Creating Brush-Filling and Stroking Selection

Creating Brush-Filling and Stroking Selection in Adobe Photoshop 7

Adobe Photoshop 7 remains a powerful tool for digital artists and designers. One of its essential features is the ability to fill and stroke selections using brushes. This allows for more creative control when working on graphics, illustrations, or photo edits. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to apply brush filling and stroking to a selection in Photoshop 7.

1. Creating a Selection

To begin, you need to create a selection that will be filled or stroked with a brush. Follow these steps:

Open an image or create a new document (File > New).
Choose a selection tool from the toolbar, such as the Rectangular Marquee Tool, Elliptical Marquee Tool, or Lasso Tool.
Drag your mouse over the canvas to create a selection. A dashed line will appear around the selected area.

2. Filling a Selection with a Brush

Filling a selection using a brush allows for artistic effects and texturing.

Select the Brush Tool (Shortcut: B) from the toolbar.
In the Options Bar, choose a brush type, size, and opacity.
Set the foreground color by clicking on the color swatch at the bottom of the toolbar.
With the selection still active, paint inside it using the brush. The paint will be restricted to the selected area.

3. Stroking a Selection with a Brush

Stroking a selection creates an outline effect using a brush.

Make sure your selection is still active.
Go to Edit > Stroke.
In the Stroke dialog box: Set the stroke width, Choose a color, Select the Inside, Center, or Outside position for the stroke placement, Click OK to apply the stroke.

Alternatively, you can manually paint along the selection border using the Brush Tool.

4. Refining the Edges

After filling or stroking a selection, you might need to refine the edges:

Use the Eraser Tool (E) to clean up any unwanted strokes.
Apply Feathering (Select > Feather) before painting for softer edges.
Use Layer Styles (Layer > Layer Style) for additional effects like shadows or glow.

5. Saving Your Work

Once satisfied with your artwork, save it properly:

File > Save As to save in PSD format for future editing.
File > Save for Web to optimize it for online use.

Conclusion

Mastering brush-filling and stroking selections in Adobe Photoshop 7 can greatly enhance your creative projects. Whether you’re adding artistic touches, emphasizing details, or creating unique designs, these tools offer a simple yet powerful way to bring your vision to life.

UNIT-204
Digital Image Editing