Photoshop Tutorials
| Tip #4: The toolbar for Photoshop 4.0 |
This tip is not really a tip but a quick overview of each tool in Photoshop, the different ways to access them and the different options that each tool offer. First, let's stop by the tool bar. All the tools are located in the tool bar and they can be selected with a simple click. Some of the tools have little arrows located at the bottom-right of the icon. Just click and drag the icon and a flyout with the other tools will appear.
The tool bar is divided in 4 parts:seletion tools, painting and editing tools, specialized tools and navigation tools.
All tools can also be selected just by pressing the shortcut key for the tool you want to (ex: click M to select the marquee tool and click again to change the shape of the marquee tool.). |
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selection tools
1-Marquee tool (M)
2-Move tool (V)
3-Lasso tool (L)
4-Magic wand tool (W)
Paint and editing tools
5-Airbrush tool (A)
6-Paintbrush tool (B)
7-Eraser tool (E)
8-Pencil tool (Y)
9-Rubber stamp tool (S)
10-Smudge tool (U)
11-Blur tool (R)
12-Dodge tool (O) |
Specialized tools
13-Pen tool (P)
14-Type tool (T)
15-Line tool (N)
16-Gradient tool (G)
17-Paint bucket tool (K)
18-Eye dropper tool (I)
Navigation tools
19-Hand tool (H)
20-Zoom tool (Z)
21-Foreground color
22-Switch foreground/background color (X)
23-Default color (D)
24-Background color
25-Edit in standard mode (Q)
26-Edit in quick mask mode (Q)
27-Standard screen mode (F)
28-Full screen mode (F)
29-Full screen mode with menu bar (F)
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Now, let's talk about the option box. Each time you select a tool, the option box of that tool will appear. It gives you more options over the tool selected and It can be another way to select the different tool located under the same icon (Instead of the click and drag for the flyout to appear, just click the arrow of the drop down bar and the same tools will appear.). !!this does not apply for every tools.!! |
| 1-the marquee tool: the marquee tool is one of the tool you will use the most in photoshop. You can create simple shapes and forms ready to be filled with any color or texture you want. It is also used to cut parts of an image or picture in 3 simple steps. |
| 2-the move tool: the move tool has also a double function. It can be used to move any picture or image (contain in a single layer) or it enables you to move just a piece of a picture or image when used with the marquee tool. |
| 3-the lasso tool: the lasso tool is part of the selection tools. I personaly don't use that tool very often but the lasso tool is very useful to select specific shapes when working in quick mask mode. |
| 4-the magic wand tool: you'll find that tool very useful to select complex shapes and forms that you have already made or it can be used to select part of an image or picture contain on multiple layers. |
| 5-the airbrush tool: I think you'll find that tool pretty interesting for some types of graphics and also in retouching images without a visible brush strokes. |
| 6-the paintbrush tool: the paintbrush tool is the most common tool for painting in photoshop. The paintbrush tool like the airbrush tool is also great for retouching images without visible strokes. |
| 7-the eraser tool: I think this tool speaks for itself. It is mostly used in photographic image retouching and erase part of images (contain on a single layer). |
| 8-the pencil tool: The pencil tool, unlike other photoshop tools, leaves hard ,aliased edges. This tool is good for creating hard edged borders but it is not the tool of your choice for phtographic image retouching. |
| 9-the rubber stamp tool: The rubber stamp tool does not use color, but instead depends upon a sampling point in an image. |
| 10-the smudge tool: The smudge tool like the rubber stamp does not use color. I use it mostly to create texture. |
| 11-the blur tool: The blur tool is also part of the editing tools. you can use the blur tools to affect any kind of image. |
| 12-the dodge tool: The dodge tool, the burn tool and the sponge tool are also used to modify any photographic image or picture. |
| 13-the pen tool: The pen tool includes all the drawing tool for path creation. |
| 14-the type tool: The type tool is probably, like the marquee tool, one of the tool you will use the most. it is an excellent tool for creating logo or buttons. |
| 15-the line tool: The line tool can be used many ways, to create bars, triangles and just lines. |
| 16-the gradient tool: The gradient tool is an amazing tool to create outer beveled looking buttons. |
| 17-the paint bucket tool: The paint bucket tool applies paint in any shapes selected. |
| 18-the eye dropper tool: The eye dropper tool is a wonderful tool to pick up similar colors. |
| 19-the hand tool: The hand tool is used to scroll your window. Its fonction, I think, is very similar to the scrolling arrows you use on the right and bottom part of your window. |
| 20-the zoom tool: Despite its last place in the tool section, you'll will use the zoom tool rather often. The zoom tool is great to finish interfaces, fix detailed work in a photographic image and more. |
| I tried to explain all the tools above with my knowlegde of Photoshop. You'll find further information about each of these tools along the PhotoShop Tutorials section. I hope you'll find this tips useful and easy to understand. If you have any questions, just Contact Us |
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