Erase in Photoshop CS6

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Video: Erase in Photoshop CS6

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You're watching VisiHow. In this video, I'm going to show you how you can use the eraser tool in Photoshop CS6 in Windows 7. To begin, you should have Photoshop CS6 open, and either create a new document or open an existing one, which I've shown you how to do in other videos. As you can see, I've already got a document open, and I've drawn all over it so I need to rub some of it out.

1. 1
   On the left side, find the eraser icon and click it

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   It is about halfway down, and is shaped like a standard rubber eraser.

   

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2. 2
   On the right side, make sure that the correct working layer is selected

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   We've only got one layer for now.

   

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3. 3
   Right-click somewhere on the canvas

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   This brings up a pop-up menu.

   

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4. 4
   Drag the slider under "Size" to change the size of the eraser tool

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5. 5
   Drag the slider under "Hardness" to make it fluffier or more solid

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6. 6
   Click anywhere off the pop-up menu to close it

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7. 7
   Click and drag with the mouse to erase

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   The areas that get rubbed out change to a transparent background, which is represented by a checkered pattern. If we had a separate white background layer, it would change to show the background layer. Let's change our tool to be fluffier.

   

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8. 8
   Right-click on the image to bring up the pop-up menu

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9. 9
   Click on one of the fluffier, less opaque images on the pop-up menu

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10. 10
    Click off the pop-up menu to close it

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11. 11
    Click and drag to erase

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    It's slightly diffused around the edges.

    

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12. 12
    Right-click on the image to open the pop-up menu again

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    Let's change the shape of the eraser.

    

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13. 13
    Click on an image of one of the eraser shapes

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14. 14
    Click off the pop-up menu to close it again

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15. 15
    Click and drag with the mouse to erase and test the new eraser shape

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    We can have a fluffier brush, or something linear. It depends. Experiment.

    

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16. 16
    Right-click on the image to open the pop-up menu and scroll down in the images section

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    Here, we'll find more eraser textures to try. We can also add different brushes. The brushes apply to the brush tool, the pencil tool, and the eraser tool. If there's a pattern we want to use, like a leaf, that will apply whether it's on the eraser or not. It can be quite interesting.

    

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17. 17
    Click on the original eraser shape

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    Do this when finished experimenting.

    

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18. 18
    Right-click on the eraser tool in the toolbar on the left

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19. 19
    Click "Background Eraser Tool"

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20. 20
    Right-click on the image to open a new pop-up menu

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21. 21
    Drag the slider under "Size" to the right to make the tool bigger

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22. 22
    Click off the menu to close it

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23. 23
    Click and drag to erase

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    This didn't do very much on our image, but it will typically select things that look further back and erase them.

    

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24. 24
    Right-click on the eraser tool on the left once more

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25. 25
    Click "Magic Eraser Tool"

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26. 26
    Click on an area of the image

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    Depending on what is selected, it will delete that particular area only. It's a lot like the selection tool that we've talked about in another tutorial.

    

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27. 27
    Right-click on the eraser tool in the left-hand toolbar

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28. 28
    Click to select "Background Eraser Tool" again

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29. 29
    Right-click on the image to open the pop-up menu

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    Now we can change the "Hardness" and "Spacing" by dragging their sliders.

    

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30. 30
    Click on the image with the circle in it

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    This changes the image we would like it to come from. This is worth experimenting with.

    

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31. 31
    Look at the bar along the top, directly beneath the navigation bar

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    We have some different settings along the top where we can change things like the size. Many of these are the same as what we get when we right-click on the canvas. We find it much more useful to right-click when we're on the canvas and want to be working quickly.

    

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32. 32
    Click "Brush" to change the mode of the tool

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    We can have "Brush", "Pencil", or "Block". Depending on what we're going for, it can make quite a difference.

    

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33. 33
    Click the arrow next to "Opacity"

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34. 34
    Drag the slider to change the opacity

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35. 35
    Test the new opacity by clicking and dragging on the image to erase a section

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    It rubs out but not quite so harshly and completely.

    

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36. 36
    Alternatively, click on the percentage next to "Opacity" and type a new number

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37. 37
    Click on the arrow next to "Flow"

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    We can change the flow by dragging the slider that pops down, but we would recommend leaving that, unless it's for experimentation.

    

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38. 38
    This is a VisiHow video

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    I've just shown you how you can use the eraser tool in Photoshop CS6 in Windows 7. If you have any questions or comments, pop them into the section below and we'll do our best to help you.

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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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