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Printmaking and design technique

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Result of a Free-Form Select

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Free-Form Select (with synonyms) is a technique in printmaking, graphic design and image processing.

The effect is to erase background colors or elements from a motif to create stand-alone objects. Today, this is done with graphics software (computer graphics) and computers rather than by cutting away parts with scissors or scalpels.

Almost every modern graphics software includes this feature, such as CorelDRAW, Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, and Microsoft Paint. The motif which is to be cut-out freehanded is defined by a border path around the motif.

Coloring is a core motif in a black-and-white image.

Free-Form Select is also understood in coloring parts of a black-and-white images and vice versa. Coloring a single object within a black-and-white environment is sometimes called Sin City effect.

References and footnotes

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v t e Photography
Equipment	Camera light-field digital field instant phone pinhole press rangefinder SLR still TLR toy view Darkroom enlarger safelight Film base format holder stock available films discontinued films Filter Flash beauty dish cucoloris gobo hot shoe lens hood monolight reflector snoot softbox Lens long-focus prime zoom wide-angle fisheye swivel telephoto Manufacturers Monopod Movie projector Slide projector Tripod head Zone plate
Terminology	35 mm equivalent focal length Angle of view Aperture Backscatter Black-and-white Chromatic aberration Circle of confusion Clipping Color balance Color temperature Depth of field Depth of focus Exposure Exposure compensation Exposure value Zebra patterning F-number Film format large medium Film speed Focal length Guide number Hyperfocal distance Lens flare Metering mode Perspective distortion Photograph Photographic printing Albumen Photographic processes Reciprocity Red-eye effect Science of photography Shutter speed Sync Zone System
Genres	Abstract Aerial Aircraft Architectural Astrophotography Banquet Candid Conceptual Conservation Cloudscape Documentary Eclipse Ethnographic Erotic Fashion Fine-art Fire Forensic Glamour High-speed Landscape Monochrome Nature Neues Sehen Nude Photojournalism Pictorialism Pornography Portrait Post-mortem Ruins Selfie space selfie Social documentary Sports Still life Stock Straight photography Street Toy camera Underwater Vernacular Wedding Wildlife
Techniques	Afocal Bokeh Brenizer Burst mode Contre-jour ETTR Fill flash Fireworks Hand-colouring Harris shutter High-speed Holography Infrared Intentional camera movement Kirlian Kite aerial Lo-fi photography Long-exposure Luminogram Macro Mordançage Multiple exposure Multi-exposure HDR capture Night Panning Panoramic Photogram Print toning Pigeon photography Redscale Rephotography Rollout Scanography Schlieren photography Sabattier effect Slow motion Stereoscopy Stopping down Strip Slit-scan Sun printing Tilt–shift Miniature faking Time-lapse Ultraviolet Vignetting Xerography Zoom burst
Composition	Diagonal method Framing Headroom Lead room Rule of thirds Simplicity Golden triangle (composition)
History	Timeline of photography technology Ambrotype Analog photography Autochrome Lumière Box camera Calotype Camera obscura Daguerreotype Dufaycolor Heliography Lippmann plate Painted photography backdrops Photography and the law Glass plate Tintype Visual arts
Regional	Albania Bangladesh Canada China Denmark Greece India Japan Korea Luxembourg Norway Philippines Serbia Slovenia Sudan Taiwan Turkey Ukraine United States Uzbekistan Vietnam
Digital photography	Digital camera D-SLR comparison MILC camera back Digiscoping Comparison of digital and film photography Film scanner Image sensor CMOS APS CCD Three-CCD camera Foveon X3 sensor Image sharing Pixel
Color photography	Print film Chromogenic print Reversal film Color management color space primary color CMYK color model RGB color model
Photographic processing	Bleach bypass C-41 process Collodion process Cross processing Cyanotype Developer Digital image processing Dye coupler E-6 process Fixer Gelatin silver process Gum printing Instant film K-14 process Print permanence Push processing Stop bath
Lists	Largest photographs Most expensive photographs Museums devoted to one photographer Photographs considered the most important Photographers Norwegian Polish street women Photography periodicals
Related	Conservation and restoration of photographs film photographic plates Lomography Polaroid art Stereoscopy
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