SIOX tool

 

http://www.siox.org/

 

A fair look at the SIOX tool in Inkscape 0.46 and GIMP 2.4

A couple of years ago when the SIOX (Simple Interactive Object Extraction) surfaced the web, a lot of enthusiasm and expectations were created. Now with released or almost released applications using it, we can have an objective look at it and draw practical conclusions, not only talk about the demos which may be (at least partly) doctored.

With fast release cycles (about two releases a year)Inkscape was the first to have a working SIOX implementation in a release, back inInkscape 0.44.
Inkscape is a vector drawing application, so it had to implement the algorithm in its specific way, namely as a part of thetracing tool, which convert from raster to vector, so the result is not pixel-perfect, but it does not even tries that.
Another downside is that Inkscape will use only the starting photo and one single path defining the region of interest (without a mark for the sure foreground), so the result is far from perfect and the tool is not really interactive.

The receipt is simple: import the photo, draw a freehand shape covering it, select both and run a trace by colors:

GIMP got the tool even earlier in itsdevelopment branch, but only the soon-to-be-released stable GIMP 2.4 will put it in the hands of the larger audience.
Here are a lot of options: brush sizes, feather edges, smoothing and you can mark both the sure background and the sure foreground, but after the SIOX job is done, it still needed to adjust a little using classic selection tools.

The receipt is more complex: open the photo and use the foreground extraction tool, it will offer a lasso-like tool to mark the region of interest around the subject and then a brush to sample the foreground. You can change the brush size and/or zoom in and out and even an eraser to unselect foreground. When ready, press Enter to get the subject selected, but you still have to use the real lasso selection to adjust it more:

I think I have some solid experience with both application, so myconclusion is obviously biased: SIOX may look like a timesaver for some operations, but in the end you will still need a loot of additional work to improve its results, you will not save that much time, so for me it is mostly a nice gimmick.
As particular applications, Inkscape is really lacking a way to define the sure foreground so it will give satisfactory results only for selected images but with GIMP you can zoom in and use smaller brushes (like in the good oldQuick Mask way) and select anything you want.
Maybe if you want vectorization for complex images is better to extract the foreground in GIMP and trace in Inkscape the already extracted foreground.

 

2.8. Foreground Select

Figure 14.30. The “Foreground Select” tool in the Toolbox

 

This tool lets you extract the foreground from the active layer or from a selection. It is based on the SIOX method (Simple Interactive Object Extraction). You can visit its Web page at [SIOX].

2.8.1. Directions for use

The creation of a selection with this tool works in a couple of steps:

1. Roughly select the foreground you want to extract. When you select this tool, the mouse pointer goes with the lasso icon. It actually works like the Fuzzy Select tool. Select as little as possible from the background.

   As soon as you release the mouse button, the non selected part of the image is covered with a dark blue mask. If the selection is not closed, its ends will be linked automatically together by a straight line. The mouse pointer goes now with the Paint-brush icon for the next step.

   Figure 14.31. The foreground is roughly selected

   
   
   

2. Draw a line through the foreground: using the paintbrush, whose size can be changed in options, draw a continuous line in the selected foreground going over colors which will be kept for the extraction. The color used to draw the line is of no importance; not using the same color as foreground is better. Be careful not painting background pixels.

   Figure 14.32. The line drawn on the foreground

   

   In this example, it is important that the line goes over the yellow capitulum of the flower.

   
   

3. When you release the mouse button, all non-selected areas are in dark:

   Figure 14.33. The area which will be selected

   
   
   

4. You still have to press the Enter key to get the wanted selection:

   Figure 14.34. Foreground is selected

   
   
   

	Note
	Until you press Enter, you can't undo this selection by Ctrl+Znor by Select → None, and the Undo History is not concerned. To delete this selection, you must select another tool.

2.8.2. Activating the Tool

You can activate the Foreground Select tool in two ways:

• by clicking on the tool icon  in the Toolbox,

• through Tools → Selection Tools → Foreground Select in the image menu.

• This tool has no shortcut, but you can set one using Edit → Preferences → Interface →Configure Keyboard Shortcuts → Tools → Foreground Select

2.8.3. Key modifiers (Defaults)

Ctrl

By pressing the Ctrl key, you can switching between foreground and background selection painting.

2.8.4. Options

Figure 14.35. “Foreground Select” tool options

Normally, tool options are displayed in a window attached under the Toolbox as soon as you activate a tool. If they are not, you can access them from the image menu bar through Windows → Dockable Windows →Tool Options which opens the option window of the selected tool.

Mode; Antialiasing; Feather edges

	Note
	See Selection Tools for help with options that are common to all these tools. Only options that are specific to this tool are explained here.

Contiguous

If this option is enabled, only the area contiguous to the stroke will be selected. Otherwise all the areas with same colors will be selected.

Figure 14.36. “Contiguous” option effect

Two separated areas with the same color. On the left, only the left area is marked.

The Contiguous option is checked: only the area close to the painted line is selected.

The Contiguous option is not checked: both areas, although they are separated, are selected.

Interactive refinement

Here are some options to work more precisely on your selection:

Mark foreground

default option. The foreground color of the Toolbox is used to paint. Colors covered by the painted line will be used for extraction.

Mark background

You can access this option either by clicking on the radio button or, more simply, by pressing the Ctrl key. The mouse pointer goes with a small eraser icon. The used color is the background color of Toolbox. The pixels of the selection which have the same color as the“erased” pixels will NOT be extracted.

Small brush / Large brush

This slider lets you adapt the size of the brush used to paint the line. A small brush fits well thin details.

Smoothing

Smaller values give a more accurate selection border but may introduce holes in the selection.

Preview color

You can select between Red, Green and Blue to mask the image background.

Color Sensitivity

This option uses the L*a*b color model. If your image contains many pixels of the same color in different tones, you can increase the sensibility of the selection for this color.