Make sure you also see Masks are
Easy ... Really. Masks are selections and the two articles work
hand in hand.
Much more area is selected with the Magic Wand when
the tolerance value is raised.
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Of all the selection tools, the Magic Wand probably
saves more time than any other. The concept is simple: One click and
all similar colors in that area will be selected. Of course, we must
not forget that our overall subject here is computer graphics, and nothing
is ever that simple.
To create a selection with the Magic Wand, activate the Magic Wand
tool, and click on a color area. A selection border will appear around
the similar color that is connected to the color area you clicked on.
The color variation that will be selected is adjustable.
With the Magic Wand tool active, open the Tool Options window. The
Tolerance setting controls the range of colors that will be selected
by the Magic Wand. In the top image, the tolerance is set to 40 and
the selection border encloses only the solid red area.
In the second image, the tolerance value has been increased to 80,
which means that the Magic Wand will select any adjacent color that
is within 80 shades of the color you clicked on. Notice how the selection
border is now including much of the area where the red and gold mix.
Although you could try mathematically figuring the Tolerance range,
it is far more practical to use common sense. If you would like more
color areas selected, increase the tolerance. If too many colors are
selected, reduce the tolerance.
In addition to selecting a color range, you also have the power to
use a different criteria for selection. Click on the Match Mode drop-down
menu, and you will find several different options. Each of the following
match modes also use the Tolerance value to adjust selection area.
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RGB Value selects color by the RGB numbers
Hue selects area by position in the color wheel
Brightness selects area based on the amount of white in
the color
*All Opaque selects areas that contain no transparent pixels
*Opacity selects areas that are of similar opacity
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| *Note: These are PSP 7 capabilities. In PSP
6, there is no Opacity selection, and the All Opaque is called All
Pixels. |
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Thinking backwards: Inverting a selection
You will not use the Magic Wand for long before you realize that it
is not always easy to get the selection you require, even with great
tools. That is when a little strategy can really pay off, and especially
the skill to "think backwards." Backgrounds are often less
complicated than the objects they surround.
In the case of the guitar shown at the left, selecting the entire guitar
would be a challenge. However, it has a one color background. With the
Magic Wand tolerance set to 1, one click selects the entire background.
Note the selection boundaries around the outside of the canvas.
Now, you can invert the selection and have a perfectly selected guitar.
Choose Selections>Invert. Notice how the selection in the close-up
view to the left is now around only the guitar (no selection boundaries
on the edge of the canvas) and how well the details have been selected
around the edge.
It always pays to think in the opposite direction when using the Magic
Wand. I have had cases where I wanted to remove a background, and the
fastest way to do it was to select the pixels within the object. I then
inverted the selection and had a perfect background selection. Of course,
this only works when the opposite area is more consistent for one of
the Match Mode settings.
If you are new to the Magic Wand, the best advice I can give you is
to experiment. If you do not get the results that you are seeking, adjust
the tolerance, or the Match Mode. It only takes a minute to check another
setting, and the savings are significant over using the Freehand Selection
tool to accomplish a selection.
Read on to discover a few tricks on capturing those impossible selections
and editing selections that are close, but not yet perfect. |
