Selection in Photoshop CS3 - Part III

The Magic Wand Tool

Photoshop's Magic Wand tool(W) is a powerful tool to create a selection out of odd shaped areas in the image considering there is an acceptable shift or offset in the brightness of the pixels. You don't drag and select with this tool, just a simple click will do the job for you. Where we can apply this? A great example is when you want to change the color of a bright blue sky in the image. And this sky is distinguished with dark forest of trees below. Thus selection of the sky would be a breeze. 'Nuf said, let's start by opening an image in Photoshop.

Using the Magic Wand Tool

Step 1. Select the Magic Wand tool(W) on the toolbox.
Step 2. Use the Preset Tool list arrow, and then select from the available presets.
Step 3. Use the selection options on the Options bar to create a new selection, or add, subtract or intersect an existing selection.
Step 4. Enter a Tolerance value (between 0 to 255). Note: Setting it to a higher value, the more selective information the Magic Wand tool picks out.
Step 5. Click on the Anti-aliased check box if you want to create a smoother selection.
Step 6. Select the Contiguous check box if you want to select adjacent pixels within the active document.
Step 7. Select the "Use All Layers" check box to pick image information from all layers.
Step 8. Click an area to create a selection.
Step 9. Click the "Refine Edge" button in the Options bar above to further enhance your selection.

Tip #: If you want to select multiple areas, just hold the Shift key then click on another section of the image.

The Quick Selection Tool

This tool is a new amazing feature in Photoshop CS3. The Quick Selection tool helps you create selections by painting a selection using an adjustable brush tip. As you "paint", the selection grows outward and automatically finds and follows defined edge in the image. Instead of holding the Shift key to select multiple areas in your image, use Photoshop's quick selection tool instead. I hope you get the idea.

Let's have an exercise.

Step 1. Select the Quick Selection tool(W) on the toolbox. Hold the Shift key then press "W" to shift from Magic Wand tool to Quick Selection Tool.
Step 2. Use the Preset Tool list arrow, and then select from the available presets.
Step 3. Use the selection options on the Options bar to create a new selection, add, or subtract an existing selection.
Step 4. Pick a brush tip by clicking the Brush picker list tool. Note: Setting it to a higher value, the larger the initial selection the Quick Selection tool picks out.
Step 5. Select the "Use All Layers" check box to pick image information from all layers.
Step 6. Select the "Auto-Enhance" check box to automatically enhance the edges of the selection.
Step 7. Click an area and drag to create a selection.
Step 8. Click the "Refine Edge" button in the Options bar above to further enhance your selection.

There you have it. More of selection tools on our next tutorial. Stay tuned.