Editing a quick mask

Next, you will refine the selection of the egret by adding to or erasing parts of the masked area. You’ll use the brush tool to make changes to your quick mask. The advantage of editing your selection as a mask is that you can use almost any tool or filter to modify the mask. (You can even use selection tools.) In Quick Mask mode, you do all of your editing in the image window.

In Quick Mask mode, Photoshop automatically defaults to Grayscale mode. The foreground color defaults to black, and the background color defaults to white. When using a painting or editing tool in Quick Mask mode, keep these principles in mind:

  • Painting with white erases the mask (the red overlay) and increases the selected area.

  • Painting with black adds to the mask (the red overlay) and decreases the selected area.

Adding to a selection by erasing masked areas

You’ll begin by painting with white to increase the selected area within the egret. This erases some of the mask.

1.
To make the foreground color white, select the Switch Foreground and Background Colors icon () above the foreground and background color-selection boxes.

2.
Select the zoom tool() and magnify your view of the image, if needed.

Zoom tool shortcuts

Many times when you are editing an image, you’ll need to zoom in to work on a detail and then need to zoom out again to see the changes in context. You can use various keyboard shortcuts that make it easier than constantly switching between editing tools and the zoom tool.

Switching to the zoom tool

You can select the zoom tool in these ways:

  • Click the zoom tool in the toolbox to switch from the currently selected tool.

  • Hold down Ctrl+spacebar (Windows) or Command+spacebar (Mac OS) to temporarily select the zoom tool from the keyboard. When you finish zooming, release the keys to go back to the tool you were using.

Zooming in

You can use the zoom tool to zoom in (magnify the image view) in these ways:

  • Click the area you want to magnify. Each click magnifies the image by the next preset increment.

  • Drag around the part of the image you want to magnify, creating a zoom marquee. When you release the mouse, the image portion within that marquee fills the image window.

Zooming out

You can use the zoom tool to zoom out (shrink the image view) in the following ways:

  • In the toolbox, double-click the zoom tool to return the image to 100% view.

  • Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click the area of the image you want to reduce. Each Alt/Option-click reduces the image by the next preset increment.


3.
Select the brush tool ().

4.
In the tool options bar, make sure that the mode is Normal. Then click the arrow to display the Brushes pop-up palette, and select a medium-sized brush, such as one with a diameter of 13 pixels.

Note

You’ll switch brushes several times as you do this lesson. For convenience, you can choose Window > Brushes to open the Brushes palette as a separate window (or drag its tab from the palette well) so that your brush choices are readily available as you work. Or, you can just click the Brushes tab in the palette well to open it temporarily.

5.
Using the brush tool, begin painting over the red areas within the egret’s body. As you paint with white, the red areas are erased.

Don’t worry if you paint outside the outline of the egret’s body. You’ll have a chance to make adjustments later by masking areas of the image as needed.

Unedited mask

Painting with white

Result

6.
Continue painting with white to erase all of the mask (red) in the egret, including its beak and legs. As you work, you can easily switch back and forth between Quick Mask mode and Standard mode to see how painting in the mask alters the selected area.

Notice that the selection border has increased, selecting more of the egret’s body.

Standard mode

Edited mask in Standard mode

Quick mask selection

For an illustration of the selection in Standard and Quick Mask modes, see figure 6-1 in the color section.

If any areas within the body of the egret still appear to be selected, it means that you haven’t erased all of the mask.

Selection in Standard mode

Erasing in Quick Mask mode

7.
Once you’ve erased all of the red areas within the egret, click the Standard mode icon () again to view your quick mask as a selection. Don’t worry if the selection extends a bit beyond the egret. You’ll learn how to fix that later.

8.
If necessary, zoom out so that you can see the entire image.

9.
Choose File > Save to save your work.

Subtracting from a selection by adding masked areas

You may have erased the mask beyond the edges of the egret. This means that part of the background is included in the selection. Now you’ll return to Quick Mask mode and restore the mask to those edge areas by painting with black.

1.
Click the Quick Mask Mode button () to return to Quick Mask mode.

2.
To make the foreground color black, select the Switch Foreground and Background Colors icon () above the foreground and background color-selection boxes. Make sure that the black color box now appears on top. Remember that in the image window, painting with black will add to the red overlay.

3.
Choose a brush from the Brush pop-up palette. Select a small brush from the first row of brushes, because you’ll be refining the edges of the selection.

4.
Now paint with black to restore the mask (the red overlay) to any of the background area that is still unprotected. Continue working until only the area inside the egret remains unmasked and you are completely satisfied with your mask selection.

Remember that you can zoom in and out as you work. You can also switch back and forth between Standard mode and Quick Mask mode.

Note

In Quick Mask mode, you can also use the eraser tool to remove any excess selection.

Painting with black to restore mask

For a color illustration of painting in Quick Mask mode, see figure 6-2 in the color section.

5.
In the toolbox, switch to Standard mode to view your final egret selection.

6.
Double-click the hand tool () to make the egret image fit in the window.

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