The Truth About Photoshop’s Background Eraser Tool
77.6K views 2,700 likes 144 comments
Jump to a step in the video (5)
Click a time to play the video from there.
Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
The Background Eraser tool in Photoshop deletes pixels as you drag over them, instead of hiding them behind a mask.
The Background Eraser tool is an old feature that hasn’t been updated in a long while.
If you’re curious to see how it works, then follow along and learn how to use the Background Eraser tool in Photoshop!
Key Takeaways
- The Background Eraser tool in Photoshop deletes pixels permanently instead of hiding them, so a mistake is hard to undo.
- Duplicating the image layer first is the only safety net, since the tool destroys the original pixels as you drag.
- The Quick Selection tool paired with a Layer Mask gives a faster, non-destructive result than the Background Eraser tool.
- The Remove Background action in the Properties panel uses Photoshop’s built-in Artificial Intelligence to mask a subject in one click.
- The Select and Mask workspace, not the Background Eraser tool, is where you fine-tune hair and other fine edges.
- The Background Eraser tool has been part of Photoshop since version 5.5 in 1999, and it has barely changed since.
Table of contents
What You Will Learn
- How the Background Eraser tool samples and deletes pixels as you drag
- What the Continuous, Once, and Background Swatch sampling options do
- How the Limits and Tolerance settings change which pixels the tool erases
- How to make a faster, non-destructive selection with the Quick Selection tool and a Layer Mask
- How to remove a background automatically with the Remove Background action and refine it in Select and Mask
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2020 (version 21.2 or later) or the current version
Background Eraser Tool Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Decrease brush size | [ | [ |
| Increase brush size | ] | ] |
| Access Select and Mask from the Select menu | Shift | Shift |
How To Use The Background Eraser Tool in Photoshop
You can select the Background Eraser Tool from the Toolbar.
Click-and-drag on the image’s background to start removing the background. Its algorithm works by deleting the pixels similar to the ones you click on.
Warning: The Background Eraser tool permanently deletes pixels instead of hiding them. Duplicate the image layer before you use this tool.
On the Options bar, there are three sampling options:
Continuous – the tool continuously samples as you click-and-drag.
Once – the tool only samples once.
Background Swatch – the tool samples the background color swatch.
Limits
Discontiguous allows you to delete pixels in between fine details such as fur or hair strands. The other options are: Contiguous and Find Edges.
Tolerance determines how close to the sampled color to take into account when deleting the background pixels.
The lower the number, the closer the colors are to the sampled pixels, and the higher the number, the wider range it takes from the sample color.
As you progress through using the Background Eraser Tool to delete the background, you may start to notice the difficulty. This is especially true if your background color is similar to the colors found in your subject.
In this case, it starts to erase parts of her hand. Since it deletes pixels, be careful in areas where the background’s sample color and the similar subject colors meet.
Create a Solid Color fill layer and set the color to black.
With that, you’ll see the result of the Background Eraser tool, such as the uneven shoulders and the fingers where parts of it have been erased.
While you can fine-tune the rest of the image, you cannot retrieve the deleted pixels unless you remove them from the layer’s duplicate.
There are ways of converting your result to a mask, but it involves time-consuming steps that will not get you a good result.
You can skip all of those steps by using the more precise tools that Photoshop has to offer.
Please note that the Background Eraser tool officially became part of Photoshop 5.5 in 1999, more than two decades ago. It is outdated compared to its AI-assisted counterparts.
How To Use The Quick Selection Tool and The Refine Edge Dialog
Even if you’re still using Photoshop CS6, you will still end up with a better selection result than using the Background Eraser tool.
On the Toolbar, select the Quick Selection tool and use it to click-and-drag all over your subject to create a selection.
Tip: Use [ or ] to shrink or enlarge your brush.
At the bottom of the Layers panel, click on the Layer Mask icon to create a Layer Mask with the selection.
Compared to the Background Eraser Tool, the Quick Selection tool and the Layer Mask process is easier, faster, and with better results.
For a full walkthrough of every tool and slider in the Select and Mask workspace, see this Select and Mask crash course.
Although Photoshop CS6 doesn’t have the Select and Mask workspace, it still has the Refine Edge dialog box that you can access on the Options bar.
If you have the current version of Photoshop, you can see it by choosing Select, then hold Shift as you click Select and Mask.
That step brings out the Refine Mask window, where you can use the sliders to fine-tune the mask’s edge.
How To Use the Remove Background action and Select and Mask
The current version of Photoshop uses Artificial Intelligence to help you create fast, accurate selections with one click of a button.
Select your image layer.
Under Quick Actions in the Properties panel, click on the Remove Background button, which automatically detects your subject, removes the background, and applies a Layer Mask.
Double-click the Layer Mask thumbnail to go to the Select and Mask workspace.
Here, you can further refine your mask’s edges through the Smooth, Feather, Contrast, and Shift Edge sliders.
The Refine Edge tool also helps to refine the intricate hair strands just by clicking-and-dragging by the edges.
If your subject’s hair is especially fine or the background is busy, this guide to advanced hair masking in Photoshop shows you how to paint a custom hair brush instead.
Then, press OK to apply the changes.
And here’s the result! It was a journey to achieve the current look, so the Background Eraser tool in Photoshop is definitely worth looking into.
If you want more accurate results, check out this tutorial on the two-step process for better cutouts.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Background Eraser tool deletes pixels similar to the color you click on as you drag across an image. Unlike a Layer Mask, it removes the pixels permanently instead of hiding them.
It still works, but the Quick Selection tool, the Select and Mask workspace, and the Remove Background action produce cleaner, non-destructive results with far less effort. The tool has not changed since it shipped in Photoshop 5.5 in 1999, so it never gained an equivalent to those newer, AI-assisted tools.
Continuous keeps resampling the color as you drag. Once locks to the color from your first click. Background Swatch erases based on the current background color swatch.
Tolerance sets how close a pixel’s color has to be to the sampled color before the tool deletes it. A lower number keeps the range narrow, and a higher number erases a wider range of similar colors.
Switch to the Quick Selection tool or the Remove Background action, then refine the mask’s edge in the Select and Mask workspace instead of erasing pixels directly. Inside that workspace, the Refine Edge tool lets you click and drag along the edge to bring back fine hair strands that a plain selection would cut off.
Select the layer, then click the Remove Background button under Quick Actions in the Properties panel. Photoshop applies a Layer Mask automatically, which you can refine in Select and Mask.
The Background Eraser tool deletes pixels permanently, so the data is gone once you save and close the file. A Layer Mask only hides pixels, so you can adjust or undo the edit at any time.
Conclusion
The Background Eraser tool still works, but it deletes pixels for good and struggles with hair and busy backgrounds.
The Quick Selection tool, the Remove Background action, and the Select and Mask workspace give you a faster, non-destructive way to cut out a subject.
Watch the video above for the full walkthrough, and comment on the video if you have a question.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Related Links
Final Image
Drag the slider to see before and after
