Is the magic wand tool the best tool for cutting out a person's head?

Need advice! The picture is of a girl with her hair blowing in the wind, so I'm not sure about using the magic wand tool.

I guess we should ask what version of Photoshop the OP is using.
One could arge that the OP should have provided that information by themselves and, if not, kind of deserves potentially being confused by having functionality presented that may not be part of their set-up …
Edit: But in all fairness I suspect I may have omitted such information myself when I first started asking questions on this Forum.
Not to mention that it seems somewhat remarkable howt many people seem to prefer talking about specific images to simply posting them (or lores or section of them) – which would make assessing the tasks in question often a lot easier.

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Selecting pixels on a layer using the magic wand

PS CS5
I have been trying to select individual pixels around a shape on a layer to create a mask to hide the semi transparent pixels but i cant seem to select individual pixels to add to the selection.
In some places along the path of the object I have been able to select some individual pixels, but in other parts, groups of pixels automatically get selected or even the whole path is selected.
How do i control this? I want to be able to only select the pixels i choose and not groups.
The settings i am using are:
Tolerance = 0
Contiguous - Selected
Sample all layers - Selected
I have tried doing this with each of the following settings to no avail:
New Selection
Add to selection
Subtract selection
Intersect with Selection
I was following a tutorial on the lullabots website to create a mask but can't reproduce the steps because of this problem
http://www.lullabot.com/articles/creating-awesome-new-icon
thanks in advance

One setting that you haven't listed and which can affect the Magic Wand tool is the Sample Size.
Activate the Eyedropper Tool, then right-click somewhere on your image. Make the sample size Point Sample. This will then tell the Magic Wand or any other tool that does an "eyedropper sample" operation to use the value of the single pixel you click on to gauge its operation.
I mention this because the coupling is modal and sometimes overlooked.
-Noel

How do I select similarly colored text using the magic wand?

I converted a large document from RGB to CYMK (File | Document Color Mode). I'd like to select all of the text that was RGB(0,0,0) and is now CMYK(75.02,67.97,67.02,90.16) so I can change it to CMYK(0,0,0,100). I think the magic wand is the way to do this (correct me if I'm wrong).
I have text in a dozen or more text areas. Many of the text areas overflow text into another text area. Some of the text in the text areas is "black" but there is also text with other colors that I'd like to remain unchanged.
For example, I'd like to select all of the black text in the following two text areas without selecting the red text. I thought that I could click on the black text and have all the black text (but not the red text), selected, but the entire text box is selected (and nothing in the second text box is selected). Can the wand select some text within several text boxes? If not, how should I go about changing the black? Thanks.

Thanks Mylenium.
If I use the Same Fill command, it does select both text areas. But if I then choose a replacement color (e.g., CMYK(0,0,0,100)) all of the text in both text areas is changed to black (i.e., the red text in my above illustration also changes to black).

Cannot find the Quick Selection Tool (previously paired with the magic wand tool) on Illustrator CC (newest version installed on October 14, 2014)

I have just installed a new version of Illustrator CC and CS6 on October 14, 2014 and I couldn't find the Quick Selection Tool on this version, previously this tool is located with the magic wand tool

I don't remember a quick selection tool in Illustrator. Are you sure this was in Illustrator?

Where does one find the Very Useful tool, Magic Wand, in the latest version of Photoshop, anyone? Its been well hidden. Why change for change's sake?

Where does one find the Very Useful tool, Magic Wand, in the latest version of Photoshop, anyone? Its been well hidden. Why change for change's sake?

csuebele wrote:
I guess I'm too slow, Trevor.
That's no bad thing Chuck. It indicates that you have better things to do than constantly refresh the forum LOL.
I'm having a wee posting spree today after lacking the inclination to respond to the same old threads for the last few days. But I do love it when people get all in a tizzy complaining about stuff that is right under their nose (so to speak). So I guess my criteria for responding is often based as much on how big a smile it puts on my face, as to how much I am helping the OP. Unfortunately that irreverent approach gets me into trouble at times, and one of the moderators deleted one of my illustrated replies just a few days ago. It took me a few minutes to work out why it had been deleted. The subtext was 'risking one eye', and I eventually realized that the implied 'risk' could definitely be seen as offensive to some people.

Whereas in the past when I used the Magic Wand I got rid of it by using another tool or clicking on "escape", today the "escape" is not working. What should I do?I am working with Element 10

Can somebody please advise me why Escape is not working anymore and how to get rid of the magic wand?

At the far left of the options bar is a tiny triangle. Click it and choose Reset Tool and see if that helps.

Where do I find the magic wand tool?

Where do I find the magic wand tool?

It's in your Toolbox, the fourth area from the top.
If you don't see it, the Quick Selection tool is probably chosen.
Press (that's a press down, not a click) on the Quick Selection tool, and hold for a moment.
You should see the Magic Wand. Move your cursor down and choose the Wand.

How do I make a brush signature when the tool bar is missing the magic wand tool?

I am missing the magic wand tool from the tool bar on the left of cc. How do I retrieve it or is it completely missing from the photoshop cc download? I need it to make a brush signature for signing photos.

Hi,
Most likely the magic wand tool is not missing.
The Magic Wand Tool is grouped with the Quick Selection Tool in the tool box
more info on where the tools are and how to access them
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/tools.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/using-tools.html

I am new to Photoshop CC. I am trying to use the magic wand to highlight a dull sky, and it is just making a weird selection that has nothing to do with my photo

I am trying to use the Magic Wand to highlight a dull sky so that I can add something more interesting.
When I try to isolate this area, the magic wand seems to just make a random selection throughout my photo.
I have anit-alias on, and my tolerance is at 5.

First, is the layer containing the photo of the sky selected? That might help.
But there are probably better ways to make selections than the magic wand, depending on the value ranges in the sky you wish to select.
Try Color Range, Quick Mask, or manual selections using the Polygon Lasso Tool, or combinations of all of the above.
You can also paint your selection on an additional layer (using brushes), and convert the painted area to a selection, make a channel of that selection, and refine manually.

Where is the Magic Wand - PS CS6

where is the magic wand tool in photoshop CS6?

Tools palette. Grouped with the Quick Selection Tool
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/photoshop-cs6-allinone-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

I used the magic wand in previous versions--where is it in PS CC??

I used the magic wand in previous versions--where is it in PS CC??

It's exactly where it has always been. If you're seeing the quick selection tool instead, click on it and hold until you get the flyout menu and click on the magic wand.

Problems removing background with Magic wand and then brush tool

I use Paint Shop Elements (version 13) to remove background from images to then use in PowerPoint. So I ensure the image is on a proper layer (say Layer 0). I then create a mask. If there are large areas of unwanted background I use the Magic Wand to highlight them. I then use the Fill Tool with the 'black'/remove pixels leave transparent on these areas. HOWEVER if I then try to use the Brush Tool with the remove/transparent 'black' setting to say tidy up the image, the brush tool will not respond! I then find I have to save the Photoshop file and re-open it before I can use the brush tool. I suspect I am missing a step, but I am fairly new to Photoshop Elements.

I don't know where this "tutorial" came from, but obviously it does not work for you. Try the following in PSE Expert tab:
Have the Layers palette open
Open the picture file
Double click the background layer in order to convert it from a locked layer to a regular layer. It is now Layer 0.
Use one of the selection tools, e.g. selection brush, lasso tool, to select the foreground
Go to Select>Inverse
Hit delete on the keyboard
Press CTRL+D to get rid of the marching ants
Use the eraser tool to tidy up
Go to File>save as, and save in a file format which supports transparency - PNG is ok
Import the processed file in to PowerPoint.

Can I restrict the operation of the "magic wand" to a single artboard?

CS4 on a Mac. Can I restrict the operation of the "magic wand" to a single artboard without moving that artboard to a different layer? At present it selects all the similar items on the active board as well as all the other boards on the same layer.

Hi MarieMeyer,
I'm not sure if this works on CS4, but one thing you can try is to click Window + Magic Wand to open your tool settings.
There, you should see a check mark next to Fill Color. Uncheck fill color. Now, make sure everything is deselected, and then try using the magic wand tool. You may need to play with your Tolerance setting to get it to select the way you want.
Hope this helps!

Using the magic wand

Hi Guys
Sorry if this is a basic question, but I have an image of a guitar which I want to cut out using the magic wand tool, but when I click on it, it seems to be trying to cut out all the details in between the strings on the fretboard, I just want the entire outline. Should I be increasing the sensitivity or the opposite, whatever I do it doesn't seem to work. the back ground is one, neutral colour so I thought it would be easy to do?
Thanks
Phil

You've already got better answer for what to use instead of the Magic Wand. I personally prefer the quick selection tool, however, are you aware that when using the magic wand you can hold down the shift key to add to your selection with your mouse, or hold down the Alt key to decrease the selection area that you want to cover.
If the colors are similar within the areas you want to select you can also go to Select / Similar, or Select / Color Range. If using Color Range you can hold down the shift or alt keys and drag your mouse to increase or decrease the selection coverage.
You can also use the pen tool to set anchor points around the areas you want to select creating a work path. Right click in your selections and choose "Make Selection"
Additionally, the Refine Edge command/tool is invaluable no matter which method you use to make your selections.
Selecting portions of an Image
Refining Edges In CS4

Magic Wand selects the whole picture

Hey, i tried using the Magic Wand Tool to select an area before and it works. But yesterday idk what happened and whenever i used magic want tool to select a specific area it keeps selecting the whole picture. How do i get this fixed? Please reply asap. Thanks!

Hi SepetMTJ22,
I would try looking at Charles' suggestions. It is most likely that you have an empty or solid layer selected, which would select everything for you:
Or that you have a sample size that is too large, make sure you have it set to a small enough point sample. One is recommended.

Is the magic wand tool the best tool for cutting out a person's head?

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