black over white icon on the left tool bar (click on the boxes to change the color if they are not black and white)
Layer mask icon bottom right side under layers
1. Duplicate your background layer. You can do this 2 ways- hit Control +J using the keyboard, or you can drag the layer down to the new layer icon (looks like a little paper with the corner folded over) on the bottom of the layers palette.
2. Add a layer mask- Click the icon on the bottom that looks like a rectangle with a hole in it What a layer mask does: This allows you to go back and “take off” the parts of a layer you have created to reveal the original photo underneath. When you are in a layer mask- the brush acts as the removal tool. You need to have the color blocks on the left side of the screen black/white. If they are NOT, click on them and change their color *Once you have the boxes black over white, you can toggle back and forth between them by clicking the little arrow next to them. Black over white- you will reveal the layer underneath White over black- white puts the layer back on (if you accidentally take off something, you can fix it!) Select the brush tool on the left toolbar. Use the brush to color over the object to reveal its original color.
Some tips to help along the way: *You can change the brush type and size in the top left corner OR you can use the [ button to make the brush smaller and ] to make it bigger to help get into different areas
*hit ctrl and + to zoom in (to paint over areas more easily) and crtl and – to make it smaller hold your space bar down while moving with your mouse- it will “grab” your picture and move it up or down for you. If your zoomed in, it will allow you to move around the photo flip back and forth between the black box (reveal) and the white (conceal) by clicking the arrow by the boxes OR hit the X button. If you accidentally reveal too much in a space, you can switch to white to fix it (conceal it) *You can choose to adjust the opacity of the brush above to reveal more or less of the layer underneath!