Manga Studio® for Dummies®

Chapter 9. Working with Selections and Selection Layers

In This Chapter

• Using the Marquee, Lasso, and Magic Wand tools to create basic selections

• Filling in, outlining, and deleting items within a selection

• Creating and editing selection layer selections

• Using Quick Select and Quick Mask functions in Manga Studio EX

If you're new to the world of digital art programs, you might be a bit confused when I mention the term selection tools. However, ask a veteran digital artist about the term, and you'll find out just how important (some would even say vital) selection tools can be to your work.

A staple of practically every art program on the market today, selection tools are deceptively simple: You use a selection tool to confine a specific area of your canvas. It probably doesn't sound like much, until you find out what you can now do; namely, you can work within the selected area without worrying about ruining the rest of your work. Whether it's to add a subtle effect, fill in a sold color or screentone, or remove a piece of your drawing that just isn't working for you, only the area bound by the selection is affected. The more you use it, the more you find out how much of a timesaver it can be to your work (especially when you consider the alternative approach to filling in a section, which is to create a new layer, fill it with the color or tone, and then trim away the excess).

So, I'm sure I'll surprise no one reading this that Manga Studio includes many of the basic selection tools that ...