The best way to see what the Photshop toolbar can do is to open up an image and practice with it. Here, however, is a quick list of the tools.









  1. The Airbrush can be used to "spray" the foreground color. By adjusting the airbrush pressure(right), you can create see-through splatters.
  2. The Eraser paints the background color onto your image. You can adjust the thickness of the eraser by changing the brush size(left).
  3. The Rubber Stamp is a cool tool that allows you to copy and area of an image, go to a new image or area and "rub" the copied image on gradually. It feels kind of like scratching off lottery tickets(not that I've ever done that). To copy an area of an image, select the rubber stamp tool, hold down the Alt key and click the center of the area you wish to copy. Release the Alt key and move to the area or layer you wish to rub it on to. Press down on the mouse and rub as much of it on as you wish. Adjusting the brush size(above) adjusts the thickness of your rubbing. You can also adjust the opacity slider(right) to create ghost like effects. The rubber stamp is the tool you would use if you wanted to put someones face on a ball, for example.
  4. The Blur Tool can be used to soften sharp edges of an image. Adjust your brush size to a small diameter and your pressure to a low setting for best results.
  5. The Pen Tool I rarely use.
  6. The Line Tool is obviously used for drawing lines.
  7. The Paint Bucket fills the foreground color into any continuous space on your image. You need to click with the point of the paint coming out of the bucket. That is the "hot" point.
  8. The Hand Tool seems worthless to me, but what do I know???
  9. The Paint Brush Tool for those of you with dexterity. One nice feature of this tool is the fade to tranparent or background color in the option palette to the right of the screen.
  10. The Pencil Tool I have found real helpful when I want to change the color of one pixel at a time. Magnify the image until you can see the little square pixels, change the foreground color to what you want, and click each pixel with the pencil. This trick is especially helpful for shiny eyes or other small sections of odd color. Often a light pressure blur tool helps smooth the pixel changes when you are done with the pencil tool.
  11. The Smudge Tool is like dragging your finger through a wet painting. It drag color from one area to another. Adjust the pressure and brush size for different results.
  12. A suite of exposure tools include:
    • Dodge Tool decreases exposure for a lighter image.
    • Burn Tool increases exposure for a darker image.
    • Sponge Tool increases the saturation. In black/white it creates greater contrast. In color, it intensifies the color. The reds are redder, greens greener, etc.
  13. The Type Tool allows you to type with the foreground color on your image.
  14. The Gradient Tool allows you to fade from the background color to another color. Select your option in the Gradient Tool palette in the upper right and try it. Remember, you can always undo anything you don't like.
  15. The Eyedropper Tool is a handy tool. It allows you to click on any color on an existing image and the foreground color will automatically change to that exact color. It is great for touching up a flaw in an image with the exact color match. I usually do this under magnification.
  16. Speaking of magnification, the Zoom Tool is a great tool for touching up individual pixels. It is also the view I use when I am tracing with the freeform select tool.

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