Using the painting tools (ImageReady)

ImageReady provides the paintbrush tool, pencil tool, and airbrush tool to let you paint the current foreground color on an image. The three tools create different effects:

•The paintbrush tool creates soft strokes of color.

•The pencil tool creates hard-edged freehand lines.

•The airbrush tool applies gradual tones (including sprays of color) to an image, simulating traditional airbrush techniques. The edges of the stroke are more diffused than those created with the paintbrush tool.

To use the paintbrush tool, pencil tool, or airbrush tool:

1Specify a foreground color. (See “Choosing foreground and background colors” on page 257.)

2Select the paintbrush tool , pencil tool , or airbrush tool .

3Do the following in the options bar:

•Choose a preset brush. (See “Working with brushes” on page 228.)

•Specify a blending mode. (See “Selecting a blending mode” on page 241.)

•For the paintbrush tool and pencil tool, specify an opacity. (See “Specifying opacity, flow, strength, or exposure” on page 243.)

•For the airbrush tool, specify a paint flow. (See “Specifying opacity, flow, strength, or exposure” on page 243.)

•For the pencil tool, select Auto Erase to paint the background color over areas containing the foreground color. (See “Using the Auto Erase option” on page 226.)

4 Do one or more of the following:

•Drag in the image to paint.

•To draw a straight line, click a starting point in the image. Then hold down Shift, and click an ending point.

•When using the brush tool as an airbrush, hold down the mouse button without dragging to build up color.

Erasing

The eraser and magic eraser tools let you erase areas of an image to transparency or to the background color. The background eraser tool (Photoshop) lets you erase to transparency on a layer. You can also use the Auto Erase option with the pencil tool to erase the foreground color to the background color as you paint.

If you want to erase the background of an object with intricate or wispy edges, use the Extract command. (See “Extracting objects from their background (Photoshop)” on

page 174.)

Using the eraser tool

The eraser tool changes pixels in the image as you drag through them. If you’re working in the background or in a layer with transparency locked, the pixels change to the background color; otherwise, the pixels are erased to transparency. You can also use the eraser to return the affected area to a state selected in the History palette.

To use the eraser tool:

1Select the eraser tool .

2Do the following in the options bar:

•Choose a brush and set brush options (Photoshop), or choose a preset brush (ImageReady). (See “Working with brushes” on page 228.) This option is not available for Block mode.

•Choose a mode for the eraser—Brush (Photoshop), Paintbrush (ImageReady), Airbrush (ImageReady), Pencil, or Block.

•Specify an opacity to define the strength of the erasure. An opacity of 100% erases pixels completely. A lower opacity erases pixels partially. (This option is not available for Block mode in Photoshop.)

•(Photoshop) In Brush mode, specify a flow rate. (See “Specifying opacity, flow, strength, or exposure” on page 243.)

•(Photoshop) In Brush mode, click the airbrush button to use the brush as an airbrush. Alternately, select the Airbrush option in the Brushes palette. (See “Creating airbrush effects (Photoshop)” on page 239.)

•(Photoshop) To erase to a saved state or snapshot of the image, click the left column of the state or snapshot in the History palette, then select Erase to History in the options bar. (See “Painting with a state or snapshot of an image (Photoshop)” on page 42.)

(Photoshop) To temporarily use the eraser tool in Erase to History mode, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag in the image.

3 Drag through the area you want to erase.

Using the magic eraser tool

When you click in a layer with the magic eraser tool, the tool automatically changes all similar pixels. If you’re working in the background, or in a layer with locked transparency, the pixels change to the background color; otherwise, the pixels are erased to transparency. You can choose to erase contiguous pixels only or all similar pixels on the current layer.

Example of erasing similar pixels

To use the magic eraser tool:

1Select the magic eraser tool .

2Do the following in the options bar:

•Enter a tolerance value to define the range of colors that can be erased. A low tolerance erases pixels within a range of color values very similar to the pixel you click. A high tolerance erases pixels within a broader range.

•Select Anti-aliased to smooth the edges of the area you erase.

•Select Contiguous to erase only pixels contiguous to the one you click, or deselect to erase all similar pixels in the image.

•Select Use All Layers to sample the erased color using combined data from all visible layers.

•Specify an opacity to define the strength of the erasure. An opacity of 100% erases pixels completely. A lower opacity erases pixels partially.

3 Click in the part of the layer you want to erase.

Using the background eraser tool (Photoshop)

The background eraser tool lets you erase pixels on a layer to transparency as you drag; this allows you to erase the background while maintaining the edges of an object in the foreground. By specifying different sampling and tolerance options, you can control the range of the transparency and the sharpness of the boundaries. The background eraser samples the color in the center of the brush, also called the hot spot, and deletes that color wherever it appears inside the brush. It also performs color extraction at the edges of any foreground objects, so that color halos are not visible if the foreground object is later pasted into another image.

Note: The background eraser overrides the lock transparency setting of a layer.

To use the background eraser tool:

1In the Layers palette, select the layer containing the areas you want to erase.

2Select the background eraser tool .

3Click the brush sample in the options bar and set brush options in the pop-up palette:

•For more information on the Diameter, Hardness, Spacing, Angle, and Roundness options, see “Customizing brush tips (Photoshop)” on page 230.

•If you’re using a pressure-sensitive digitizing tablet, choose options from the Size and Tolerance menus to vary the size and tolerance of the background eraser over the course of a stroke. Choose Pen Pressure to base the variation on the pen pressure. Choose Stylus Wheel to base the variation on the position of the pen thumbwheel. Choose Off to not vary the size or tolerance.