How to Use the Background Eraser Tool Photoshop Tutorial

In this Dansky tutorial, the focus is on mastering the Background Eraser Tool in Adobe Photoshop for intricate tasks like cutting out hair from a photo. The process begins by unlocking the background layer, creating a new layer underneath, and filling it with a bright color to facilitate the visibility of the cutout areas. The Background Eraser Tool is then selected, with adjustments made to the brush size using square brackets. The tool's settings are fine-tuned, emphasizing 'Sampling Once' to avoid removing unintended parts of the image. Tolerance levels are experimented with to find the optimal balance between effectively removing the gray background and preserving the hair and other details. The tutorial demonstrates the tool's efficiency in cutting around hair and fine-tuning the image. Finally, the image is placed on a transparent background, allowing for further creative manipulation such as changing the background color or adding a photograph behind the subject.

Takeaways

• 🎨 **Use Background Eraser Tool for Hair**: The tool is particularly useful for cutting out hair in Photoshop.
• 🔓 **Unlock the Background Layer**: To edit, double-click the locked background layer and rename it.
• 🖌️ **Create a New Layer**: Add a new layer below the woman's layer and fill it with a bright color for visibility.
• 📏 **Adjust Brush Size**: Use square brackets [ ] to change the size of the eraser tool brush dynamically.
• 🔍 **Set Sampling Once**: Choose 'Once' for sampling to remove only the selected background color without affecting other parts of the image.
• 🔄 **Limit to Contiguous Areas**: Select 'Contiguous' to ensure the tool only erases connected areas of the same color.
• 🔑 **Protect Foreground Color**: Ensure the foreground color is protected from being erased.
• 🔧 **Experiment with Tolerance**: Adjust the tolerance to find the right balance for erasing the background without damaging the subject.
• ✅ **Drag to Erase**: Once the tolerance is set, click and drag over the background to erase it, focusing on areas like hair and skin.
• 🧹 **Clean Up with Standard Eraser**: Use the standard eraser tool to clean up any remaining unwanted parts.
• 🌈 **Adjust Hue and Saturation**: Use the 'Hue/Saturation' options to change the fill color of the new background layer.
• 📱 **Transparent Background**: Once the background is removed, the subject can be placed on a transparent background for further editing or composition.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the background eraser tool in Adobe Photoshop?

The background eraser tool in Adobe Photoshop is primarily used for removing backgrounds, especially when trying to cut out hair or other fine details from an image.

How does the background eraser tool work in Photoshop?

The background eraser tool works by allowing you to select a brush size and then erase parts of the image that match a sampled color, effectively removing the background while preserving the main subject.

What is the significance of the sampling setting in the background eraser tool?

The sampling setting determines how the tool selects the color to be erased. 'Once' means it will only remove the initially sampled color, which is useful for uniform backgrounds.

What does the 'Contiguous' option in the tool's settings do?

The 'Contiguous' option ensures that the tool only erases colors that are touching the sampled pixel, preventing it from affecting other areas of the image.

How does the tolerance setting affect the erasing process?

The tolerance setting determines how similar colors must be to the sampled color to be erased. A lower tolerance is more selective, while a higher tolerance will erase a broader range of colors.

What is the role of the 'Protect foreground color' option?

The 'Protect foreground color' option ensures that the currently selected foreground color is not erased, which is helpful when you want to preserve certain areas of the image.

How can you adjust the brush size for the background eraser tool?

You can adjust the brush size using the square brackets on your keyboard. The left square bracket '[' decreases the size, and the right square bracket ']' increases it.

What is the recommended approach for erasing fine details like hair?

For fine details like hair, you should zoom in and adjust the tolerance accordingly, using the background eraser tool to carefully remove the background without affecting the hair.

What is the benefit of using a bright color for the new layer beneath the woman's image?

Using a bright color makes it easier to see which parts of the image have been successfully cut out, as the bright color will show through where the background has been removed.

How can you change the color of the bright layer after the background has been removed?

You can change the color by selecting the layer and using the 'Hue/Saturation' adjustment tool (Command U or Control U) to alter the hue and lightness of the color.

What are the final steps to ensure the woman's image is on a transparent background?

After using the background eraser tool, you can switch to the standard eraser tool to clean up any remaining parts of the background. Once satisfied, deselecting the bright color layer will reveal the woman on a transparent background.

What creative possibilities does having the woman's image on a transparent background open up?

With the image on a transparent background, you can place her over different backgrounds, apply effects like blurring to the background, or even layer other images behind her, offering a wide range of creative options.

Outlines

00:00

🖌️ Introduction to the Background Eraser Tool in Photoshop

This paragraph introduces the viewer to Dansky, a platform for developing creative skills in design. The focus is on the background eraser tool in Adobe Photoshop, particularly useful for cutting out hair from a photo. The presenter demonstrates how to remove a gray background from a photo of a woman, aiming to place her on a transparent background. The process involves unlocking the background layer, creating a new layer beneath it, and filling it with a bright color to make the selection process easier. The background eraser tool is then used, with adjustments to brush size and settings such as sampling once and contiguous limits to ensure precision. Tolerance levels are discussed, with a demonstration of how different levels affect the erasing process. The presenter emphasizes the need for trial and error to find the right balance for a clean cutout, especially around the hair.

05:00

🔍 Final Touches and Customizing the Background

The second paragraph details the final steps in using the background eraser tool to refine the edges and remove any remaining background elements. The presenter switches to the standard eraser tool to clean up loose ends. The effectiveness of the background eraser tool in cutting around fine details like hair is highlighted. To showcase the results, the presenter adjusts the hue and saturation of the bright color layer to demonstrate the subject against a different background. The video concludes with the woman's image now on a transparent background, allowing for further creative uses such as layering with photographs or applying blur effects. The presenter invites viewers to ask questions, comment, and like the video, and signs off with a promise to see them next time.

Keywords

Background Eraser Tool

The Background Eraser Tool is a feature in Adobe Photoshop used to remove or erase a specific color from an image, typically the background. In the video, it is used to remove the gray background from a photo of a woman, allowing her to be placed on a transparent background for further design work. The tool is particularly highlighted for its utility in cutting out fine details like hair.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a widely used digital image editing software that offers a variety of tools for editing and manipulating images. In the context of the video, it is the platform where the tutorial takes place, and the software in which the Background Eraser Tool is used to edit the photograph.

Sampling

Sampling in the context of the Background Eraser Tool refers to the process of selecting a specific color from the image that the tool will target for removal. The video explains that 'sampling once' means the tool will only remove the initially selected color, which is crucial for not affecting other parts of the image.

Tolerance

Tolerance is a setting in the Background Eraser Tool that determines how similar colors to the sampled one will be treated. A low tolerance means the tool is more selective, only removing colors that closely match the sample. Conversely, a high tolerance can lead to the removal of a broader range of colors, which may include unintended parts of the image. The video demonstrates the need to find the right balance for effective use.

Layers

In Photoshop, layers are a way to organize different parts of an image. Each layer can be manipulated independently, allowing for non-destructive editing. The video script describes creating a new layer beneath the woman's image and filling it with a bright color to facilitate the removal of the gray background.

Transparency

Transparency in digital images refers to areas that have no color or information, which can be used for various design purposes such as overlaying images or adding backgrounds. The video's main goal is to place the woman on a transparent background, which is achieved by removing the gray background with the eraser tool.

Eraser Tool

The Eraser Tool in Photoshop is used to remove or clear parts of an image. After using the Background Eraser Tool to remove the background, the standard Eraser Tool is employed to clean up any remaining unwanted parts, particularly around the edges of the subject.

Hue and Saturation

Hue and saturation adjustments in Photoshop allow for changes in the color and intensity of an image. The video mentions using these options to change the bright color layer to any desired color, demonstrating flexibility in design choices post-editing.

Continuous Sampling

Continuous Sampling is an option in the Background Eraser Tool that continuously samples the color from the area where the tool is being used. This can lead to a more aggressive removal of colors, which, as shown in the video, may not be desirable when trying to preserve certain parts of the image.

Contiguous

The 'Contiguous' setting in the tool specifies that only adjacent pixels of the sampled color will be targeted for removal. This helps in maintaining the integrity of the image, ensuring that only the connected background areas are erased and not scattered pixels throughout the image.

Foreground Color

The foreground color in Photoshop is the color that is currently selected for use in tools like the Brush or Eraser. The video emphasizes 'Protect foreground color' to ensure that the tool does not affect or remove the woman's image, which is the main subject and part of the foreground.

Highlights

This tutorial focuses on using the background eraser tool in Adobe Photoshop to remove a gray background from a photo.

The background eraser tool is particularly useful for cutting out hair in a photo.

Unlock the background layer and rename it for clarity.

Create a new layer below the subject layer and fill it with a bright color for visibility.

Select the background eraser tool from the eraser tool options.

Adjust the brush size using the square brackets for precision.

Choose 'Sampling Once' to remove a single color without affecting other areas.

Set 'Limits' to 'Contiguous' to ensure only adjacent areas are affected.

Experiment with 'Tolerance' to find the right balance between removing the background and preserving details.

Use a lower tolerance for more precision and a higher tolerance for faster removal.

Once the tolerance is set, click and drag over the background to remove it.

Zoom in for detailed work around the hair and adjust the tolerance as needed.

Use the standard eraser tool to clean up any remaining parts of the background.

The hue and saturation options can be used to change the fill color of the new background.

Deselecting the fill layer reveals the subject on a transparent background.

With the subject on a transparent background, you can now overlay different backgrounds or effects.

The background eraser tool is effective for detailed work, such as cutting around hair strands.

This tutorial demonstrates the quick and efficient use of the background eraser tool in Photoshop.

Feel free to leave questions or comments for further assistance.