- Arrange the workspace to focus on the saw image. Since the
ManlySaw image.jpg file will be the primary focus of our selec-
tion work, let’s bring it to the front so we can concentrate on
it. Click the icon in the application bar and choose the
(Consolidate All) option from the pop-up menu. Then, if neces-
sary, click the ManlySaw image.jpg tab to bring it to the front. - Select the magic wand tool from the toolbox. Click and hold
the quick selection tool icon (fourth tool down) to display a fly-
out menu of alternate tools, and then select the magic wand, as
in Figure 3-23. Or press the W key twice in a row. - Confirm the options bar settings. Pictured in Figure 3-24, the
options bar displays a series of settings for the magic wand.
Confirm that they are set as follows:
- The Tolerance value defines how many colors the wand
selects at a time. I discuss this important option in Step 6.
In the meantime, leave it set to its default, 32. - Turn on the Anti-alias check box to soften the selection
outline just enough to make it look like an organic, pho-
tographic boundary. - Turn on Contiguous to make sure that the magic wand
selects uninterrupted regions of color. You’ll get a sense of
how contiguous selections work in Step 8.
Because this image does not include layers, the Sample All
Layers check box has no effect.
Figure 3-23.Figure 3-24.- Click in the sky. Since we’re trying to transport the saw to a
new background, you may think that we should try to capture
the saw directly. But said power tool is made up of a variety
of colors and luminance values: the yellow handle, the dark
glove, the black accents on the saw, and the silver blade. Try-
ing to round up these areas based on similarity of color would
be a tedious process that would convince you that the magic
wand tool had earned its “tragic wand” moniker. Instead, we’ll
select the relatively homogeneous sky and later take advantage
of Photoshop’s ability to reverse a selection.
76 Lesson 3: Making Selections