4.4 Raster Revision, History Brush, and Local Tone Tools

Raster creation and local revision

The current objectives name Pencil, Brush, Smudge, Sharpen, Blur, Paint Bucket, several erasers, Remove Background, and History Brush. They also name Dodge, Burn, and Sponge for modifying exposure and saturation. These tools do not all create the same type of edit. Before selecting one, identify whether the task requests new paint, redistributed pixels, a mask, a local tonal change, or restoration from an earlier state.

Start with a practice photograph, duplicate it, and add a separate pixel layer for paint. Name the layers so you can tell original pixels from test results. Direct pixel tools can overwrite their target, while masks and separate layers preserve alternatives. A blank layer is useful only when the selected tool supports sampling or when the task actually needs new paint; not every tool can reconstruct image detail on an empty layer.

Choose the appropriate raster tool

Choose Brush for a soft painted shadow on a separate layer; choose Pencil for deliberately hard pixel-art marks. Changing a Brush to 100% hardness does not make its edge behavior identical to the Pencil. With Paint Bucket, a low tolerance targets a narrower color range. Contiguous controls connected versus separated matching regions, and sampling options determine which visible pixels establish that range.

Smudge redistributes image color instead of simply painting the foreground color. Finger Painting changes its initial color behavior, so inspect that option if the first part of a stroke looks unexpected. Blur reduces local detail; Sharpen boosts local contrast and can create halos or emphasize noise. Use short, low-strength passes and compare at a meaningful output scale. A sharpened blur does not recover detail that was never captured.

Revise visibility deliberately

The ordinary Eraser removes pixel data on a normal pixel layer; on a Background layer it replaces pixels with the background color. Background Eraser samples colors while protecting edges according to its settings. Magic Eraser removes matching regions using tolerance and connectivity. These operations differ from painting black on a layer mask, which conceals content while retaining the original pixels.

Remove Background is a quick masking action. Select a suitable image layer, use the Properties panel quick action or available contextual control, and inspect the new layer mask. It is an initial isolation, not a guarantee of correct hair, transparent glass, or interior gaps. Refine the mask and compare on both light and dark backgrounds. Deleting the mask restores visibility; applying it commits the masked result on a pixel layer.

For a task asking to preserve the original, prefer a mask or a duplicate rather than erasing the only copy. If a required tool is destructive, keep the original beneath the working layer and retain a labeled checkpoint. The final file must still show the structure the task requested; a visually similar flattened result may not meet that requirement.

Restore from history

Open Window > History, choose the earlier state or snapshot as the History Brush source by clicking its source column, then use History Brush to paint that state into selected regions. Clicking the history state itself changes the current document state; choosing the source column establishes what the brush will restore. These are different actions.

For example, apply a test filter to a duplicate image, set the earlier unfiltered state as source, and brush across only a small object. Inspect where the filtered result remains and where the earlier pixels return. History depends on the active editing session and compatible document state; it is not a substitute for saving an editable master or a separate archived version. Resizing or changing mode can make an earlier source unsuitable.

Local exposure and saturation

Dodge lightens and Burn darkens image areas. Select a duplicate pixel layer, choose a tonal Range such as Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights, set low Exposure, and build short passes. Use Protect Tones where available to reduce unwanted clipping or color shifts. Inspect the affected highlights and shadows rather than assuming the range is a hard selection boundary.

Sponge changes local saturation with Saturate or Desaturate modes and a Flow setting. It does not mean increasing overall brightness. Test the stroke on a small region and compare skin, already vivid colors, and neutral areas. A masked adjustment layer can be a better long-term solution when the intensity must remain editable.

Practical comparison

A portrait has a small loose thread, an overly bright sleeve, and a distracting saturated sign. Repair the thread with an appropriate sampled retouching tool. Darken the sleeve using Burn on a duplicate or a masked tonal adjustment. Reduce the sign’s saturation with Sponge or a masked color adjustment. Applying Blur to all three problems would lose detail without addressing the requested differences.

Before saving, toggle the working layers to compare against the original, inspect for halos and repeated patterns, and confirm that the original remains available. Record which tools changed pixels and which created masks or separate adjustment layers. That distinction is more useful than memorizing a single universally preferred workflow.

Sources checked October 18, 2026: Adobe History Brush and Dodge tool.