![]() Each of these icons selects a different sampling option.Auto cut out pics, basic and pixel-level precise. One of the most important behaviors we can change is how Photoshop samples colors under the target symbol, or if it samples them at all.ĭirectly to the right of the Brush Presets picker on the left side of the Options Bar are three icons. Whenever we have the Background Eraser selected, the Options Bar along the top of the screen displays various options for controlling how the tool behaves. So how do we change things? We do that using the settings and options found in the Options Bar, which we'll look at next! Sampling Options What we've just described here is the default behavior of the Background Eraser, but it's not the only way the tool can behave. We also know that if we move the target symbol over a different color as we're dragging the Background Eraser around, Photoshop will sample the new color and use it as the color it should be erasing. So far, we know that Photoshop samples the color directly under the target symbol in the center of the Background Eraser's cursor, then it erases any pixels of that same color that fall within the larger circle. It cares only about the color under the target symbol. Photoshop has no idea what the sky or a tree is. This isn't anything terribly important, but it's still good to know what's going on: What's happened is that Photoshop assumed I knew what I doing (not always the best assumption to make) and, rather than tossing up an error message complaining that I can't delete pixels on a Background layer, automatically converted the Background layer into a regular layer, which it named "Layer 0". How, then, did I manage to erase the pixels? Is there some sort of "Extra Strength" setting for the Background Eraser we haven't looked at yet? One of the things we can't do is erase pixels on them, since transparency is not allowed on a Background layer (after all, it's the background, and not being able to see through it is part of what makes it a background). Photoshop treats Background layers differently from normal layers, with different rules for what we can and can't do with them. A moment ago, we saw that my image was sitting on the Background layer. That's Photoshop's way of representing transparency on a layer, which, if you're familiar with Photoshop, may have you wondering what's going on here. Notice the checkerboard pattern that appears in place of the areas I've erased. If you need to undo multiple steps, press Ctrl+Alt+Z (Win) / Command+Option+Z (Mac) repeatedly. If you do make a mistake like this, simply press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) to undo it. Moving the target symbol over a new color causes Photoshop to change the color that it's erasing. To select it, click and hold your mouse button down on the Eraser Tool until a small fly-out menu appears, then select the Background Eraser Tool from the menu: As an eraser tool, it physically deletes pixels from the image, which means they're gone for good, so you'll definitely want to either duplicate your Background layer first before erasing any pixels or work on a separate copy of your image.ĭownload this tutorial as a print-ready PDF! Selecting The Background Eraserīy default, the Background Eraser is hiding behind Photoshop's regular Eraser Tool in the Tools palette. The Background Eraser is, without a doubt, one of the best tools in Photoshop for removing unwanted areas of a photo, but it's not perfect and it does have one serious drawback. So if your sky is blue and your trees are green, the Background Eraser can easily erase the blue sky while leaving the green trees alone, at least until someone comes along and cuts them down, which makes it all the more important to protect them in your image. It samples colors as you drag the tool over them and erases only those colors, leaving all other colors untouched. It can just as easily be used to erase any part of an image, and that's because the Background Eraser is really a color eraser. The Background Eraser really has nothing to do with erasing backgrounds, since Photoshop has no way of knowing what's considered the background in a photo and what isn't. The Background Eraser is especially useful with photos that contain lots of fine detail along the edges between the foreground and background, like, for example, if you want to erase the sky in an image without first having to select all of the trees below it.ĭon't let the name fool you, though. In this Photoshop tutorial, we look at the Background Eraser Tool and how we can use it to easily remove background areas of an image.
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