EYEDROPPER TOOL
The Eyedropper tool allows you to alter the
prominent color so that it has a shade which is identical to the
color already present on the canvas. This is an excellent tool to
use for situations where you want to match up colors which are hard
to find. This tool can be found on the control panel, and resembles
a syringe. The keyboard shortcut to press when you want to use the
Eyedropper tool is "I."
To change the background color, you will want to press Alt/Option
buttons simultaneously. You can use the tool by clicking on your
image in order to alter the color. When the Color Picker dialogue
box is on the screen, the cursor will instantly change into the
Eyedropper tool when it is moved onto an open document. If you
double click on the eyedropper tool box icon, you will get the
eyedropper options menu. You can choose either one pixel sample, 5x5
average, or a 3x3 average. The 3x3 average is the best for most
projects.
Picking the 3x3 average will average the color of the three closest
pixels to the area where you clicked. It is also possible to alter
the options of the sample area by pressing control clicking/right
clicking on any area where the eyedropper tool is visible. The
eyedropper can be used with the information palette in order to read
color values. Once the info palette is visible, pick the eyedropper
tool and move it over your image. The RGB and CMYK colors are the
default settings. The information palette will also provide
information on the height and width of the selection.
The values displayed under the info palette can
also be changed as well. To do this, click on the small arrows which
are near the eyedropper. You can also use the info palette to help
you find colors which are outside the default CMYK settings. As you
move the eyedropper tool over the canvas, pay attention to the CMYK
values under the info palette. Once they begin displaying
exclamation marks "!," this means that your cursor is over colors
which are not based in CMYK.
If you press and hold the Shift key while you are using the
eyedropper, color samplers can be placed on the photo. The purpose
of the samplers is to display color information for each part of
your image. A maximum of four samplers can be placed on the page. By
placing color samplers on your image, the info palette will open up
to the information, which is very important for those who are doing
advanced work. If you need to delete a color sampler, all you have
to do is press and hold the shift key and move it over the sampler.
The cursor will change when it is over the sampler, and this means
you can now click and drag it out of the window. It is also possible
to hide the color samplers by using the info palette. The eyedropper
tool is very important to learn before moving on to more advanced
Photoshop work.
