Using the paint bucket tool

The paint bucket tool fills adjacent pixels that are similar in color value to the pixels you click.

Note: The paint bucket tool cannot be used with images in Bitmap mode.

To use the paint bucket tool:

1 Specify a foreground color. (See Choosing foreground and background colors.)

2 Select the paint bucket tool ().

3 Specify whether to fill the selection with the foreground color, or in Photoshop Elements, with a pattern. (See Filling and stroking selections and layers.)

4 Specify a blending mode and opacity for the paint. (See Setting options for painting and editing tools.)

5 If you choose to fill the selection with a pattern, click the inverted arrow() next to the pattern sample and select a pattern for the fill. (See  Creating and editing patterns.)

6 Enter the tolerance for the fill.

The tolerance defines how similar in color a pixel must be to be filled. Values can range from 0 to 255. A low tolerance fills pixels within a range of color values very similar to the pixel you click. A high tolerance fills pixels within a broader range.

7 To smooth the edges of the filled selection, select Anti-aliased. (See Softening the edges of a selection.)

8 To fill pixels based on the merged color data from all visible layers, select All Layers. (See  Sampling from all layers.)

9 To fill only pixels contiguous to the one you click, select Contiguous; leave unselected to fill all similar pixels in the image.

10 Click the part of the image you want to fill. All specified pixels within the specified tolerance are filled with the foreground color or pattern.

If you're working on a layer and don't want to fill transparent areas, make sure that the layer's transparency is locked in the Layers palette. (See  Locking layers.)

Painting and Drawing > Using the paint bucket tool