Differences between Fluid Mask 2 & Fluid Mask

Faster initial image processing
For multi-core machines, Fluid Mask 3 runs its initial image processing up to 40% faster. With ever growing image file sizes our everyday image editing tools need to catch up – Fluid Mask 3 runs faster than ever.

Great new tools for color based selections
Use the Color Workspace and the Color Sampler to make extremely fine color based mask selections.

Better hair blending
Cutting out hair has always been an issue for image editors. One of the many problems with hair cutting and blending has been the “adjacency issue” – for example how to extract black (dark) and white (light) adjacent hairs from a grey (neutral) background. Fluid Mask 3 is the first application to tackle this issue automatically using its unique hair blending algorithms. Simply isolate the hair to be blended using a Patch and use the hair algorithm to extract hair for a perfect cut out.

Faster than ever
Not only is image processing time dramatically reduced but we have concentrated on speeding up workflow. Check out features like saving your workspace settings from one image to the next for runs of studio shots; and our new Patch technology with its intuitive tool-set for working on those difficult problem areas with compression artefact, poor edges and complicated backgrounds.

Localised edge detection and blending
It’s a true-ism when cutting out objects from their backgrounds that often 90% of the time is spent on 10% of the image – getting a difficult edge “just right”. Fluid Mask 3 now has a set of easy to use tools to isolate a difficult area (in a Patch) and apply alternative edge finding and blending techniques - making easy the tricky parts of image cutting.

Intelligent Edge Blending
Fluid Mask 3 not only finds edges but also understands the wideth and character of an edge.

On edges which are largely free of noise and where there is some contrast between foreground and background, Fluid Mask 3's intelligent blending is the only blending around to automatically extract the morphology (character) of an edge - remember there is no such thing as a 6 pixel feather on all edges in real life!

Use feather blending where there is no contrast or lots of noise in an edge. Fluid Mask 3 will still find the correct edge width.

Speed
A core issue for users of Fluid Mask 3 has always been the initial image processing time at start up. V3 is now 10% faster than in V2 for a single core machine. For dual core the processing time is cut by 33% and for a 4 core machine it is an even faster 40%. Blending speed on hair blending will be slightly slower but that has never been an issue.

Screen views
In V3 now the entire application workspace fills the whole screen (it used to be floating windows only which showed the desktop through the application – users found this to be “unprofessional”). There are three views to choose from: Palettes docked (default) - although the main Tool Palette can be docked / undocked; Tool Palettes floating and Tool Palettes floating and screen maximised. All of these are actioned from the main Tool Palette.

Tool Options layout
Now each Tool has its own separate tool settings on the bar below the menu. The icon for the Tool is conveniently displayed on the left hands side next to the Tool Option settings.

	The number of brushes has been increased; the Eraser is not only an Exact Brush but can be a Local as well as a Global one.  The user can also brush a Patch (see below)
	Looking at brush behaviour, users can now commence masking at start up before the initial image analysis has finished – great for the professional user that understands mask behaviour for his/her images.
	Mask brush size may be adjusted mid-brush stroke – this works very well when hooked up to a pen based tablet like Wacom’s where pen pressure sensitivity determines brush size.

Edge Finding Options
Edge Finding options have been rationalised. We spent a lot of time trying to make edge finding easy to use and understand. Note that the Edge Contrast and Filter Out Texture settings are now hidden in an advance tab and the names of the sliders have been changed to Edge Width Threshold and Number of Edges. 

Edge Blending Options
Edge Blending Options have been rationalised. Now the range settings for automatic edge blending and blending type are in the same place – before they were linked to brushes or performing a Test Render. 

We enhanced our morphologically based edge decontamination blending and renamed it “Smart Blending” as it preserves edge artefact and is a unique feature of Fluid Mask. For purposes of information, the alternative and more commonly used blending is “feathering”, well known to Photoshop users,  which is a simple straight-line transition from foreground to background without regard to local edge information.

Now it is possible to select only Feather Blending (where the feather width is set by the width of the blend mask) in those circumstances where edge information is so poor that “Smart” blending can’t be used effectively.

Or the user may opt to use the slider and move it to a position in between Smart and Feather blending where Fluid Mask decides on the level of edge contrast required for the blending algorthms to switch from Feather to Smart blending. This may be performed either for the whole image (as for V2) of locally (within a Patch).

Blending
Fluid Mask has completely new blending…

Patches
Patches (called Regions in V2) have become more important to user workflow. Principally they should be used to solve problem areas.

New key features are below:

	Now it is possible to Paint Patches, like an Exact Brush
	Right click on a Patch to erase masks, auto-fill masks and perform a mini cut-out in the Patch
	Use Patch Properties (see below) to localise edge finding and edge blending
	Use 2D color maps and histograms in the Color Workspace to make color based selections in Patches
	Use Patches to protect masks

Patch Properties
Patch Properties allows the user to perform local edge finding and local blending within a Patch.

Color Workspace
In V2 was called the Region Editor. This has been completely redesigned from V2 – now the Color Workspace includes a 2D color map for better selections and a “Photoshop – themed” histogram.

Color Sampler
New to V3, the Color Sampler allows the user to sample a color in the image and see where the color lies in the Color Workspace – this selection can then be converted to a mask. This behaviour is the opposite to normal Color Workspace behaviour where colors are sampled in the Color Workspace and their analogue highlighted in the image.

Saving settings
To improve user workflow, the user may save Edge Finding, Edge Blending and Workspace Resolution options from one image to the next checking “Restore from Last Session” in Workspace Settings (viewed from the Edit menu). This is useful for professional users working on a run of similar images (e.g. from a professional studio shoot).

Improving Loading Large Images
On loading large images the user may quit loading and choose to alter the Workspace Resolution manually and use “Restore from Last Session” in the Workspace Settings (see directly above).

Also note that Workspace Resolution now has a 1:16 (Workspace : Image) ratio to improve speeds for very large images.

Test Render
The Test Render tool can now be fired from all Patches. Right click on the Patch and choose Test Render Patch.

On application Help – Tool Tips
Roll over any part of the user interface and see the Tool Tip window inform the user of that part of the imterface. Also included are the Short-Cut keys to aid faster results. The Tool Tips also guide the user to the relevant Tutorial or xml Help file.

Help
There is now an XML based Help file which may be searched by sections or by keywords. Also included are video tutorials.

Wacom compatibility
As before Fluid Mask may be used with a Wacom tablet, now pen pressure is hooked up to Brush Size.