93RETOuCH, HEAL, AnD EnHAnCE
Figure 4-1.nOW that YOu’ve learned to
make large-scale compositional changes to your
images, it’s time for some old-fashioned, roll-
up-your-sleeves, slather-on-the-elbow-grease,
sometimes-toilsome-but-always-rewarding ar-
tistic labor. Such is the nature of painting and
retouching in Photoshop. In fact, it’s probably
what most people think of when they hear the
word Photoshop used as a verb. Whether you want
to augment a piece of artwork or fix the details
in a photograph, it’s time to turn your attention
to the toolbox.
Photoshop devotes fully one-third of its tools—all
those in the second section of the toolbox plus
those that appear when you click and hold any
of the icons pictured in Figure 4-1, 23 in all—to
the tasks of applying and modifying colors in an
image. The idea of learning to use so many tools
may seem intimidating. And because these tools
require you to paint directly in the image win-
dow, they respond immediately to your talent
and dexterity, not to mention your lack thereof.
Fortunately, despite their numbers, the tools are
a lot of fun. And even if your fine motor skills
aren’t everything you wish they were, there’s no
need to fret. I’ll show you all kinds of ways to
constrain and articulate your brushstrokes.
Mind you, not every one of these 23 tools is a win-
ner. As with everything in Photoshop, some tools
are good and some tools aren’t. In this lesson, we
focus on what I consider to be the most essential. Background composite istockphoto.com/lisegagne