Tools Flashcards
PATH SELECTION TOOL
Activated by the A Key and represented by a black arrow.
This tool selects vector paths and can be used for moving and shapes within a layer. By default it will on select paths on the selected layer but this can be toggled on the menu bar to include paths on all layers.
DIRECT SELECTION TOOL
Activated by the A Key and represented by a white arrow.
Rather than selecting a whole path this tool can be used to select individual anchor points on paths and change the shape by moving the points or manipulating Bezier handles.
PEN TOOL
Activated by the P key the pen tools allow full free drawing of vector shapes or paths.
Traditional Pen - Clicking will define anchor points with sharp lines and holding and dragging will draw out the Bezier handles for smooth curves.
Curvature Pen - Click around and the tool automatically adapts and anticipates curves. Move the points and the shape will update. Double clicking anchors toggles between curve and hard anchors.
Freeform Pen - Draw free hand like a brush but the resulting line will be a vector shape with control anchors.
SHAPE TOOL
Activated by the U key the shape tool has the following variants -
Rectangle - Drag to form rectangles, constrain with shift for squares
Rounded Rectangle - Drag to form rectangles with pre defined corner radius. Constrain with shift for squares.
Ellipse - Drag to form Ellipses. Constrain with shift for circles
Polygon - Forms polygons, sides can be altered by selecting the required number in the options bar.
Line - Draws a line from a-b when clicking and dragging.
Custom Shape - Will draw whatever custom shape is selected from the drop down on the options bar.
Options can be imported or created from previously drawn shapes by clicking a shape and selecting ‘Define Custom Shape’
BRUSH TOOL
The brush tool paints colour in raster to pixel layers or masks and its colour, size, hardness, opacity and flow can be adjusted from the Options Bar. Custom brushed can also be created or more advanced brush dynamics selected from the Brush Pallet.
key brush shortcuts are
] Increase Size [ Decrease Size shift + ] = Increase Hardness shift + [ = Decrease Hardness 1-0 = Set opacity shift + 1-0 = Set flow alt - selects colour picker
FREE TRANSFORM
Activated by pressing ctrl+T, from the edit menu drop down or by selecting show transform controls on the options bar.
This is a mode rather tahn strictly a tool and allows full manipulation of an image layer. click corners to drag scale, pull around corners to rotate.
Drag center point to flip layer horizontally and vertically.
shift + drag centre points to flip vertically
alt + drag centre points to flip horizontally
ctrl + drag corner points to distort
ctrl + drag centre points to skew
ctrl + alt + shift = Perspective distort
From the options menu clicking on the Warp grid will toggle in and out of warp mode.
FREE WARP
Activated by toggling the warp grid on the options bar whilst in Free Transform.
A warp box will appear allowing the layer to be warped by pulling at control points and Bezier handles.
The image can be split into various grids either by choosing from the drop down or clicking on the split grid buttons and dragging splits in.
There are also predetermined warps and controls for these on the options bar.
PERSPECTIVE WARP
Selected via the edit menu this mode allows flexible adjustment in different parts of the image.
Start in layout mode by drawing planes to match the current perspective of the photograph or area of the photograph you wish to edit. Multiple planes can be added for more individual adjustments or to lock areas. Snapping one grid to another creates corners.
Once layout is complete toggle to warp in the options bar and manipulate perspective using the corner pins. Shift clicking on a line will lock it vertically or horizontally.
Auto straighten vertical and horizontal buttons are in the options bar.
MARQUEE TOOLS
Activated by M
These tools allow simple selections to be made in Rectangle, Circle and single lines.
They will select whatever portion of the image is inside them or outside if using select > invert.
alt and shift keys can be used to constrain shape and centre like other shapes but must be held down after starting the drag.
shift + begin drag = add new selection to existing
alt + begin drag = remove selection from existing
These behaviours can also be toggle on or off via the buttons on the options bar
holding down space while drawing a marquee will allow it to be reposition whilst drawing
After drawing a selection it can be transformed like any other image by selecting Transform selection from the select menu option.
MAGIC WAND
Activated by W
Allows selection via finding closely matching color and contrast and automatically adding to a selection.
Tolerance - This defines how loosely or closely matching colours and contrast need to be to be added larger numbers mean the selection will be broader
Contiguous - Toggling this on means that once an edge of a strong contrast is detected the selection will stop. Toggle off to allow for wider selections i.e. inside circles etc. However be wary of other parts of the image becoming selected.
Sample All Layers - Controls weather or not the tool references just the layer selected or everything underneath.
QUICK SELECTION TOOL
Activated by W
This tool operates like a brush and can be scaled similarly. By default it adds to the selection as you paint around the objects you wish to be selected so there is no need to hold down shift. alt can be used to remove from the selection though.
Otherwise it performs similarly to the Magic Wand but with better edge detection
LASSO TOOL
Activated by L
Allows free hand drawing around objects to make selections. The drawn area must be closed for a selection to become active.
Like other selection tools shift and alt can be used to add or remove from the selection.
POLYGONAL LASSO TOOL
Activated by L
Works like the Lasso tool but is drawn using clicks to create control points around polygonal objects with defined edges and planes. In this respect it is similar to drawing a path with the pen tool but Bezier options are not available.
Like other selection tools shift and alt can be used to add or remove from the selection.
MAGNETIC LASSO TOOL
Activated by L
A bit of a hybrid between polygonal lasso and quick select. it acts like a brush using size to influence the are it searches for edge detection but otherwise draws a line around shapes using control points. Unlike the polygonal lasso it will attempt to detect edges.
Like other selection tools shift and alt can be used to add or remove from the selection.
COLOR RANGE SELECTION
More of an edit mode than a tool this is accessed via the select menu.
Allows for selections to be based on colour ranges. This can be made manually using the eyedropper or from predetermined ranges from the drop down.
Fuzziness works in a similar way to tolerance using the magic wand tool to adjust how tight or broad the selection range is.
Like other selection tools shift and alt can be used to add or remove from the selection.
