Q&A | Q1: | Can I combine selections made with different Selection tools? | | A1: | Yes. Make a selection with one of the tools, switch tools, and then press the Shift key before you add to your selection. As long as you hold down the Shift key (making a tiny plus sign visible next to the tool), you can add to your selection as many times as you want. | | Q2: | How can I deselect part of a selection? | | A2: | The easiest way to do this is to press Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key with the Selection tool active. You will see a small minus symbol next to the Selection tool. Select the part of the selection to deselect, and it is removed from the selection and added back to the picture. | | Q3: | Can I use the marquee to draw a shape and then fill it? | | A3: | Yes, and that's exactly how to do it. With the selection active, use the Paint Bucket to pour a color into the selected shape(s). | Quiz | 1: | To change from the Rectangular to the Elliptical Marquee: -
Go back to the toolbox and select the other one. -
Press Shift+M. -
Either a or b. | | 2: | To select a single row or column of pixels: -
Hold down Control+C and the Return key, while double-clicking. -
Press Return as you drag the mouse. -
Use the Single Row or Single Column marquees. | | 3: | How do you make the Magic Wand more precise? -
Insult it. -
Set the Tolerance to a lower number. -
Set the Tolerance to a higher number. | Quiz Answers | A1: | c. Easy, huh? | | A2: | c. (Answer a. isn't even possible unless you have three hands.) | | A3: | b. A lower Tolerance setting means that the Magic Wand will select only the most similar pixels. | Exercise Most pictures can be improved by careful cropping. Try this experiment. Cut two L-shaped pieces from a sheet of paper or cardboard, as shown in Figure 3.19. Figure 3.19. How to use a cropping frame. Use these pieces as a cropping frame and look at your snapshots or at pictures in a magazine to see how different cropping affects the picture. Try finding long, narrow compositions, square ones, and rectangles. |