Selections - Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 for Photographers - page 258

The Selection Brush tool
allows the user to create
selec tions by painting di-
rectly onto the picture
surface.
The tool can be used in two modes - Selection and Mask.
t The Selection mode is used to paint over the area you wish to select.
t The Mask mode works by reverse painting in the areas you want to 'mask from the
selection'. It is particularly well suited for showing the soft or feathered edge selections
made when painting with a soft-edged brush.
Holding down the Alt/Opt keys whilst dragging the brush switches the tool from adding to
the selection to taking away from the area. Alternatively you can also switch between Add
and Subtract modes using the settings in the options bar.
Drawing selection tool workflows:
Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee tools
1 After selecting the tool, click and drag to draw a marquee on the image surface.
2 Hold down the Shift key whilst drawing to restrict the shape to either a square or
a circle.
3 Hold down the Alt (Windows) key to draw the shape from its center.
4 Hold down the Spacebar to reposition the marquee.
Lasso tool
1 After selecting the tool, click and drag to draw the selection area by freehand.
2 Release the mouse button to join the beginning and end points and close the
outline.
Polygonal Lasso tool
1 After selecting the tool, click and release the mouse button to mark the first
fastening point.