How fine-tune a selection?

[rickhedin]

Hi.  I have been using the quick selection tool to outline a hand.  It gets it close.  Then I would like to adjust the selection to match the edge of the hand exactly.

With the marquee tool I can choose Select -> Transform Selection and push and pull the selection edge myself.  I would like the quick selection tool to give me a chain of dots I can push and pull until the edge matches up exactly.

Is there some way to manually adjust a selection created with the quick selection tool?

[Chuck Uebele · Accepted solution]

What version of PS are you using? If using the current 2019 version, used select and mask to refine the selection. Or you can transfer your selection to a channel and used the paint brush and other editing tools to adjust the channel, which you then change back to a selection.

[rickhedin]

Thanks, Chuck!  I have the subscription.  I'll go apply this information!   --   Regards, Rick

[D Fosse]

rickhedin  wrote

Is there some way to manually adjust a selection created with the quick selection tool?

The simplest and most immediate way to alter the selection itself, is to press Q to get into Quick Mask mode, and then paint in and out with white or black brushes. Then press Q again to return to marching ants.

Select and Mask is more about adjusting the selection edge properties. As such it's very effective, but the outline itself is better adjusted elsewhere. There is a brush tool there, but it's slow and awkward IMO. Of course that may change in the future.

[rickhedin]

Hmm.  I tried it in a test, and was able to easily include and exclude regions using the Quick Mask mode.  But when I tried it in my real image, it was like to trying to sign my name on a dotted line using a brush for painting siding.

My real image is about 10,000 x 10,000 pixels, although an 8 1/2 x 11 document.  I have the hand blown up so it barely fits on the screen, so I can see what I'm doing.  Maybe I'm hitting a limitation of Photoshop.  ?

I'll try the "transfer the selection to a channel" method.

                        Rick

[Semaphoric]

One way of doing what you describe would be to go into Quick Mask mode, and then run Liquify on the mask. Set the "Show Backdrop" box, so you can see how the selection corresponds with the image.