Selection Brush is Missing

I have recently upgraded from Elements 3 to PS CS2.

One of the tools that is available in PSE3 seems to be missing in CS2. It is called a 'Selection Brush' in Elements 3.

Is there any way to access this tool in CS2?

Russ

There is no selection brush in Photoshop

Explore the Quickmask mode, a more powerful way of manipulating selections

There seems to be a similar thing in CS3.

I don't know the tool in Elements but I guess the CS3 version has a few more refinements, like "Auto-Enhance".

Having said that, those of us who have explored the existing selection tools in PS may be a bit underwhelmed with the "Quick Selection Tool" in CS3.

It may be a way to get a quick start but, like so many tools that rely on algorithms (think Red-Eye), it is unpredictable.

The Selection Brush in Elements 3 is the most powerful tool I've found for making accurate selections. You set it to whatever size you want it and then paint to either add or subtract from the selection until you get exactly the pixels you want to select.

Unless I am missing something, there is no way in CS2 to accurately select/deselect a small area pixel by pixel.

For instance, how would you select the iris portion of an eye in order to sharpen it? I've tried the various Lasso tools, and the Magic Wand, but they are all clumsy compared to the Selection Brush in PSE3.

Isn't there some way to copy the Selection Brush tool from PSE3 into CS2?

Hi Russ,

For instance, how would you select the iris portion of an eye in order to sharpen it? I've tried the various Lasso tools, and the Magic Wand, but they are all clumsy compared to the Selection Brush in PSE3.

In PS you use a mask. It is pretty much the same. There are several ways to do it. Quickmask is probably closest to the selection brush.

Go to the help. Then click on the "Index" link, then click on "Q" and you will see a list that includes "Quick Mask mode" and two links for "about" (in Photoshop CS help)

Basically the steps are:

1. Open the image
2. I would double click on the background to turn it into a layer
3. Make a selection. Just anything, small circle with the elliptical
marquee works fine
4. Click the "Quick Mask Mode" button, which is on the toolbox window beneath the foreground/background colors (3rd from the bottom in CS)
5. The image now has a red overlay with the selected area clear.
6. Use the brush tool to paint your selection.
7. To see the selected area, click the "Standard Mode" button on the left of the "Quick Mask Mode" button.

You can use any paint tool to paint your selection. You can also use layer masks or alpha channels, but the quick mask works great for ... quick masks<g> The layer and alpha are for more permanent masks that are saved with the image and you can load over and over again.

Hope this helps:)

--
Arnor Baldvinsson
San Antonio, Texas

Use any appropriately sized brush (or pencil) in quickmask mode. It does everything that Selection Brush could possibly do.

what mike said. quick mask is the equivilent of the selection tool and it's even more powerful because you're not just limited to brushes...

The reason I was having so much trouble understanding is that I wasn't using the right icon to try to initiate the Quick Mask Mode, and nothing worked like the book described. You see, the icon below the Layers display looks exactly like the icon described in the book for Quick Mask. I kept clicking on it, and I kept adding more masks. I finally realized that the icon for Quick Mask is on the other side of the screen inside the Tool Bar.

Once I got the Ruby display a light came on! Now, I see what you mean. Yes, it will definitely replace the Selection Brush Tool!

I am very dense sometimes!! Thanks for your persistance!!

I set the prefrences for the quick mask so that the red represents selection (the default is that the red represents the absence of selection - a mask) but by reversing that (double click the icon to get the prefrences) you can "paint on" selections just like you do in elements. or use the gradient tool, or paint bucket, etc, etc.

Or you can use the "X" key to switch between black and white.

I do this if I overcook with the black, I can wipe it out with the white.