The Fuzzy Select (Magic Wand) Tool
The Fuzzy Select Tool is ideal for situations where your image has a solid color background. The Fuzzy Select Tool can highlight contiguous regions of the same color, so if you set the tolerance correctly on it, you may be able to remove an entire background in just a few clicks.
The Scissors Select Tool
The Scissors Select Tool lets you draw a path around the foreground of your image, regardless of what’s in the background, and use that to cut out what you want. The Scissors Select Tool will try to automatically detect the edges of the object that you’re outlining, and fit your path to it. As long as there’s enough distinction in color between your foreground and background, this can be a solid option. Turn your attention to the lower-left corner of the screen. That’s where your tool options are. Find the Threshold. This option allows you to adjust how far off the clicked color you want to grab with the tool. So, increasing the Threshold grabs more similar colors, and decreasing it restricts the colors selected. If, when you first click the background, there are parts that don’t get selected, increase the number in the Threshold. If you grabbed too much and highlighted areas within the foreground, decrease the Threshold number.
The Foreground Select Tool
The Foreground Select Tool is fairly similar to the Scissors Select Tool. You can use it in situations where there’s a decent amount of contrast between the foreground and background of your image. The Foreground Select Tool is a bit more precise than the Scissors Select Tool, but it relies on a difference in colors between the foreground and background. There are multiple ways to eliminate the background from an image using the popular Photoshop alternative, GIMP. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, meaning that you should choose the options that best fit your situation. For instance, if you’re trying to cut an image away from a solid background, using the Fuzzy Select Tool will be more straightforward than some of the other options. None of these methods are complicated to use, but some can be tedious and time-consuming. That’s why picking the right image (if you can) can save a lot of time.
