Tools in Photoshop are the assets that you can use to edit, modify, or anything you need on images. You can make simple changes to an amazing transformation visually on any raster photographs. Specifically, we are mentioning ‘Raster’ images because you can apply the tools of Photoshop to this kind. If you want to know more about Raster image and Vector image, you can read, “8 File formats for high-quality image”. We will learn about the tools that are mostly used. So, let’s go for the Most Important Adobe Photoshop Tools that you should know.
Adobe Photoshop Tools
Adobe Photoshop is an amazing software to manipulate photos just in any way you can think of. Getting started with Photoshop can be cumbersome if you don’t know the basics of Photoshop. In today’s presentation, I will give you a brief on the tools and some helpful topics we have. We have another blog that contains new features for this version. Go for, “Top 10 Photoshop CS6 Features” if you are interested in learning about them.
Note: I am using Photoshop CS6 for this blog, but you can use Photoshop CS3 or higher versions. Previous versions may not contain all the tools we are about to discuss here.
Basic Photoshop Selection tools
Talking about selection tools, it is one of the mandatory sections in Photoshop. Any editing in a specific area or replication, the addition you need, the selection is a must. You will have a better idea during your work in action. We have a complete blog on isolating a subject from the background. So, check out, “How to do Photo Cut Out easily in Photoshop” to know more. Here, we will introduce you to the tools only.
- Move tool
- Marquee Tools
- Lasso Tools
- Magic Wand Tools
- Crop Tool
Move tool
The Move tool is not directly a selection tool but has great intimacy with them. You can click and drag any image in a project with this one. Use the mouse to do the operation easily. Use keyboard key ‘V’ to choose the tool as a shortcut. Or, you can use the mouse and click on the tool from the tools panel.
Marquee Tools:
Tools that we use with basic shapes are called Marquee tools. You can use them when you have a subject or any specific part of an image matching this. The tools are four in number. See below for details about them.
1. Rectangular Tool
The Rectangular tool we use to select a square or rectangular area of a photo. To maintain the aspect ratio in the selection press and hold the Shift key for both Win and MAC. Click and drag from one end and release when you have the area you want to mark.
2. Elliptical
It’s used for circular and oval selections. Press and hold the Shift key for both Win and MAC to maintain the aspect ratio as above.
3. Single Raw
We use the Single Raw Marquee tool to select a single row of an image pixel.
4. Single Column
This Marquee tool you can use to select a single column of an image pixel.
Lasso Tools
1. lasso Tool
You can use the Lasso Tool to create irregularly shaped selections. It includes the lasso for automatic selections.
2. Polygonal
It’s used to make selections by drawing a series of strength lines to make a polygonal shape.
3. Magnetic
In this tool, you click within the image to start or creating your selection and drag the mouse to create a selection path
Magic Wand Tools
The Magic Wand tool lets you select a consistently colored area without having to trace its outline. You specify the color range or tolerance, for the magic wand tool’s selection.
Crop Tool
Crop Tool as the name suggests used to crop images. Crop the whole image and manage the visible area with this one. You can activate the Crop tool by pressing (C) on the keyboard or see the image below for the crop tool icon.
Open up any image you want to crop and let us have the city image again. After you activated the crop tool you’ll see the crop handles around the image. Resize the shape of the crop box according to your needs and simply double click on the image to crop the image.
Image Editing tools
Some of the broadly used Photoshop Tools are:-
- Spot Healing Brush Tool (J)
- Pen Tool (P)
- Brush Tool (B)
- Clone Stamp Tool (S)
- Eraser Tool (E)
- Blur Tool (R)
- History Brush Tool (H)
- Horizontal Type Tool (T)
- Rectangle Tool (U)
- Eyedropper Tool (I)
- Zoom Tool (Z)
- Slice Tool (K)
Spot Healing Brush Tool
Spot Healing Brush Tool (J) is a really useful tool. Mildly advanced. You can use this tool to repair scratches and specs and stuff like that on images. It works like the Brush tool (see below). You choose your cursor size, then holding the [Alt] key, you select a nice/clean area of your image. Let go of the [Alt] key and paint over the bad area. It basically copies the info from the first area to the second, in the form of the Brush tool. Only, in the end, it averages the information, so it blends.
Pen Tool (P)
I mentioned this tool above. It’s for creating paths, in which you would use the Path Selection Tool to select the path. Paths can be used in a few different ways, mostly to create clipping paths, or to create selections. You use the tool by clicking to add a point. If you click and drag, it will change the shape of your path, allowing you to bend and shape the path for accurate selections and such.
Brush Tool (B)
This is one of the first tools ever. It’s what Photoshop is based on. Well, not really, but it’s pretty basic. It paints one your image, in whatever color you have selected, and whatever size you have selected. There’s a lot of options for it, but this is basic, so you don’t get to learn them. Ha.
Clone Stamp Tool (S)
The Clone Stamp Tool is slightly more advanced than some of the other beginner tools, but it’s also one of the most fun to learn for the first time. The Clone Stamp Tool allows you to paint using a sampled area of your canvas. The Clone Stamp Tool also uses many of the same adjustment options as the Brush Tool and should be somewhat familiar once you are comfortable with brushes. Mastering the Clone Stamp Tool allows you to do advanced image retouching and manipulation.
Eraser Tool (E)
This is the anti-Brush tool. It works like an eraser (duh) and erases whatever information wherever you click and drag it. If you’re on a Layer, it will erase the information transparently. If you are on the background layer, it erases with whatever secondary color you have selected.
Blur Tool (R)
The Blur tool is cool. It makes things blurry. Click and drag to make things blurry. The more you click and drag, the blurrier things get.
History Brush Tool (H)
This tool works just like the Brush Tool (see above) except the information that it paints with is from the original state of your image. If you go Window>History, you can see the History Palette. The History Brush tool paints with the information from whatever History state is selected.
Rectangle Tool (U)
By default, it draws a Shape Layer in the form of a rectangle. It fills the rectangle with whatever foreground color you have selected. It’s pretty complicated; don’t hurt yourself with this one.
Eyedropper Tool (I)
This tool works by changing your foreground color to whatever color you click on. Holding the [Alt] key will change your background color.
Zoom Tool (Z)
The Zoom Tool you can use to magnify the image you are working with. Well, it is very important to see the details during editing. As raster images are made of pixels, working perfection depends on proper observation of the image. Use the keyboard key ‘Z’ for both Win or MAC to select the tool. Click on the image to enlarge as many times as you need. Press and hold Alt/Option for Win/MAC and you will see the ‘-’ (Minus) sign in the cursor. Then click to zoom out when you need to.
Slice Tool (K)
Need to divide an image and save them separately, you need to use the Slice Tool. You can have the tool by using keyboard key ‘K’ for both Windows and MAC. The other way is, click and hold on the Crop tool in the toolbar until you have other options. Now, release the click and click on the Slice Tool. You can use this amazing tool to mark and separate multiple areas from an image. Just click and drag an area that you want to slice, release when you are satisfied. Right-click on the selected area to edit information for the selection. You can rename, add links, and do more here. Go to File>Save for web, click save, and choose the location. You will have the images sliced according to your selection.
Photoshop CS6 is a heavily loaded photo editing software you can use for your image manipulation. All the tools and options are hard to explain in a few words. So, we tried to mention the important ones here. Though some other tools are close to these that we mentioned here, we will come again with them from time to time. However, the uses of the tools need some knowledge and practice. And, if you are a beginner, we believe this content will be of your help. Try them and deliver with expertise with the skill you have within.
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