Using the background eraser tool

The background eraser tool lets you erase pixels on a layer to transparency as you drag; this allows you to erase the background while maintaining the edges of an object in the foreground. The background eraser samples the color in the center of the brush, also called the hotspot, and deletes that color wherever it appears inside the brush. It also performs color extraction at the edges of any foreground objects, so that color halos are not visible if the foreground object is later pasted into another image.

Note: The background eraser overrides the lock transparency setting of a layer.

To use the background eraser tool:

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

2 Select the background eraser tool ().

3 Choose a brush size from the pop-up palette in the options bar. To learn more about using pop-up palettes, see Using pop-up palettes.

If a brush is too large to fit in the palette, it appears as a smaller brush with a number indicating the actual diameter in pixels.

4 Choose a Limits mode for erasing:

5 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.

6 Specify the rate at which a brush stroke fades dynamically. (See Specifying a paint fade-out rate.)

7 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 hotspot ().

Painting and Drawing > Erasing > Using the background eraser tool