model against a green screen. The other is blue drapery that we already created in Backdrop Designer. [ gure 1 ]
Open the Layers palette in Photoshop (through the Windows> Layers menu). Click on one photograph, then the other. In the Layers palette, you will notice that each Photoshop le has one layer.
Select your green/bluescreen photo (for us, the Girl le). Use Primatte to remove the green/blue from your image. NOTE: Before you use Primatte, make sure that le layer is a regular nonBackground layer. (Do this by doubleclicking the layer row, then hitting the OK button.) If you are not using Primatte, then remove the original background using Photoshops Eraser tool or the method youve chosen.
[ gure 2 ] If you dont know how to use Primatte or Backdrop, please listen to our introductory video tutorials. Primatte is at http://www.digitalanarchy.com/primatte/primatte_ tutes.html. Backdrop is at http://www.digitalanarchy. com/backdrop/backdrop_tutes.html.

When you are nished working in Primatte, click the Apply button. Back in Photoshop, you will see your original image against gray and white squares. We have also renamed our This checkerboard represents where there is transparency in your le. That is, what part of the Photoshop image is see-through. [ gure 3 ] You layer may read as Layer 0. We have renamed ours by clicking down on the text row and typing a custom name.

[ gure 3 ] 6

step 04: copy layer
Now that your subject is isolated, lets place her against our new background. In the Photoshop menu, choose Select> Select All. [ gure 3 ] A dotted selection outline appears around the photo. [ gure 4 ] Then choose Edit> Copy. [ gure 5 ] This will remember the imagery that youve selected.

[ gure 3 ] [ gure 4 ]

step 05: paste layer
Now click on your other photograph, the one that contains your replacement background. (Ours is blue Backdrop Designer material.) Then choose Edit> Paste from the Photoshop menu. [ gure 6 ] This will create a new layer in the Backdrop photo. A layer is like a transparent piece of digital paper that lays over other transparent papers. In your Layers palette, you will see a second row with the name of your copied layer. [ gure 7 ]

[ gure 5 ]

step 06: examine file
In your le, you will see your subject against the new background graphic. This is because that Backdrop Designer layer is viewable through the transparent areas of the Primatte-treated layer.

[ gure 7 ]

You will no longer see a checkerboard grid since the transparency (or unlled pixels) in your photograph no longer exist. If you click the Layer palettes Eye icons on/o, you will see what is on each layer.
Once again a simple process, and now your work is complete! If you have any questions about this tutorial, please email Debbie at info@digitalanarchy.com.