No Pixels More Than 50%

I am sorry if I don't use the correct jargon throughout this post, I am a very occasional user of Photoshop!

I have Photoshop CS4 Extended.

I want to create an "inverse" layer.

Here's what I mean:

1) create a new canvas.

2) Choose a large, bold font and write on the canvas (E.g. "Hello World").

3) Select all the letters (using the magic wand tool, click on each letter while holding down the shift key)

4) Invert the selection.

5) Get stuck, no idea what to do next. Try various things and get nowhere!

I want to make a new layer that contains the inverted selection as a shape that I can do things to like any other shape (e.g. in the shape library).

So, for example, I could fill the surrounding area with red and the letters will be transparent.

I've tried converting the inverted selection to a clipping mask, but after that I get in a bugger's muddle.

Perhaps I am going about this in completely the wrong way? Perhaps there's a better way?

Once again, I apologise if I sound like a three-year-old trying to explain something to an adult, but that's the extent of my knowledge of Photoshop!!

Using CC2014, when I use the Quick Selection tool, and then
try to us Refine Edge and the Refine Radius brush, the brush
will not open. Instead, I get that circle with a slash where the
brush should be.

In the tutorials, the brush works. Not for me.

Simple setting error?

Hi!
Even though I LOVE using Photoshop, it's been a while since the last time I actually used it, therefore there are lot of things that I knew that I no longer remember (I'm getting old, clearly!) and I was wondering if anyone can refresh my memory here.
Unless I'm completely mistaken, I remember that in CS3 (though I just started using CS6) I always used Quick Mask Mode and Paths to smooth the edges of whatever abstract shape I drew, even if it was just something random that I obtained using the Polygonal Lasso selection tool to make the shape and then the Paint Bucket tool to fill it.
I no longer remember the correct steps though and when I tried, I got close but it wasn't the result I was looking for: the edges were still a bit jagged and it took me too much time (something like 13/15 steps) to get there while I remember it was quicker and easier. I searched a LOT for the very first tutorial that taught me this but it's been probably removed by now as it was quite old. All the other tutorials I found concerning Quick Mask Mode were for different purposes. I hope I made enough sense and, if anyone can help me, I'd be really grateful!

I'm a newbie i dont know these common problems im 2 mins in on this video



and when he selects the layer mask and paints black to turn the image to normal color. my brush does nothing, nothing happens when i use a brush. here my screen idk if i have something turned off/on that shouldnt be.

Hi all,

Having trouble with this problem...

I have layer 1 with a color mask set to black, red, blue etc.
I have layer 2 with a color mask which i want to match and also become black, red, blue

There are hundreds of files, and the color in layer 1 is always different.

Manually i would simply click on the layer 2 mask which opens the color picker, and select the area of layer 1 i want to match.

But doing that in a macro does not work.

I can't get a macro to recognize that i want to copy the color content of a mask, and not the specific color used in the example during which the macro is recorded. The color picker does not seem capable of selecting a dynamic input (e.g. whater color is on layer 1), it simply copies whatever was in layer 1 during recording like a dumb instrument.

thanks for any input.

I used to know it but can't remember anymore and after a long search online, still can't figure it out.

Ok, I have a bunch of layers and I want to make a lasso selection on the top layer and then use whatever the correct keyboard shortcut is to make a new layer with a merge of all the underlying layers made in the lasso selection area.

I know I can cntrl-alt-shift E and stamp a new layer on top of the stack with a merged version of all the layers below and then make a lasso selection and cntrl-J that to a new layer, then delete the cntrl-alt-shift E layer...but I would like to save the step of having to make the merged layer first. There is a keyboard short cut for this but I just cant find it.

Any of you pro's have the answer to this? Would really appreciate it.

Thanks!!

Hello everyone, I'm fairly new to Photoshop CS 5 so I apologize if I am asking the wrong type of questions, here goes:

When working with Vector Masks can you:
1) "Link" or "share" one image's vector mask with other images? (ex. If I made "Building A" then duplicated it, but then wanted to change what Building A looked like, I would only have to change the source mask and the copies would be updated.
2) Move the image independent of the vector mask (it seems like I can only move the vector mask, not the image itself). Or in other words: can I move the image and have the mask follow it, instead of only being able to move the vector mask inside of the image boundaries?

My application of the question:
I'm making a 2D top down layout of a "city block" type area. To fill in the buildings, I've made Building A,B,C etc, and use multiple copies of each building. Ideally, I would like to be able to "link" or share say Building A's vector mask with all the other instances of Building A (so that when I change the master, they all change to the new mask shape). The second behavior I'm trying to find is the ability to move the layer without moving where the Vector Mask is on that layer (since it seems that you can only move where the mask is, meaning that even if I could share masks, they would all end up in the same place meaning I would have to re-position each one by hand again.

Any ideas are appreciated, thank you for reading.

Hello,
I wondered if someone would hear me out and possibly help or advise me.
In the attachment there is a great picture of a bass jumping with the sky and sunset in the background.
I added a white paw to the sky and hope to make it look or blend in as a beleivable cloud in the sky.
My novice thoughts about how I might do this was as follows:
1) create and save a precise selection of the paw with a close detailed trace (I am having trouble donig this ste) and save the selction.
2) take that selection to the background copy layer and delete all the area inside that selection
3) take the background copy for cloud breakthrough layer and place it below the background copy layer with color enhancements to show through the holes in the background copy layer.

there is also a cloud paw layer which I aborted efforts working with.

-Bottom line is I am looking for a cloud paw in the sky which looks good, an orange emphasis is desired.

If you can do some work in the file and post it back up or at least advise how you would reccomend I try and go about it would be greatly appreciated.
BTW - The selection process really giving me fits with the idea I had, If you know of a great selection tutorial please send me some info.

Thanks,
Joe

1. Is there anyway to get around the popup box that says "no pixels were selected"? This bothers me when I want to make something really small into a selection.

2. My pen tool lines are tapered at the ends and I need help fixing this.

Thanks!

Hey Guys,

Is there a way to get photoshop to frame its view upon whatever is selected. ie. If a make a small selection within a canvas, which is off set because I'm working in another area, I'd like to be able to press something & have PS focus/centre its view upon that selection. I'm a 3d Artist & 3ds Max has a feature like this which is activated by pressing the Z key. I appreciate its not as important as within a 3d environment but my hands are getting tired panning & zooming around constantly.

Cheers.
George