Chroma Key in Pixlr

In this tutorial, we are going to take a "person" image, cut out any unwanted background around them and replace it with a backdrop of our choice.

Step 1: Open Your File in Pixlr

-Go to http://pixlr.com/editor/.

-Click file>open and choose your foreground/person image.

Step 2: Choose Then Open Your Background Into Pixlr.

-In google images, find the highest number of pixels you can find for the background image you want, select view image, then right click> save as.

-Open it in Pixlr (file>open).

-Click on the text “layer 2” in the layer window and call it “backdrop”. Click on the “background copy” layer and re-name it “person”. Re-naming layers helps you remember which layer you are working on!

Step 3: Resizing the Backdrop Layer, Copy and Paste

-file>open your background image.

-use wand tool to draw a selection around the whole image

-ctrl+C to copy, then click on the “person” layer

-ctrl+ V to paste

-Select “backdrop” layer

-Hold ctrl+T, or edit>free transform, click and drag the edges to transform your backdrop layer to re-size it to fit your "person" layer. Hold shift key when clicking and dragging to retain the dimensions of the image you're resizing (so it doesn't warp).

-Drag the backdrop layer above the "person" layer.

Step 4: Removing Unwanted Background Areas With the Wand and Lasso Tools

We want to remove any unwanted background areas of colour around our "person" so the "backdrop" layer underneath shows through.

-Click on the wand tool on the tools panel on the left. Make a selection by clicking on a large area of unwanted colour. The area inside the marching ants is the selected area to be deleted.

-Use the lasso tool on the tools panel for detailed selections. To add to a selection, hold shift while using lasso. To take areas of selection away, hold ctrl while using the lasso.

-Use the zoom tool to zoom in, then use the lasso to make detailed selections. When finished, press delete.