creating custom patterns

[twogreys]

i have a ps book that has an exercise in it for creating a custom pattern.  it has me go to a website and download a chili pepper.  then i am suppose to open that up in ps, use the marquee selection tool to select the white background.  then i am to go up to the menu and choose select --> inverse and it's suppose to select the pepper.  then i am suppose to hit the the mask tool (bottom right layers panel).  problem is when i go to choose select and then inverse - it tells me no pixels are selected.  my layer is unlocked, i've tried finding another picture and downloading as a png.  same problem.  any idea what i'm doing wrong?  thanks  karen

[Norman Sanders · Accepted solution]

Karen, just a small mixup in the instructions.

Instead of "...use the marquee selection tool to select the white background..."

substitute "use the Quick Selection tool or the Magic Wand to select the white area around the pepper."

Then, when you invert the selection, it will select the pepper and the mask will hide the white area and will be a transparent area.

Follow that with the rest of the instructions.

[twogreys]

awesome!  it worked.  but i had to use the magic wand tool.  the quick selection tool still gave me the 'no pixels selected'.  but so glad this worked because now i can do the rest of the exercise.  i learn so much better by reading and doing - not just reading.  thanks again for your help!