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The aplications you are using sound a bit outdated. You should consider updating them. For masking I would at least use Paint Shop Pro 7 or higher or better get Photoshop.

There are also some plugins that help with masking e.g. Extensis Mask Pro or Corel Knock Out. I liked Mask Pro better, but it only works with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

Even if such tool help you to speed up masking, you should realize that masking is one of the most complex image editing task. So naturally it takes quite some time.

What techniques do you use in the workflow?
I try and shoot against a neutral background (blue screen is nice but not on the football ground).
If the background is suitable, use Magic Wand to select the unwanted parts or else use Quick Mask to mask the main image with some overlap, invert selection and delete the surrounds.
Then using the erase tool with the appropriate brush size, zoom out bigtime and quickly delete the remainder. I do not worry about getting exactly to the outline if I have a good enough image and can zoom out enough as by the time you have the image down to print size you will not notice the very slight fading around the edges.
The example image should take less that 5 minutes.
Remember, we will fill in the missing bits but will notice any extra lumps and bumps, so faded edges is usually a winner.
I use Photoshop 7.

The newest version of PhotoImpact 10 will make your job a lot easier... You are already familiar with PhotoImpact having used version 5 but this newest version 10 is so much better.... you will wonder how you ever managed without it.

Ozy

just learned.

Hi Triangle, I would definitely charge for the time involved. Aside from that, I assume you have the Wacom Tablet & pen, & are not using a mouse to work, right?