Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Background Eraser
The Background Eraser is used to delete pixels around the edge of an object. This tool is very
useful for extracting objects from their backgrounds. The tool pointer is made of two parts
- a circle and a cross hair. The circle size is based on the brush diameter. To use the tool, the
cross hair is positioned and dragged across the area to be erased, whilst at the same time the
circle's edge overlaps the edge of the object to be kept.
The success of this tool is largely based on the contrast between the edge of the object and
the background. The greater the contrast, the more effective the tool. Again, a Tolerance
slider is used to control how different pixels need to be in order to be erased.
BEFORE
AFTER
The Magic Eraser selects
and erases pixels of
similar color and tone.
Magic Eraser
The Magic Eraser selects and then erases pixels of similar tone and color. The tool is great
for removing unwanted backgrounds when making composite or montage pictures or if the
area of the image you want to erase is all the same color and contrasts in tone or color with
the rest of the image.
PRO'S TIP
Both the Background
Eraser and Magic Eraser
tools replace the back-
ground color with
transparency and in the
process create a new
image layer if the tool
was applied to a back-
ground layer.
The Tolerance setting in the tool's options bar determines how alike the pixels need to be
before they are erased. High settings will include more pixels of varying shades and colors.
Select the Contiguous option to force the tool to select pixels that are adjacent to each other
and choose Use All Layers if you want to sample the color to be erased from a mixture of all
visible layers.
Erasing workflow:
1 Pick the Eraser tool type from the toolbox.
2 For the Eraser tool - select a brush size and style and choose the form that the tool
will take.
3 For Magic Eraser and Background Eraser - set Tolerance and Contiguous values.
4 Drag over or click on the image to erase.
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