ptg 90 Chapter 4 To say that Photoshop helps you make selections easily would be an understatement. Not only can you modify selections in any number of ways, Photoshop gives you the option to change your mind by adding and subtracting to an existing selection or even using the selection tools to crop the image. Since most selections are not perfect the first time around, knowing how to modify a selection marquee gives you the control you need to make perfect selections. Adding to and subtracting from an image is accomplished by simple keyboard shortcuts, or by making choices from the Options bar. Either way, you can create com- plex selections with ease. Adding and Subtracting a Selection Add to an Existing Selection Create a selection using any of the selection tools. Add to the selection by holding down the Shift key, and then use a selection tool to add to the existing selection (the selected areas do not need to be contiguous). Release the mouse and the Shift key to complete the addition. Subtract from an Existing Selection Create a selection using any of the selection tools. Subtract from the selection by holding down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key. Create a selection that intersects with the existing selection. Release the mouse and the keys to complete the subtraction. 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 1 2 1 2 Two se parate selections From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Cropping a document brings focus to the information contained within the image. For example, you take a photograph of an insect on a flower. To increase the focus on the insect, then crop out the flower. Cropping eliminates distractions, which would otherwise take away from the mes- sage of the image. With the Crop tool, you can select the cropping area, and then adjust it using a cropping shield and guide overlay (New!). Chapter 4 Mastering the Art of Selection 91 Cropping a Selection Crop a Selection Select the Crop tool on the toolbox. Drag a selection around the area of the image you want to crop. ◆ To adjust the selection, drag a selection handle. Click the Crop Guide Overlay list arrow on the Control panel, and then select an option: None, Rule of Thirds, or Grid. To display a shield in the cropped area, select the Shield check box on the Control panel. ◆ Color. Select a shield color. ◆ Opacity. Specify a shield transparency percentage. Click the Commit or Cancel button to keep or cancel the change. 5 4 3 2 1 Did You Know? You can crop an existing selection. Create a selection using any of the selection tools, click the Image menu, and then click Crop. Once a selection is made, it's possible to modify the selection using standard transform tools. To tran sform a sele c- tion, click the Select menu, and then click Transform Selection. You can expand, contract, and even rotate the selection marquee. To exit Transform Selection, simply double-click in the selection marquee, or press the Enter (Win) or Return (Mac) key. Cropping an Image with a User-Defined Shape You can crop an image using a user-defined shape, such as a heart. Select the Custom Shape tool on the toolbox, and then select a shape on the Options bar. Create a new layer directly above the image layer, and draw the cropping shape. Select the Shape layers button on the Options bar. Select the Move tool and place the shape directly over the area you want to crop. In the Layers panel, drag the shape layer directly under the image layer (shape disappears), and then point to the line separating the image layer from the shape layer. Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click to create a clipping group and crop to the shape. To make the crop permanent, hide all layers except the shape and image layers, click the Options button on the Layers panel, and then click Merge Visible. For Your Information 1 3 4 5 2 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 92 Chapter 4 Photoshop's primary method of creating selections is through the use of tools from the toolbox, such as the Marquee, Lasso, and Magic Wand, and while they create impressive and complex selections, Photoshop has other ways to capture that tricky selection using the Channels panel. The Channels panel primarily holds color information, but that's not all it can hold. You can use the Channels panel to create and store complex selections. Photoshop holds selection information using black (masked), white (selected), and shades of gray (percent- ages of selection). In addition, channels can be saved with the image file. Using Channels to Create and Store Selections Create Selections with Channels Select the Channels panel. Click the individual color channels. Look for a channel that represents a brightness difference between what you want to select and what you want to mask. Make a copy of the channel by dragging it down over the New Channel button on the Channels panel. Select the new channel. Click the Image menu, point to Adjustments, and then click Threshold. Drag the Threshold slider left or right until the visible image represents a black and white mask of your selection. Click OK. 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 5 4 Did You Know? Selection masks created from color channels will not always be perfect. For example, you may see unwanted spots of white or black. When that happens, do the best you can using the Threshold command, and then paint with white or black to clean up the mask. 8 7 From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 4 Mastering the Art of Selection 93 Apply Selection Masks to an Image Click the Select menu, and then click Load Selection. Click the Channel list arrow, and then select the newly created channel. Click OK. 3 2 1 3 2 Selection See Also See “Creating Channel Masks from Selections” on page 255 for more infor- mation on using channel masks as selections. From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg 94 Chapter 4 Selections can be as simple as dragging a circle or square with one of the marquee tools or as complicated as a freeform selection. Whatever the case, Photoshop allows you to enhance any selection with its use- ful modification tools. After creating a selection, you can modify it with the various options that Photoshop offers in order to make complex selections easier to use. Modifying an Existing Selection Modify an Existing Selection Create a selection, click the Select menu, and then select an option: ◆ All. Selects all pixels within the active document. ◆ Deselect or Reselect. Removes the active selection or recreates the last active selection. ◆ Inverse. Lets you reverse the previous selection. ◆ All Layers. Lets you select all the layers in the Layers panel (excluding the Background). ◆ Deselect Layers. Deselects all layers in the Layers panel. ◆ Similar Layers. Selects similar layers such as: all type layers, or all shape layers. ◆ Color Range. Creates a selection based on a range of colors within the active document. ◆ Redefine Edge. Creates a selection from a complex image. ◆ Modify. Lets you modify the border, Expand, Contract, or Smooth the selection in the active document. ◆ Grow. Lets you increase a selection by adding pixels. ◆ Similar. Lets you increase a selection by adding non- contiguous pixels. ◆ Transform Selection. Creates a bounding box around the active selection that you can modify. ◆ Edit in Quick Mask Mode. View your selection in Quick Mask Mode. ◆ Load or Save Selection. Lets you load or save a previously saved channel mask selection. 1 Selection 1 Available selection options From the Library of Wow! eBook ptg Chapter 4 Mastering the Art of Selection 95 After you make a selection in a Photoshop document, you can copy or cut it to the Clipboard where you can paste it to another place in your active document or in another document. Using the Copy or Cut and Paste commands have been around for a long time, however, Photoshop has added some variation to it. You can use the Paste Special menu to provide more direction to the paste location by using the Paste In Place (New!), Paste Into, and Paste Outside (New!) commands. If the con- tent of the Clipboard doesn’t contain pixels from a Photoshop document, the special paste commands work just like the Paste command. Copying and Pasting a Selection Copy or Cut and Paste Select an area of an image using any of the selection tools in a Photoshop document. Click the Edit menu, and then click Copy (active layer), or Copy Merged (all layers), or Cut (move). Use any of the following paste commands: ◆ Paste. Pastes the selection as a new layer. Click the Edit menu, and then click Paste. ◆ Paste In Place. Pastes selection into the same relative location between source and destination documents. Click the Edit menu, point to Paste Special, and then click Paste In Place (New!). TIMESAVER Press Shift+Ctrl+V (Win) or Shift+ A +V (Mac). ◆ Paste Into or Paste Outside. Pastes the selection inside or outside (New!) a selection. This adds a layer and layer mask. The selection is unmasked (white), while the rest of the layer is masked (black). Select a destination, click the Edit menu, point to Paste Special, and then click Paste Into or Paste Outside. TIMESAVER For Paste Into, press Alt+Shift+Ctrl+V (Win) or Option+Shift+ A +V (Mac). 3 2 1 Background layer Paste Into layer 1 3 Paste Into From the Library of Wow! eBook . that Photoshop helps you make selections easily would be an understatement. Not only can you modify selections in any number of ways, Photoshop gives you the option to change your mind by adding. make perfect selections. Adding to and subtracting from an image is accomplished by simple keyboard shortcuts, or by making choices from the Options bar. Either way, you can create com- plex selections. Whatever the case, Photoshop allows you to enhance any selection with its use- ful modification tools. After creating a selection, you can modify it with the various options that Photoshop offers