Erase parts of an image

Select the Eraser tool  .

Set the background color you want to apply if you are erasing in the background or a layer with locked transparency.

In the options bar, choose a Mode setting. Brush and Pencil set the eraser to act like those tools. Block is a hard-edged, fixed-sized square with no options for changing the opacity or flow.

For Brush and Pencil modes, choose a brush preset, and set Opacity and Flow in the options bar.

An opacity of 100% erases pixels completely. A lower opacity erases pixels partially. See Paint tool options.

To erase to a saved state or snapshot of the image, click the left column of the state or snapshot in the History panel, and then select Erase To History in the options bar.

Drag through the area you want to erase.

Select the Magic Eraser tool  .

Do the following in the options bar:

• Enter a tolerance value to define the range of colors that can be erased. A low tolerance erases pixels within a range of color values very similar to the pixel you click. A high tolerance extends the range of colors that will be erased.

• Select Anti-aliased to smooth the edges of the area you erase.

• Select Contiguous to erase only pixels contiguous to the one you click, or deselect to erase all similar pixels in the image.

• Select Sample All Layers to sample the erased color using combined data from all visible layers.

• Specify an opacity to define the strength of the erasure. An opacity of 100% erases pixels completely. A lower opacity erases pixels partially.

Click in the part of the layer you want to erase.

In the Layers panel, select the layer containing the areas you want to erase.

Select the Background Eraser tool  . (If the tool isn’t visible, hold down the Eraser tool  , and choose the Background Eraser from the pop-up menu.)

Click the brush sample in the options bar, and set brush options in the pop‑up panel:

• Choose settings for the Diameter, Hardness, Spacing, Angle, and Roundness options (see Brush tip shape options).

• If you’re using a pressure-sensitive digitizing tablet, choose options from the Size and Tolerance menus to vary the size and tolerance of the background eraser over the course of a stroke. Choose Pen Pressure to base the variation on the pen pressure. Choose Stylus Wheel to base the variation on the position of the pen thumbwheel. Choose Off if you don’t want to vary the size or tolerance.

Do the following in the options bar:

• Choose a Limits mode for erasing: Discontiguous to erase the sampled color wherever it occurs under the brush; Contiguous to erase areas that contain the sampled color and are connected to one another; and Find Edges to erase connected areas containing the sampled color while better preserving the sharpness of shape edges.

• For Tolerance, enter a value or drag the slider. A low tolerance limits erasure to areas that are very similar to the sampled color. A high tolerance erases a broader range of colors.

• Select Protect Foreground Color to prevent the erasure of areas that match the foreground color in the toolbox.

• Choose a Sampling option: Continuous to sample colors continuously as you drag; Once to erase only areas containing the color you first click; and Background Swatch to erase only areas containing the current background color.

Drag through the area you want to erase. The Background Eraser tool pointer appears as a brush shape with a cross hair indicating the tool’s hot spot  .

Specify foreground and background colors.

Select the Pencil tool  .

Select Auto Erase in the options bar.

Drag over the image.

If the center of the cursor is over the foreground color when you begin dragging, the area is erased to the background color. If the center of the cursor is over an area that doesn’t contain the foreground color when you begin dragging, the area is painted with the foreground color.