Selecting With The
Quick Mask

The Quick Mask is accessed either by clicking on the Quick Mask icon (outlined in red)or by pressing the keyboard shortcut - Q.

Making a selection using this method is really easy and takes full advantage of the pressure sensitive Wacom pen.

What is happening is that as you paint with the brush your image is covered with a red hue you can see through. When you return to your normal view the part that you did not paint is selected (you masked out the unwanted part).

Does this sound confusing? Try it - you will understand as soon as you try it out.

Here is how to do it:

1. Open any photo with an image you would like to select.

2. Click on the Quick Mask Selector or press Q on your keyboard.

3. Select the brush tool and open the BRUSHES palette and put a check mark in the SHAPE DYNAMICS check box. Make sure it is set for pen pressure.

4. You will see the default Photoshop colors (black and white) and black should be the foreground color - if it is not, press the X key.

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   NOTE: You can choose to either paint in the area you want to keep or paint out the area you want to eliminate. You do this by double clicking on the Quick Mask Icon and choosing either Masked (to eliminate unwanted elements) or Selected (to keep what you paint).

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5. Paint over the area you have chosen and when you get close to the edge of the boundary back off the pen pressure so you are dynamically working with a smaller brush. This will give you an accurate selection. If you go over the boundary you can change the foreground color to white by hitting the X key and then carefully removing the red.

6. When you are finished either click on the button to the left of the Quick Mask selector or hit Q on your keyboard and there you go.

Now you have a selection! If you are not happy with it you can re-enter Quick Mask mode (Q)and do some fine tuning. If it meets with your critical appraisal you can do whatever it is you wanted to do with it.

Here is an example using Anna, the Bull Terrier.

The brush tool was set to shape dynamics (size) and I used a very light pen pressure when I was outlining Anna and pressed harder in the rest of the picture.

The light pen pressure can be seen along her back where the line is the thinnest.

This is such a neat and easy way to create a selection especially if you have a difficult area you wish to select.

If you click on the Tiny Elvis picture you will be re-directed to a page where a larger version of Tiny Elvis is selected using this technique and eventually moved to a new file with a fancy background.

Quick Mask Video

Click on the Tiny Elvis picture and you will be re-directed to a page where a larger version of Tiny Elvis is selected using this technique and eventually moved to a new file with a fancy background.

Return to Photoshop Tutorials page from Quick Mask Page.