Making selections in Adobe Photoshop Class - 9 [Adobe Photoshop for Beginners]:

Assalam.o.Alaikum

welcome to Tech Learning 4U

So now we are getting into

the essential practice section of this course.

In the previous eight Blog,

I introduced you to Photoshop,

discussed some image principles

and showcased some handy tips you should know.

Now it's time to get hands on.

In this tutorial, we are going

to look at how to use one

of the most common tools in Photoshop,

the selection tools.

As you attempt to create in Photoshop,

you will find that one of the most fundamental tools

are the selection tools.

The selection tools allow you to make

and control particular selections

in your canvas area.

The created selections work as a focus,

which will allow you to make a whole series

of creative decisions.

With the selections,

you can do a variety of tasks

such as cut, copy, change color, fill color,

apply gradients, and many more.

In this Blog, we are going to look at

the variety of tools on offer

and how they can be used.

To follow along with this Blog,

you will need to open this document

So with the document open, let's get into it.

So the first tool I want to introduce you to

is the Marquee Tool.

Now, this tool can be found just under the Move Tool

over in the menu to the left.

Now if we move into the menu

and click and hold on the Marquee Tool icon,

we can see that there are a range

of Marquee Tools to choose from.

So the first tool I'm going to choose

is the Rectangular Marquee Tool.

With this selected,

you will now see in the canvas area the mouse cursor

become a crosshair.

So when using this tool

it's basically a case of clicking and dragging

to make a particular selection.

Now it does not matter at this stage

what layer you have selected.

You'll be able to create a selection.

So first I will place the mouse cursor

where I want to start.

So I'll zoom in here and use this square shape

as a reference.

I'll click in the top left and drag out like so,

keeping my finger held down on the mouse.

Now as I drag out

we will see what appears to be a dashed line.

This is Photoshop communicating

what selection area we are about to make.

Now because this is the Rectangular Marquee Tool

we are going to make a selection in a box

or rectangular shape like so.

So on this occasion I'll make a selection

to the bottom edge of the square

and release click.

Upon release, we will now see a dashed line.

So this is our new selection here.

Now with this selection

we can do a number of things.

With the Marquee Tools still active

we can move the mouse into the selection area.

We will notice the mouse cursor change

to a white arrow.

Well this is Photoshop telling us

that we can move this around if we wish.

So if I click and drag in the selection

I can move it around like so.

Now you don't have to use the mouse

to move the selection around.

You can also use the arrow keys on the keyboard.

By pressing up and down on the keyboard

you can move the selection around in small increments.

Now if you press and hold Shift

and again press the arrow keys,

you can move the selection around in larger increments.

Now you must be careful when you have your selection.

With the Selection Tool

if you click outside the selection once

you will lose your current selection.

I'll just press undo to go back a step

and get my selection back.

Now what if I want to remove from my current selection?

So if I press and hold Alt on the keyboard

notice a little minus appear on the crosshair.

With Alt held down

if I click and make a selection

in the current selection upon release

this area will be taken away from the selection like so.

If I want to add more to the current selection

this time I will press Shift on the keyboard.

Notice this time a plus symbol

next to the crosshair mouse cursor.

This is indicating that I can click

and add to the selection.

Now the selection does not have to be one area.

You can hold Shift and make additional selection areas

around the initial selection

and select particular areas.

Now a useful shortcut to know

if ever you have a selection in your canvas area

by pressing Command + D

this will deselect the selection area.

So with this current selection

I'll press Command + D to deselect.

So I'm going to move over to the right here

to the gray square.

Now if you're following along

I suggest you have a go at this.

Now as mentioned earlier one of the things we can do

with selection areas is fill them with color

to make shapes and creative objects in the document.

So with the Rectangular Marquee Tool

I'm going to come to the top left of the gray square

and click to drag down just like before.

Now as I drag you can see I can make any shape I like.

Now another useful tip

if you press and hold Shift while you drag out

you can create a selection

in a perfect square like so.

By holding Shift I'm going to drag out

until I make a selection similar to the gray square.

Upon release I now have my dashed outline like so.

So now I'm going to fill the selection with color,

but first we need to pay close attention

to the Layers panel.

What I need to do here is create a new layer

so I don't color on top

of any current layers I have in my document.

So I'll come to the bottom of the Layers panel

and hit the New Layer icon.

With the new layer selected in the Layers panel

and the selection still active

I'm going to press I on the keyboard

to activate the Eyedropper Tool.

With this tool I'm going to click into the orange square

to select the color.

Notice now the foreground color in the menu

is set to orange.

Then I'm going to come across in the menu

and select the Paint Bucket Tool.

With the Paint Bucket Tool active

I'm going to come into the square selection

and click once.

Upon click we will fill this with orange

in the current selection.

Once the selection is filled with color

the selection will still remain

as a dashed line.

If we no longer need a selection

we can simply press Command + D to deselect.

I'll just zoom out.

So just like that we have created

a new layer with a square shape with color inside.

Now I'll come over into the Layers panel,

double click on the name,

and rename this to "Square fill".

Easy.

So next I'm going to come back

to the Rectangle Marquee Tool

and click and hold on the icon.

This time I'm going to select the next Marquee Tool,

the Elliptical Marquee Tool.

So this is the same as the previous tool,

but instead of a square selection

it will make a ellipse selection.

So I'll click and try

and make a selection over the circle here

and now I have a circle selection

with the dashed line around like so.

So again I'm going to come over to the right.

This time with the circle Marquee Tool

I'm going to try and mimic the shape below.

Remember if we press and hold Shift

we can create a perfect circle shape.

Upon release I'll create a new layer.

This time I'll press Command + Shift + N

to create a new layer.

I'll call this layer "Circle fill" and click OK.

I'll press I to activate the Eyedropper Tool.

I'll select the green from the circle to the left.

Then I could come over to the Paint Bucket Tool

though this time I'll press G

the shortcut for the Paint Bucket Tool.

With the Paint Bucket Tool active

and the green set and the foreground color in the menu

I'll click into the selection

then I'll press Command + D

to deselect the selection and zoom out.

And just like that I have a new green circle

on it's own layer.

Nice.

So there are the two main Marquee Tools

to make basic selections in Photoshop,

the Rectangular and the Elliptical Marquee Tools.

So be sure to practice with these tools

to get a good grip of them as you'll find yourself

using these a lot in future.

So the next tool I want to introduce you to

is the Lasso Tool.

Now this tool works similar to the previous tool

in terms of allowing us to make selections.

But this tool gives us much more flexibility

to create a much more detailed selection.

So you can find the Lasso Tool

just under the Marquee Tools in the menu.

Just like the Marquee Tools

you can click and hold in the menu

to reveal the tools on offer.

So here we have the Lasso Tool,

the Polygonal Lasso Tool,

and the Magnetic Lasso Tool.

So I'll start by demonstrating the Lasso Tool.

So I'll move my mouse over it and release.

Now with the Lasso Tool active

you will notice your mouse cursor

appears as a lasso.

With this tool you can click and drag like before

and draw a selection area freely like so.

Now just like with the Marquee Tool

at this point it does not matter

which layer you have selected.

You will be able to make a selection freely.

As you click and draw

you will see a gray line appear

and as you join the end and release

this area you drew will become a selection.

Again we can see the dashed outline like so.

Now you may find yourself using this in a situation

where you need to create a quick selection freely.

Now the next Lasso Tool is the Polygonal Lasso Tool.

This one is a really useful tool

and I find myself using this one the most.

So back up in the menu

this time I'll click and hold to reveal the tools

and select the Polygonal Lasso Tool.

With this active again

we will see the lasso icon next to the cursor,

but with subtle points.

This tool works like the previous,

but instead of creating a free drawn line

you can create a selection from point to point clicks.

For example let's zoom into the triangle here.

So with the Polygonal Lasso Tool

I'll click to start.

So with one click you will lay down a point.

As I move my mouse cursor around

notice a gray line attached to the first point.

Photoshop is asking me where I would like

to drop my next point.

So I'll click on the bottom edge

of the triangle here.

Upon click I'll drop my next point

and again I can move my mouse cursor around

to place a new point.

So this time I'll move my mouse up

and over the first point I created.

As I do so I will see a little circle appear

on the mouse cursor.

This is Photoshop asking if I would like

to click to close the selection.

Upon click I have now made a new selection

around the triangle.

Easy.

So I'll press Command + D

to deselect the selection

and I'll move over to the right here.

With the Polygonal Lasso Tool active

this time I'm going to make a selection

around this gray triangle.

I'll first click once on the top point,

move my mouse cursor down,

and click a second time in the bottom right corner,

again in the bottom left, then up,

and click to join at the top.

Upon click I have quickly made a selection

close to the triangle below.

With the selection active

I'll press Command + Shift + N to create a new layer.

I'll call this layer "Triangle fill" and click OK.

I'll press I to activate the Eyedropper Tool.

I'll select the pink from the triangle to the left.

With the color loaded into my foreground color

I'll press G to activate the Paint Bucket Tool

and I'll click into the selection to fill it with color.

Once happy I'll press Command+D to deselect the selection.

And now I have a new layer with a triangle shape.

Easy.

So the Polygonal Lasso Tool is really useful

for making selections without curves.

So with the Polygonal Lasso Tool as an exercise

let's try and trace the outline

of the orange bird at the bottom of this document.

Place my first point at the top

and click my way around

until I get to the end like so.

Easy.

So the last Lasso Tool is an interesting one.

This one is called the Magnetic Lasso Tool.

With this one selected and active

this time we can see a magnetic symbol on the mouse cursor.

With this tool I'm going to trace this circle here.

So I'll click at the top once

and move my mouse cursor around.

As I move around Photoshop is makin' a selection

across the outline of the circle.

I can continue around and close the selection

by clicking over the start point.

The Magnetic Tool attempts

to guess what you are tracing

by sticking to a perceived outline.

So depending on your creative circumstance

you can use this one as a fast way

to trace around clear and bold artwork.

Now the last selection tool is the Magic Wand Tool.

This tool can be very useful in particular situations.

As you begin using the selection tools

you will find that on occasion

you will spend quite some time

using them to create selections.

On occasions you may find it hard

to create selections manually

using the Marquee Tools and the Lasso Tools.

In some situations the Magic Wand Tool can speed things up.

So you can find the magic wand tool up in the menu

under the Lasso Tools.

Now also you can activate the Magic Wand Tool

at any time by pressing W on the keyboard.

So if I press W

I will activate the Magic Wand Tool

and I can see the Magic Wand icon.

Now unlike the previous two tools

the Magic Wand Tool is going to interact

with the particular layer you have selected.

For example I want to make a quick selection

of the inside of the circle here I created earlier.

I can use the Magic Wand Tool to do this.

First I press V on the keyboard

to activate the Move Tool.

I'll place my mouse cursor over the circle and right click.

I'll select the Circle Fill Layer

and now I can see in the Layers panel

I have this layer selected.

So I'll press W to activate the Magic Wand Tool.

Now if I move my mouse cursor

over the circle and click,

on click I will make a selection

of the circle area like so.

What the Magic Wand Tool does

is select particular areas on a layer

particularly areas of the same color.

So I'll press Command + D to deselect.

This time I'll click on the background layer.

Now on this layer we can see we have

this blue solid color with a red origami bird inside.

So with this layer selected

and the Magic Wand Tool active

I'm going to click inside the blue area.

Now if we look carefully

we can see that we have made

a selection of the entire blue area.

We can see the dashed outline around the outside

of the blue area and around the red bird.

So I'll press Command + D to deselect.

Now this time I'm going

to click inside the red bird like so.

I click in the middle.

Now see what has happened this time.

Because the bird is made of a gradient

the Magic Wand cannot pick all of the bird

as it's made of various colors.

So upon click the Magic Wand has made a selection

of part of the bird.

But what if I want all of the bird to be selected?

Now with the current selection active

and my Magic Wand still active

now I'm carefully going to press

and hold Shift on the keyboard.

Now just like earlier

by pressing and holding Shift

this is going to add to the current selection.

By pressing Shift now we can see a little plus

on the mouse cursor.

So I'll move my mouse cursor up

into another part of the bird and click.

Upon click we have selected more of the bird area,

but not all of it.

With Shift still held down

I'll make additional clicks

into the bird to select more of the area like so.

After a few clicks we now have the whole bird selected.

Nice.

So the Magic Wand Tool can be used to select areas

of single flat color.

But by holding Shift you can select additional areas

to add to the selection if you wish.

So those are the three main selection tools in Photoshop,

the Marquee Tools, the Lasso Tools,

and the Magic Wand Tools.

Be sure to practice with these tools

as you will be using them a lot

as you create in Photoshop.

So before we move onto the next video

I want to showcase some tips

and tricks you should be aware of

with regards to the selection tools.

So a good tip is Select All.

Sometimes you may be in a situation where you want

to make a quick selection of the entire canvas area.

To do this simply press Command + A.

By pressing Command + A

you will now notice the dashed selection line appear

around the entire document.

The next tip, make a quick selection

of a layer object outline.

So for this example I'm going to focus

on the orange bird layer.

Now if I press V to activate the Move tool

I can see that this orange bird exists

on it's own layer.

There is nothing but the bird.

Everything around the bird is transparent.

Now if I want to make a quick selection of this bird area

if I come into the Layers panel

if I press and hold Command on the keyboard

and click once on the layer thumbnail

a selection will become active

around the outside of the entire layer, the bird.

So I'll press Command + D to deselect.

Again I'll hold Command on the keyboard,

but this time I will click on the Triangle Fill layer.

To perform this task you do not need

to have any particular layer selected.

Upon click I will now have the triangle area selected.

Now it's important to keep in mind here if you try this

on a shape object set on a white background

it will not work.

This will only work if the layer has transparency around it.

So the last tip is saving selections.

Now if you make a selection in your canvas area

perhaps it's a complex selection

you have spent a long time building

you can save them.

So I'll make a quick selection of the red bird

using the Polygonal Lasso Tool.

Now with this selection active

I can come up to Select in the top main menu, scroll down,

and click Save Selection.

Upon click up will pop a menu.

Here I can name the selection.

I'll call this Big Bird

and click OK.

So back in the document

I can carry on making other selections

and moving on from the previous task.

Now if I want to come back

and make that selection again

I can come up to Select, scroll down,

and select Load Selection.

From the menu I can click on Channel

and select Big Bird, the selection I saved previous.

I click OK and there is the selection active.

Convenient.

So that is how to use the Selection Tools

in Adobe Photoshop.

In the next Blog

we will be learning how to copy and paste.

One of the most common tasks performed in Photoshop.

See you in the next Blog.