photoshop tutorial- Photoshop eraser tools

Photoshop Eraser Tools

Photoshop eraser tool can be used to touch up the mistakes you may have made while painting. Think of eraser tool as paintbrushes in reverse. Instead of laying down color, they pick it up.The eraser tool changes pixels in the image as you drag through them. You can limit the erasing area in an image my making a selection.If you are applying the eraser to the background layer, or to any layer with Preserve Transparency selected, the erased area will be filled with the current background color. Otherwise it will erase to transparency with the exception of when you are erasing to a history state.

The eraser tool changes pixels in the image and the layer below is seen now.

Eraser Options palette: Select the eraser tool from the toolbox and drag the tool through the area you want to erase. By default the eraser is the same shape and size as the default paint brush. Double-click the eraser tool to display its Options palette.
(1) Choose the tool type you want to use as an eraser—paintbrush, airbrush, pencil, or block.
(2) Specify the opacity, fade-out rate, and stylus options.
(3) When using the paintbrush option, select Wet Edges to erase with a watercolor effect. This option causes the erased effect to build up along the edges of the brush stroke.
(4)To erase to a saved state or snapshot of the image, select Erase to History. To use the eraser tool in Erase to History mode, hold down Alt as you drag in the image.

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Photoshop Background Eraser Tool

The background eraser tool erases areas to transparency by dragging. The background eraser erases the color on which you first click, while leaving other colors untouched. The background eraser cursor has a crosshair in its center showing the hotspot which is used to choose the colors affected, according to your settings in the options palette.

BackgroundEraser Options palette: Double-click the backgrounderaser tool to display its Options palette.

Background Eraser palette

(1) Choose an eraser from the Options palette menu:
• Discontiguous to erase the sampled color wherever it occurs in the layer.
• Contiguous to erase areas that contain the sampled color and are connected to one another.
• Find Edges to erase connected areas containing the sampled color, while better preserving the sharpness of object edges.

(2) In the box titled Tolerance, enter a value for the degree of variation in color that you want to erase. A low setting limits erasure to colors very similar to the one first clicked on. A higher setting allows more shades of the selected color to be erased. You can type a value into the box, or access its slider by pressing on the arrow at the right side of the box and dragging.

(3) For Sampling, choose one of the following:
• Continuous to sample colors continuously as you drag. Use this option to erase adjacent areas that are different in color.
• Once to erase only areas containing the color that you first click. Use this option to erase a solid-colored area.
• Background Swatch to erase only areas containing the current background color.

(4) Select Protect Foreground Color to prevent the erasure of areas that match the foreground color in the toolbox.

(5) If you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, set stylus options.

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Photoshop Magic Eraser tool

Unlike the other two erasers, this tool acts as by clicking, not dragging. It is similar to the magicwand tool, except that it removes the pixels found, instead of selecting them.The magic eraser erases to transparency on the active layer. If you apply it to the background layer, the layer will automatically be changed into a regular layer since the background layer does not permit transparency.

MagicEraser options palette: Double-click the Magiceraser tool to display its Options palette.

MagicEraser
options palette

(1) The Tolerance setting determines how much variation in the selected color will 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.

(2) The Opacity, When set to 100 % the erasure will be to complete transparency. When set to a lower value, semitransparent color will be left according to the percentage chosen.

(3) Check Use All Layers if you want to sample a color to erase from all visible layers.

(4) Select Anti-aliased to smooth the edges of the area you erase.

(5) If Contiguous is left unchecked, all pixels of the selected color within the designated tolerance range will be erased. When checked, only pixels connected to the spot clicked will be erased.

To switch between the eraser, magic eraser, and background eraser tools, press Shift+E.

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