KnockOut 2 is a fast and powerful masking tool plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, Corel PHOTO-PAINT, and Painter 7 that helps graphics professionals mask complex or detailed objects to create high-end photo composites. Complex masking, especially masking irregular or transparent edges, can be a slow, laborious process that reduces graphics professionals productivity and limits their creativity. While most image-editing applications contain some sort of masking functionality, few tools exist that let users mask complex, detailed images both quickly and easily, while still retaining all of the properties of the original image. KnockOut 2 addresses this problem by giving graphics professionals the functionality they need to mask virtually any object and create stunning composites with masked images that are identical to the original images. KnockOut 2 simply and quickly raises the quality of photo composites, while dramatically increasing user productivity. Because it uses complex algorithms to mask objects, KnockOut 2 lets users mask detailed objects, such as hair, smoke, water, glass and shadows, in a fraction of the time. Combined with a variety of new and enhanced features, KnockOut 2 gives graphics professionals functionality that exceeds the masking tools in standard imaging applications. KnockOut 2 has a number of tools that make separating the foreground object from the background significantly less time-consuming than traditional masking techniques. Users can easily select objects for masking in a digital photo by using the Inside Object and Outside Object tools; the Inside Shadow and Outside Shadow tools; the Inside Syringe tool; and the Edge Feather tool. These tools allow users to produce soft transitions around foreground edges and remove all traces of the visible background. This creates images that can be used for creating clean composites with no residual background from the original photos. As a plug-in, KnockOut 2 integrates seamlessly into any workflow. It is intuitive and designed specifically to serve as a masking tool for users already familiar with Adobe Photoshop. To this end, it features a similar user interface (UI) as well as similar shortcut keys. KnockOut 2 is built for Mac OS X and features the new Aqua interface.