- THE TRICK TO TRICKY
- LIVE PATCHING PREVIEW
- ZOOMING ALL YOUR TILED IMAGES AT ONCE
- FINDING THE PHOTOGRAPHIC BRUSH TIPS
- HOW TO DUPLICATE A COLOR STOP
- REMOVING EDGE FRINGE WHEN COLLAGING
- CRACKING THE EASTER EGG MYSTERY
- SUPERCHARGE YOUR FILTER EFFECTS
- UNDO ON A SLIDER!
- GETTING TO THE FOLDER OF PHOTOS YOU WANTFAST!
- TWO FILES ARE BETTER THAN ONE
- RESIZING PATHS THE EASY WAY
- THE GAUSSIAN BLUR KEYBOARD SHORTCUT
- THE ADVANTAGE OF PHOTO FILTER ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
- WHERE TO SET CUSTOM VIEW SIZES
- MOVING YOUR IMAGE IN FULL SCREEN MODE
- DON'T RANK ITFLAG IT
- PHOTO-RETOUCHING SAFETY TIP
- PHOTOSHOP'S HIDDEN STEP AND REPEAT
- PAUSING FOR A BRUSH PREVIEW
- THE UNDOCUMENTED AIRBRUSH TOGGLE TRICK
- GIVE MOST ANYTHING A KEYBOARD SHORTCUT
- NO MORE UNLOCKING A BACKGROUND COPY
- SWAPPING CROP FIELDS
- LET THOSE WINDOWS BREATHE!
- THE MULTIPLE UNDO SHORTCUT
- WANT ARROWHEADS? PHOTOSHOP CAN ADD THEM FOR YOU!
- GETTING TO THE FREE TRANSFORM TOOL'S POP-UP LIST
- DRAGGING AND DROPPING WHERE YOU WANT
- CUSTOM BRUSHES DON'T HAVE TO BE SQUARE ANYMORE
- FEATHER A SELECTION WITHOUT THE GUESSING GAME
- CREATING A FLATTENED VERSION OF YOUR LAYERED IMAGE
- IF IT'S NOT SQUARE, YOU CAN STILL CROP IT
- TOP-SECRET PHOTOSHOP SPLASH SCREEN
- FALL IN LOVE WITH A TEMPORARY BRUSH, OR NOT
- UNDO A SAVE? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE, ISN'T IT?
- MAKE A PHOTOSHOP CLIENT PRESENTATION
- CHANGE BRUSH SOFTNESS ON THE FLY
- LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: SLIDE SHOWS USING PHOTOSHOP
- HOW TO CORRECT ONE PROBLEM COLOR
- BUILDING A BETTER BACKGROUND ERASER TOOL
- GETTING SIDE-BY-SIDE PREVIEWS
- CUSTOM BRUSHES: START WITH A CLEAN SLATE
- TIMING IS EVERYTHING!
- INSTANT THUMBNAIL SIZE CONTROL
- BRING UP YOUR LAST PREFERENCE
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
BUILDING A BETTER BACKGROUND ERASER TOOL
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Here's a tip for making Photoshop's Background Eraser tool much more effective. Choose the Background Eraser tool, and in the Options Bar, lower the Tolerance setting to 20.
In the Brushes palette, pick a large, hard-edged brush. Then, switch to the Pen tool, making sure that the paths icon (middle one at left in the Options Bar) is clicked. Draw a path just outside the edge of the object you want to isolate (you don't have to be precise; in fact, stay just outside the edges of the object and draw straight lines all the way around the image). Go to the Paths palette, and in the palette's pop-down menu, choose Stroke Path. When the dialog appears, under Tool, choose Background Eraser, and click OK. The Background Eraser will instantly trace around your image, following the path you created. Now that the edges have been erased, you can use the regular Eraser tool to erase the rest of the background area.