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Selection Brush and Lasso tools

Isolate specific areas of your image for editing, applying effects, or creating new elements with the Selection Brush Tool and lasso tools.

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Follow along with a sample file to learn how to use the Selection Brush tool in a few simple steps.

Selection Brush Tool

Create quick selections with the new Selection Brush Tool that combines both brush and lasso gestures.

Add or Remove from the selection and adjust the brush Hardness and Opacity to create selections with varying opacity and softer, feathered edges. This introduces more ease and flexibility when selecting, compositing, and applying Filters and Fills. 

Simply brush or circle around an area on canvas where you want to create a selection. This feature enables you to select areas with a brush in fewer steps, without having to use Quick Mask Mode or the Brush tool in the Select and Mask workspace.

The Selection Brush Tool works like any other selection tool in Adobe Photoshop. The difference is that the selected area shows up as a colored overlay and users see "marching ants" only when they switch to another tool. This overlay makes it easier to visualize and adjust - choose from the Colors dropdown in the gear icon to select a different overlay color. 

  1. Select Selection Brush Tool from the Lasso tool group in the toolbar.

    The Selection Brush tool is located in the Lasso tool group in Photoshop on the desktop
    Use the Selection Brush tool, located in the Lasso tool group, to intuitively and easily make selections.

  2. Brush a lasso on the canvas to create an overlay over your desired selection.

    Note:

    To view the "marching ants", instead of an overlay, around the selection, you can switch to a different tool.

  3. (Optional) Change the overlay color from the Color dropdown under the gear icon in the options bar.

    Change the Selection Brush tool overlay color from the options bar

  4. Change the Hardness and Opacity of the brush as required.

    When working with the Selection Brush tool, change the Hardness and Opacity of the brush from the options bar.

  5. Toggle between Add brush and Subtract brush to refine your selection. 

Lasso Tool

Use the Lasso tool  to draw freeform segments of a selection border.

  1. Select Lasso tool and and enter a Feather value in the options bar to define the width of the feathering. Notice the Anti-alias box is selected by default.

    See Soften the edges of selections to know more about feathering and anti-aliasing. 

  2. To add to, subtract from, or intersect with an existing selection, select the correct option in the options bar.

    Add to, subtract from or intersect with an existing selection from the options bar
    Add to, subtract from or intersect with an existing selection from the options bar

  3. Do either of the following:
    • Drag to draw a freehand selection border.
    • To switch between freehand and straight-edged segments, select Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS), and select where segments should begin and end. To erase recently drawn straight segments, hold down the Delete key.
  4. To close the selection border, release the mouse without holding down Alt or Option.
  5. (Optional) Select Select and Mask to further adjust the selection boundary. 

Polygonal Lasso Tool

Use the Polygonal Lasso tool to draw straight-edged segments of a selection border.

  1. Select Polygonal Lasso tool and then the selection options from the options bar.

  2. (Optional) Set feathering and anti-aliasing in the options bar. See Soften the edges of selections.

  3. Select in the image to set the starting point.

  4. Do one or more of the following:
    • To draw a straight segment, select and position the pointer where you want the first straight segment to end. Continue selecting to set endpoints for subsequent segments.
    • To draw a straight line at a multiple of 45°, hold down Shift as you move to select the next segment.
    • To draw a freehand segment, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and drag. When you finish, release Alt or Option and the mouse button.
    • To erase recently drawn straight segments, press the Delete key.
  5. Close the selection border:
    • Select and position the Polygonal Lasso tool pointer over the starting point (a closed circle appears next to the pointer).
    • If the pointer is not over the starting point, double-click the Polygonal Lasso tool pointer, or Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS).
  6. (Optional) Select Select and Mask to further adjust the selection boundary.

Magnetic Lasso Tool

When you use the Magnetic Lasso tool , the border snaps to the edges of defined areas in the image. The Magnetic Lasso tool is not available for 32‑bits-per-channel images.

Note:

The Magnetic Lasso tool is especially useful for quickly selecting objects with complex edges set against high-contrast backgrounds.

  1. Select the Magnetic Lasso tool.
  2. Specify one of the selection options in the options bar.
  3. (Optional) Set feathering and anti-aliasing in the options bar. See Soften the edges of selections.

  4. Set any of these options:

    Width

    To specify a detection width, enter a pixel value for Width. The Magnetic Lasso tool detects edges only within the specified distance from the pointer.

    Note:

    To change the lasso pointer so that it indicates the lasso width, press the Caps Lock key. You can change the pointer while the tool is selected but not in use. Press the right bracket (]) to increase the Magnetic Lasso edge width by 1 pixel; press the left bracket ([) to decrease the width by 1 pixel.

    Contrast

    To specify the lasso’s sensitivity to edges in the image, enter a value between 1% and 100% for Contrast. A higher value detects only edges that contrast sharply with their surroundings; a lower value detects lower-contrast edges.

    Frequency

    To specify the rate at which the lasso sets fastening points, enter a value between 0 and 100 for Frequency. A higher value anchors the selection border in place more quickly.

    Note:

    On an image with well-defined edges, try a higher width and higher edge contrast, and trace the border roughly. On an image with softer edges, try a lower width and lower edge contrast, and trace the border more precisely.

    Stylus Pressure

    If you are working with a stylus tablet, select or deselect the Stylus Pressure option. When the option is selected, an increase in stylus pressure decreases the edge width.

  5. Select in the image to set the first fastening point. Fastening points anchor the selection border in place.

  6. Release the mouse button or keep it pressed, and then move the pointer along the edge you want to trace.

    The most recent segment of the selection border remains active. As you move the pointer, the active segment snaps to the strongest edge in the image, based on the detection width set in the options bar. Periodically, the Magnetic Lasso tool adds fastening points to the selection border to anchor previous segments.

  7. If the border doesn’t snap to the desired edge, select once to add a fastening point manually. Continue to trace the edge, and add fastening points as needed.

    Photoshop Fastening points anchor selection border to edges
    Fastening points anchor selection border to edges

  8. To switch temporarily to the other lasso tools, do one of the following:
    • To activate the Lasso tool, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and drag while pressing the mouse button.
    • Select to activate the Polygonal Lasso tool, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS).
  9. To erase recently drawn segments and fastening points, press the Delete key until you’ve erased the fastening points for the desired segment.
  10. Close the selection border:
    • To close the border with a magnetic segment, double-click, or press Enter or Return. (To manually close the border, select and drag over the starting point.)
    • To close the border with a straight segment, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and double-click.
  11. (Optional) Select Select and Mask to further adjust the selection boundary.

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