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Barton5C39
Inspiring
February 12, 2026
Answered

I want to use the Brush Tool to change a color in a delimited area of my image

  • February 12, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 0 views

I want to change the color of a color in a delimited area of my image.  if I choose Color Range and select a color, it selects that color throughout the image.  I only want to affect the color in a specific area of the image.  I don’t want to select the area using the Lasso Tool since this will create a sharp boundary for the area that is affected.  Rather, I want to use the Brush Tool so the section I am targeting is not sharply delineated.  How can I use the Brush Tool to apply the desired edit?  Thank you.  

    Correct answer Semaphoric

    If you just want a soft edge on the selection, you could just increase the feathering. If you want to “paint” a selection, pressing Q will toggle back and forth between Standard and Quick Mask mode to do this. 

    But a more direct way of accomplishing  what you seem to want can be done in the Color Range dialog.  Be  sure the Localized Color Clusters box is checked, and clicking on the image will only affect a nearby area, and you can build up  and fine-tune the selection with Ctrl and Alt clicking.

    Another possibility is an Adjustment Layer of some sort, filling its Layer mask with black and then painting on it with white.

    4 replies

    E
    ExUSA
    Genius
    February 12, 2026

    The most important and powerful part of Photoshop is masking, because it lets you choose what is affected in your image. You can use a mask and alter that mask by Option-clicking the mask thumbnail in the Layers palette, or use the Quick Mask (Q) to load it for editing. Try feathering, blurring, the brush tool in Quick Mask mode, Refine Selection… Once you have the edges softened, then do your actual adjustments.

      D Fosse
      Community Expert
      D FosseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 12, 2026

      I think the obvious answer here is what ​@Semaphoric said at the end of his post:

       

      Make the adjustment you want, by whatever means, and mask that layer. Then paint in the adjustment to the small area you are targeting. You can use soft brushes at low opacity, building up. This is the standard way of doing this.

       

      You can even superimpose several masks by putting masked adjustment layers in a group, and then mask the group as a whole. Masks are incredibly flexible.

      B
      Barton5C39Author
      Inspiring
      February 12, 2026

      Thank you.  It had not occured to me how to use a Mask in conjunction with Color Range.  But it’s no different than any other tool.  I selected Color Range, made the adjustment, created a Mask, and then used the Brush Tool to apply the adjustment to the area I wanted to restrict it to.  Worked great.  Although ​@Semaphoric had stated the solution, I was overthinking it and needed your focus to make it clear.  Thanks again.

      B
      Barton5C39Author
      Inspiring
      February 12, 2026

      Thank you.  I clicked on Color Range and checked the “Localized Color Clusters” box and then went to the area of the image where I want to change the color, and clicked on several points within that color.  However, after Clicking OK, and adding a Curves Adjustment Layer, I could see that the color was affected throughout the entire image.  How is the “nearby area” (as you refered to it in your post) defined?  Why is the entire image being affacted in my case?  Am I doing something wrong?  Thank you.  

      On a related matter (and this is not directed at you) the asnwer was marked as correct, but not by me.  It seems to me (with all due repect) that the person creating the post should be the one to mark an answer as correct, particularly if they have follow up questions or if multiple, possibly correct answrs are given.  

      Semaphoric
      Community Expert
      SemaphoricCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      February 12, 2026

      If you just want a soft edge on the selection, you could just increase the feathering. If you want to “paint” a selection, pressing Q will toggle back and forth between Standard and Quick Mask mode to do this. 

      But a more direct way of accomplishing  what you seem to want can be done in the Color Range dialog.  Be  sure the Localized Color Clusters box is checked, and clicking on the image will only affect a nearby area, and you can build up  and fine-tune the selection with Ctrl and Alt clicking.

      Another possibility is an Adjustment Layer of some sort, filling its Layer mask with black and then painting on it with white.

        B
        Barton5C39Author
        Inspiring
        February 12, 2026

        Thank you!  I thought for some reason I could not use Masking in conjunction with Color Range (no idea why - maybe because Color Range is not an “Adjustment Layer” per se - even though you end up creating a Layer as part of the workflow after selecting the color?) but I figured it out.  If I’m correct, making an adjutsment to a specific color that you want to apply to only a specific area using Color Range can be achieved by selecting the color, applying a Mask to the Layer, then using the Brush Tool to reveal the adjustment wherever you want it.  This appears to work based on my testig it out once.  Thanks again for your help.  

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