Image Editor

Toolbar & Tools Guide

Master selection, painting, drawing, and editing tools in the editor.

8 min read

Understanding the Toolbar

The toolbar is your primary interface for accessing editing tools in the Picify Editor. Located on the left side of the screen, it contains tools organized by function: selection, painting, retouching, and creation. Each tool has a keyboard shortcut for quick access, shown in parentheses throughout this guide.

Pro tip: Many toolbar buttons contain multiple related tools. Look for a small triangle in the corner of the button, then click and hold to reveal additional options.

Selection Tools

Selection tools allow you to isolate specific areas of your image for editing. Once you've made a selection, any edits you make will only affect the selected area.

Rectangle Select Tool (M)

Creates rectangular selections. Click and drag to define the selection area.

  • Hold Shift: Constrain to a perfect square
  • Hold Alt/Option: Draw from the center outward
  • Hold Shift + Alt: Draw a perfect square from center

Options: In the tool options bar, you can choose to create a new selection, add to existing selection, subtract from selection, or intersect with selection.

Ellipse Select Tool (M)

Creates circular or elliptical selections. Access by clicking and holding the Rectangle Select tool.

  • Hold Shift: Constrain to a perfect circle
  • Hold Alt/Option: Draw from the center outward
  • Same modifier combinations as Rectangle Select

Lasso Tool (L)

Draw freehand selections by clicking and dragging around the area you want to select. Release the mouse button to close the selection automatically.

Best for: Organic shapes and quick, rough selections that don't require precision.

Polygonal Lasso Tool (L)

Create selections with straight edges by clicking to place points. Double-click or click the starting point to close the selection.

Best for: Selecting objects with straight edges like buildings, boxes, or geometric shapes.

Magic Wand Tool (W)

Select areas based on color similarity. Click on a color, and the tool selects all connected pixels of similar color.

  • Tolerance: Adjust in the options bar (0-255). Higher values select a broader range of colors.
  • Contiguous: When enabled, only selects connected pixels. Disable to select all matching pixels throughout the image.
  • Sample All Layers: Sample colors from all visible layers instead of just the active layer.
Tip: Start with a low tolerance (10-30) and increase if the selection is too small. It's easier to expand a selection than to reduce it.

Painting Tools

Painting tools let you apply color and effects directly to your image, similar to traditional art materials.

Brush Tool (B)

The most versatile painting tool. Paint soft or hard-edged strokes with the current foreground color.

  • Size: Adjust brush diameter using [ and ] keys
  • Hardness: Controls edge softness (0% = soft, 100% = hard)
  • Opacity: Controls paint transparency (use number keys 1-0)
  • Flow: Controls how quickly paint is applied

Brush presets: Access different brush tips from the options bar. Choose from round brushes, textured brushes, and special effects brushes.

Pencil Tool (B)

Creates hard-edged, aliased lines. Unlike the brush, the pencil produces no anti-aliasing, making it ideal for pixel art and precise work.

Best for: Pixel art, technical diagrams, and anywhere you need crisp, hard edges without any softening.

Eraser Tool (E)

Removes pixels from the current layer. On layers with transparency, the eraser makes pixels transparent. On a background layer, it paints with the background color.

  • Brush mode: Soft-edged erasing with adjustable hardness
  • Pencil mode: Hard-edged erasing with no anti-aliasing
  • Block mode: Erases in square blocks (useful for pixel art)

Clone Stamp Tools

Clone Stamp Tool (S)

Copies pixels from one area of an image to another. Essential for removing unwanted objects, duplicating elements, or fixing imperfections.

How to use:

  1. Select the Clone Stamp tool (S)
  2. Hold Alt/Option and click to set the source point
  3. Release Alt/Option and paint where you want to clone
  4. The source point moves relative to your brush as you paint
  • Aligned: When enabled, the source point maintains its relative position to the brush even when you stop and start painting
  • Sample: Choose to sample from current layer, current and below, or all layers
Pro tip: Frequently resample (Alt/Option + click) from different areas to avoid creating obvious repeated patterns.

Pattern Stamp Tool (S)

Paints with a repeating pattern instead of sampling from the image. Access by clicking and holding the Clone Stamp tool.

  • Choose patterns from the options bar pattern picker
  • Useful for creating textured backgrounds or fills
  • Can use built-in patterns or create custom patterns

Retouching Tools

These tools help you refine and retouch images by adjusting focus, exposure, and color in specific areas.

Blur Tool

Softens hard edges and reduces detail by decreasing contrast between pixels. Paint over areas you want to soften.

  • Strength: Controls intensity of the blur effect
  • Use case: Smooth skin, soften backgrounds, reduce noise

Sharpen Tool

Increases contrast between adjacent pixels, making edges appear crisper. Use sparingly to avoid artifacts.

  • Strength: Start low (10-30%) and build up gradually
  • Use case: Enhance eyes, bring out texture details
Warning: Over-sharpening creates ugly halos and artifacts. Always work at 100% zoom to accurately judge the effect.

Smudge Tool

Simulates dragging a finger through wet paint. Picks up color where the stroke begins and pushes it in the direction you drag.

  • Strength: Higher values push more color further
  • Finger Painting: When enabled, begins with foreground color
  • Use case: Blend colors, create painterly effects, smooth edges

Dodge Tool (O)

Lightens areas of the image, named after a traditional darkroom technique. Paint over areas you want to brighten.

  • Range: Choose Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights to target specific tonal ranges
  • Exposure: Controls strength of the lightening effect
  • Use case: Brighten eyes, add highlights, lift shadows

Burn Tool (O)

Darkens areas of the image, the opposite of Dodge. Paint over areas you want to darken.

  • Range: Target Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights
  • Exposure: Controls strength of the darkening effect
  • Use case: Deepen shadows, add drama, darken edges

Sponge Tool (O)

Adjusts color saturation in specific areas. Can either increase (Saturate) or decrease (Desaturate) color intensity.

  • Mode: Saturate increases vibrancy, Desaturate reduces it
  • Flow: Controls how quickly the effect is applied
  • Use case: Enhance specific colors, create selective black-and-white effects

Fill Tools

Paint Bucket Tool (G)

Fills areas with the foreground color based on color similarity, similar to how the Magic Wand selects areas.

  • Tolerance: Controls how similar colors must be to be filled
  • Contiguous: When enabled, only fills connected pixels
  • All Layers: Sample colors from all visible layers

Quick fill: With a selection active, press Alt/Option + Delete to fill with foreground color, or Ctrl/Cmd + Delete to fill with background color.

Gradient Tool (G)

Creates smooth color transitions. Click and drag to define the gradient direction and length.

Gradient types:

  • Linear: Straight transition from start to end point
  • Radial: Circular transition from center outward
  • Angle: Sweeps around the starting point
  • Reflected: Linear gradient mirrored on both sides
  • Diamond: Diamond-shaped gradient from center

Access the gradient editor in the options bar to customize colors, add color stops, and create custom gradients.

Shape Tools

Shape tools create vector-based geometric forms that can be resized without losing quality. Access different shapes by clicking and holding the Shape tool button.

Available Shapes

  • Rectangle Tool (U): Draw rectangles and squares
  • Rounded Rectangle Tool: Rectangles with adjustable corner radius
  • Ellipse Tool: Draw circles and ellipses
  • Polygon Tool: Create multi-sided shapes (3+ sides)
  • Line Tool: Draw straight lines with adjustable weight
  • Star Tool: Create star shapes with adjustable points
  • Custom Shape Tool: Access preset custom shapes

Shape Options

  • Fill: Set the interior color or gradient
  • Stroke: Set the outline color and width
  • Corner radius: Round corners for rectangles
  • Sides/Points: Adjust for polygons and stars
Pro tip: Hold Shift while drawing to constrain proportions (perfect squares, circles, etc.). Hold Alt/Option to draw from the center.

Working with Tool Options

Every tool has associated options that appear in the options bar at the top of the screen when the tool is selected. Common options include:

  • Size/Width: Adjust the tool's size
  • Opacity: Control transparency of the tool's effect
  • Blend Mode: Change how the tool interacts with existing pixels
  • Anti-aliasing: Smooth edges (enable for most work)

Take time to explore the options for each tool. Understanding these settings will dramatically improve your control and efficiency.

Related Topics

toolsbrushselectionshapes

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