PHOTOSHOP problem... HELP please!

[Dave]

Hello, my old edition of photoshop (CS2) has started doing something annoying and I don't know how to stop it.

Basically I'm getting gradient effects when I don't want them!

Say my foreground colour is white and the background is black, if I start with a white image and make a rectangular selection with the marquee tool, when I press delete I get a perfectly sharp black rectangle cut into the white.. which is what I want.

However, if I do the same thing and then apply feathering (rounded corners) to the selection, when I press delete, I get a gradient fade instead of a nice sharp edge.

Here's a visual of the problem...



Errr... something has gone to pot and I don't know what.

[Bill Edwards]

Hey Dave. If you're applying feathering to your masks then that is the result you're going to get. Try smoothing instead. That might work. To achieve rounded corners on a shape in Photoshop is tricky. I used to create such a shape in Illustrator and copy it into Photoshop and use it to create shape masks like rounded cornered rectangles.

The new CC version has a nifty vector rectangle shape tool now. There might be a filter in your version that could do it? There are so many filters I rarely use these days. Although I use Photoshop every day I'm sure I only ever scratch the surface!

[Dave]

Weird thing is, I was sure this is how I've been doing it all the time up until now, but it can't have been. I've been rounding edges for a while now on images for the front page.
It's like I've had a mental block all of a sudden. Ha.
The method I was using was definitely just as simple.

[Dave]

At last.. rediscovered what I always used to do!

Use the marquee tool to select a rectangular shape, then go to SELECT, MODIFY, SMOOTH, and put in a value.
Easy.. nice rounded corners to your own spec!

[Bill Edwards]

Yeah smoothing. 'Swot I said!

[Dave]

Nov 18, 2013 20:25:56 GMT Bill Edwards said:

Yeah smoothing. 'Swot I said!

I have no idea how I forgot how to do that!
Thanks for the tip off Mr Chrome!

[Bill Edwards]

You're welcome. Yeah that happens to me sometimes!