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Paint Bucket and Eyedropper Tools - Images: Japanese
Hey everyone!
Next, let's look at 'Fill' and the 'Eyedropper Tool'.
'Fill' refers to painting an entire layer or background with a single color.
Open any image in Photoshop, or create a new file. Once you're in, click a layer in the Layers panel to select it. A selected layer will be highlighted like this:
As mentioned in an earlier article, you can also select a layer by holding 'Ctrl' (or 'command' on macOS) and clicking directly on the image in the canvas while the Move Tool is active. The Move Tool needs to be selected for this to work.
There's also an 'Auto-Select' option in the Move Tool's Options Bar. With this checked, you can select a layer by simply clicking on it — no need to hold 'Ctrl' or 'command'.
The dropdown next to it lets you switch between selecting individual 'Layer' mode and 'Group' mode (which selects the group containing the clicked layer). 'Layer' mode is generally easier to use, though 'Group' mode is handy when you want to select a layer's parent group in one click.
One thing to note: clicking on a 'Transparent' area won't select any layer or group. You need to click on a colored (non-transparent) area.
With a layer selected, go to 'Edit' in the menu bar and select 'Fill'. A dialog like this will appear:
In the 'Contents' dropdown, choose the color you want. You can pick 'Foreground Color', 'White', 'Black', and more. If you want a color that isn't in the defaults, choose 'Color' to open the Color Picker:
Once you've chosen a color, click 'OK'. The layer should now be entirely filled with that color.
You can also set 'Opacity' to make the fill partially transparent. For example, filling with blue at 50% opacity produces something like this:
A semi-transparent blue overlaid on the original layer. Below the opacity setting is 'Preserve Transparency'. When checked, the fill only applies to non-transparent areas of the layer. Let's try it:
About half of the previous image was erased to create transparent areas. Now fill it with 'Preserve Transparency' checked:
Only the non-transparent areas were filled. Very useful — definitely keep this in mind.
One thing to watch out for: if the entire layer is transparent and 'Preserve Transparency' is checked, the fill will have no effect. If Fill doesn't seem to be working, the first thing to check is that option.
Finally, there's 'Blending Mode' at the bottom of the Fill dialog. This controls how the fill color blends with the existing layer content. It can be used for effects like converting a photo to sepia or adding text that blends naturally with an image — very powerful once you explore it. For a straightforward fill, just leave it on 'Normal'.
That wraps up 'Fill'.
Next, the 'Eyedropper Tool'. This tool lets you sample a color from any point in your canvas — useful whenever you need to know exactly what color a particular area is. This comes up constantly when building web assets from a Photoshop layout.
The Eyedropper Tool icon is in the tool panel on the left. It looks like this:
Select it, and your cursor changes to an eyedropper. Click anywhere on a colored area:
A color sample ring appears — the top half shows the newly sampled color, and the bottom half shows the previously selected color. The sampled color is reflected in the Foreground Color. To check the hex value, click the Foreground Color box in the lower left:
Open the Color Picker, and you'll find the hex color code near the bottom. Just copy it from there:
To sample a color into the 'Background Color' instead of the Foreground Color, look for the 'Color' panel, usually on the right side of the screen:
If you can't find the Color panel, go to 'Window' > 'Color' to show it.
In the upper left of the Color panel are two overlapping swatches. Click them to toggle between targeting 'Foreground Color' and 'Background Color'. The difference is subtle, so look closely. This is 'Foreground Color' active:
And this is 'Background Color' active:
You can tell by the subtle shift in which swatch has a dark border. Use this toggle to control where sampled colors get applied. If a sampled color unexpectedly ends up in the Background Color, this is the setting to check.
One more handy shortcut: while the Brush Tool is selected, holding 'Alt' (or 'option' on macOS) temporarily activates the Eyedropper Tool. Sampling colors mid-drawing without switching tools is a big productivity boost. Note that this shortcut only works with the Brush Tool — holding 'Alt' or 'option' while the Move Tool (or most other tools) is active won't trigger the Eyedropper.
That wraps up Fill and the Eyedropper Tool. In the next article, we'll cover Guides. Keep it up — see you there!
This article was written by Sakurama.
Author's beloved small mammal |
桜舞 春人 Sakurama HarutoA Tokyo-based programmer who has been creating various content since the ISDN era, with a bit of concern about his hair. A true long sleeper who generally feels unwell without at least 10 hours of sleep. His dream is to live a life where he can sleep as much as he wants. Loves games, sports, and music. Please share some hair with him. |
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