Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Working with the Magic Wand tool
The Magic Wand makes selections based on tonal similarities; it lets you select a
consistently colored area, for example a blue sky, without having to trace its outline. You
control the range it automatically selects by adjusting the tolerance.
1
Choose File > Browse in Bridge to bring Adobe Bridge forward. Then navigate to the
ps05lessons folder and open the image ps0502.psd. An image of a kite appears.
2
Choose File > Save As; the Save As dialog box appears. Navigate to the ps05lessons
folder and type
ps0502_work
into the Name text i eld. Make sure that Photoshop is
selected from the Format drop-down menu, and press Save.
3
Select and h
o
ld on the Quick Selection tool (
) to locate and select the hidden Magic
Wand tool ( ).
4
In the Options bar, make sure the tolerance is set to
32
.
5
Position your cursor over the red portion of the kite and click once. Notice that
similar tonal areas that are contiguous (touching) are selected. Place your cursor over
dif erent parts of the kite and click to see the dif erent selections that are created. The
selections pick up only similar tonal areas that are contiguous, which in this case is
generally not the most ef ective way to make a selection.
6
Choose Select > Deselect, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D (Windows) or
Command+D (Mac OS).
7
Click once in the sky at the top center of the image. The sky becomes selected. Don't
worry if the sky is not entirely selected, it is because those areas are outside of the
tolerance range of the area that you selected with the Magic Wand tool.
Image with the background selected.
To see what is included in a selection, position any selection tool over the image. If the icon
appears as a hollow arrow with a dotted box next to it, it is over an active selection. If the icon of
the tool or crosshair appears, then that area is not part of the active selection.
