Double Elliptical

[limey]

Is it possible to create a double Elliptical Marquee, one large and one small with the smaller one inside the larger one so that I can fill the space between the two of them with a colour.
Whenever I try to do it the first circle I selected disappears as soon as I try to create the second one.
Thanks

 

[Welles]

Is it possible to create a double Elliptical Marquee, one large and one small with the smaller one inside the larger one so that I can fill the space between the two of them with a colour.

Yes. Here's the way I do that.

1. Make your smaller marquee.
2. Save it as an alpha channel. That easily done by adding a new channel in the Channels palette by clicking on the button next to the trash can. Then click on the button next to that and it will save your selection in the new channel which you just created.
3. Make your larger marquee (which will make your smaller one go away).
4. Go to the Channels palette and click on the Alpha channel you saved with the smaller marquee. Now go to the bottom of the channels palette, hold down the option/alt key or your keyboard and click on the Load channel as selection button (at the bottom of the channels palette on the left).

What happens is that the selection you saved is subtracted from the active selection, in your case 'cutting a hole' in the larger marquee.

 

[limey]

Thanks Welles, I finally got it to work after floundering around a bit it takes a bit of time for it to sink in with me. I appreciate the help.

 

[ronmatt]

here's 2 very simple to accomplish what I believe you want.
If you can't find edet, then use edit

 

[Sark]

ronmatt's first method is the one I always use, except after filling, I go into select/modify/contract. This saves having to worry about aligning the second selection accurately. Just hit delete after contracting.

Sark

 

[Welles]

Ah...a simpler method ronmatt! I sort of knew there had to be one but my suggestion comes from a technique I developed for providing a type of anti-aliasing when I take an object from one image and place it in another. I'll load the new layer's selection, contract it slightly and save a channel. Then I'll expand it beyond the original selection by a pixel or three (depending on the image size). Then I'll go to the channel I saved, load it and, holding down the option key, hit load channel as selection. I now have a thin band selected around the newly placed object and will run around it with the blur tool, use all layers, and darken or lighten as necessary. After that the edge of the new layer becomes seamless with the original.