How to Use the Background Eraser Tool Photoshop Tutorial
TLDRThis tutorial video from Dansky teaches viewers how to use the Background Eraser Tool in Adobe Photoshop to remove a gray background from a photo, leaving the subject on a transparent background. The process involves unlocking the background layer, creating a new layer with a bright color to make the cutout process easier to visualize, and then using the Background Eraser Tool with adjustable brush size and settings. The tutorial emphasizes the importance of setting the correct tolerance for effective removal of the background without damaging the subject, particularly when dealing with intricate details like hair. By the end, the woman in the photo is cleanly cut out, and viewers are shown how to adjust the hue and saturation of the bright color layer or place the subject on a different background, highlighting the versatility of the technique.
Takeaways
- 🎨 Use the Background Eraser Tool in Photoshop to remove backgrounds, especially when dealing with intricate details like hair.
- 🔓 Start by unlocking the background layer and creating a new layer underneath for a contrasting color fill.
- 🖌 Adjust the brush size of the Background Eraser Tool using the square brackets [ ] on the keyboard.
- 📏 Set the tool's sampling to 'Once' to ensure it only removes the sampled color without affecting other parts of the image.
- 🔍 Choose the 'Contiguous' option to limit the tool's effect to areas of the same color.
- 🔄 Use 'Protect Foreground Color' to prevent the tool from erasing the selected foreground color.
- 📈 Experiment with the 'Tolerance' setting to find the right balance between removing the background and preserving image details.
- ✅ Begin with a low tolerance to ensure precision, and increase it gradually if needed to remove more of the background.
- 🤏 Once the tolerance is set correctly, click and drag over the image to erase the background, paying close attention to areas around the hair and skin.
- 👀 Use the standard Eraser Tool to clean up any remaining unwanted parts of the background.
- 🌈 After removing the background, adjust the hue and saturation of the new background layer to customize the color scheme.
- 🌟 With the subject on a transparent background, you have the freedom to overlay different images or apply effects like blurring.
Q & A
What is the main purpose of the background eraser tool in Adobe Photoshop?
-The background eraser tool is primarily used for removing backgrounds, especially when cutting out hair, to allow for a more seamless and precise selection.
How do you unlock the background layer in Photoshop to begin editing?
-You can unlock the background layer by double-clicking it and entering a new layer name, such as 'woman'.
What is the role of creating a new layer and filling it with a bright color?
-The new layer with a bright color serves as a visual aid to make it easier to see which parts of the image have been successfully cut out after the background is removed.
How do you adjust the size of the brush when using the background eraser tool?
-You can adjust the brush size by using the square brackets on your keyboard; the left bracket decreases the size, while the right bracket increases it.
What is the significance of the 'Sampling Once' setting in the background eraser tool?
-The 'Sampling Once' setting allows the tool to sample a color only once and remove that specific color from the image, which is useful when you want to remove a uniform background without affecting other colors in the image.
What does the 'Contiguous' option do in the background eraser tool?
-The 'Contiguous' option ensures that the tool only erases pixels of the same color that are touching each other, which helps in maintaining the integrity of the subject's details.
How does the tolerance setting affect the background eraser tool's performance?
-The tolerance setting determines how strict the tool is when deciding which colors to remove. A low tolerance is more selective, while a high tolerance may remove more than just the background, possibly affecting parts of the subject.
What is the best practice for using the background eraser tool around hair?
-It's best to zoom in and adjust the tolerance for different parts, carefully dragging the tool over the hair to achieve a clean and precise cutout.
How can you finish off any loose ends after using the background eraser tool?
-You can switch to the standard eraser tool to clean up any remaining parts of the background that the background eraser tool missed.
What can you do with the image once the subject is on a transparent background?
-With the subject on a transparent background, you can change the background color, add a photograph, apply blur effects, or perform any other creative adjustments without the original background interfering.
How can you change the hue and saturation of the bright color layer in Photoshop?
-You can press Command U (Mac) or Control U (PC) to bring up the Hue/Saturation options, where you can adjust the hue and lightness to change the color as desired.
What is the final step to ensure the woman is cut out on a transparent background?
-After using the background eraser tool and making any necessary adjustments with the standard eraser tool, you can deselect the bright color layer to reveal the woman on a transparent background.
Outlines
🎨 Introduction to the Background Eraser Tool in Photoshop
In this tutorial, the focus is on the background eraser tool in Adobe Photoshop, which is ideal for intricate tasks like cutting out hair from a photo. The presenter starts with a locked background layer featuring a woman's photo and unlocks it to rename it 'woman.' A new layer is created underneath and filled with a bright color to facilitate the visibility of the cut-out areas. The eraser tool is then selected, and the background eraser tool is chosen for its precision in removing the gray background while preserving the woman's hair and dress details. The presenter explains how to adjust the brush size and the settings, emphasizing the importance of the 'sampling once' option to avoid removing unintended parts of the image. The tolerance level is also discussed, with a demonstration of how it affects the erasing process. The presenter concludes by showing how to use the standard eraser tool for final touch-ups and how to adjust the hue and saturation of the bright color layer.
🖌️ Finalizing the Cut-out and Customizing the Background
After using the background eraser tool to remove the gray background, the presenter moves on to refining the cut-out with the standard eraser tool to address any remaining loose ends. The effectiveness of the background eraser tool in precisely cutting around hair is highlighted. The presenter then demonstrates how to change the hue and saturation of the bright color layer to customize the background color, ranging from white to black or any desired hue. The tutorial concludes with the woman's image now isolated on a transparent background, ready for further creative use such as layering with photographs or applying a blurred background. The presenter encourages viewers to ask questions or leave comments and reminds them to like the video if they found it helpful.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Background Eraser Tool
💡Adobe Photoshop
💡Layer
💡Eraser Tool
💡Sampling
💡Tolerance
💡Transparency
💡Hue and Saturation
💡Continuous Sampling
💡Protect Foreground Color
💡Contiguous
Highlights
The tutorial focuses on using the background eraser tool in Adobe Photoshop to remove the gray background from a photo.
The background eraser tool is particularly useful for cutting out hair.
Unlock the background layer and rename it to 'woman'.
Create a new layer and fill it with a bright color to make it easier to see the cutout areas.
Select the background eraser tool by holding down the left-click on the eraser tool.
Adjust the brush size using the left and right square brackets.
Choose 'Sampling Once' to remove only the background color without affecting other parts of the image.
Set 'Limits' to 'Contiguous' and ensure 'Protect Foreground Color' is selected.
Experiment with 'Tolerance' to find the right balance for removing the background without damaging the subject.
A low tolerance setting will be more precise, while a high tolerance may remove unintended parts of the image.
Once the tolerance is set correctly, use the background eraser tool to remove the gray background.
Use the standard eraser tool to clean up any remaining loose ends.
The background eraser tool is effective for cutting around hair specifically.
After removing the background, the subject can be placed on a transparent background.
Adjust the hue and saturation of the bright color layer to change its color.
With the subject on a transparent background, you can now overlay a photograph or blur a background behind it.
The tutorial demonstrates the practical application of the background eraser tool for quick and effective background removal.
This technique saves time compared to manually cutting out each strand of hair.