Adobe Photoshop Marquee Tool

with Isaac Brody

Transcript: Adobe Photoshop Marquee Tool

Hi, I'm Isaac Brody for About.com Computing. Today I'll teach you how to create quick creative backgrounds using the marquee tool in Photoshop.

I've already opened Photoshop and have a photo open. If you have a photo available open it now by going to File, Open, and selecting it on your computer.

Locating Marquee Tool

Click on the single column marquee tool on your lefthand toolbar. You need to hold down your mouse button on the icon to reveal more tool options and you'll see the single column marquee tool at the bottom. Select it and click on the middle of your picture. This brings up a blinking line.

Go to Edit, then Free Transform. A small blinking square appears in the middle of the line. Click and hold on the square and drag it to the left. Hit return to commit the changes. And go to Select, Deselect to release the line.

Custom Backgrounds with Marquee Tool

We just chose a line of pixels and dragged the color information all the way to the left. It's a cool little effect for making creative backgrounds with little work.

Now click on the marquee tool on the lefthand toolbar again and this time select single row marquee tool. Click on a spot in your picture to create a line. Go to Edit, Free Transform and drag the little rectangle upward. Hit return again to commit the changes.

Add Background Filters with Marquee Tool

With the rectangle still selected you can go further by adding filters. Go to Filter, Texture, and hit Stained Glass. Click OK to accept the defaults. Go to Select, Deselect to remove the rectangle.

With a little experimentation you can create abstract pictures and backgrounds from your photos.

Thanks for watching. For more information, please visit us online at Computing.About.com.

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