This is apparently a Windows problem, as the OS manages mouse pointers. Programs like MS Word and PowerPoint have the same problem.
For some tools, it can be helpful to press and hold the spacebar to make it a hand shape temporarily. This can be easier to find.
or the crtl key to turn it to the black pointy arror (move tool).
No it’s not just regulated to windows. In photoshop the tool color is the inverse of whatever color it’s overlaying.
In the case of grey – the inverse of grey is….grey.
the other choice is gray.
Grey is a much nicer shade.
oh I forgot, you can also get 127,127,127.
oh I forgot, you can also get 127,127,127
Yep. That’s grey. Gray is 128,128,128.
Rowe,
One workaround is to create an adjustment layer that drastically colours the image (say a big Colour Balance shift toward the green)
When you are done, you can delete the layer.
thanks guys! you sure there is no other colour than grey then?! thought i’d better confirm this!!!! will deffo try changing the image colour – actually i suppose a hue/saturation layer would probably be enough
cheers rowe
"you sure there is no other colour than grey then"
Absolutely there are more colors than grey. The tool is the inverse of whatever color it’s over. So if it’s over green, the cursor will be red. If it’s over yellow, it will be blue.
But when it’s over grey – it’s grey!
it is a shame though, that you cannot control this inversing and could assign colours – like with the guides.
p.s was just kidding about the grey! (you read the previous responses?)
If you think grey/gray over gray/grey is bad. Think about the fun you can have when you are adding to or removing parts of a mask on objects that are colored/coloured in reds and oranges.
Working with a temporary adjustment layer of a type to let you see what you are doing DOES help, a lot.
Rene, where were you with that advice before I "discovered" it 3 years ago? I was removing some noise (that showed up in print) in deep shadows and couldn’t tell the black from the blaque until I used a Brightness layer to shift the black to middle gray.
Bill
Absolutely there are more colors than grey. The tool is the inverse of whatever color it’s over. So if it’s over green, the cursor will be red. If it’s over yellow, it will be blue.
Maybe on a Mac but is this true on Windoz?
I think it might just be the grey for PC users.
wow, I think you’re right John.
You poor guys. You guys with your windows.
This is an issue I’ve disliked with all Windows Photoshop versions. You’d think it would be easy to implement, a cursor color palette or, like the MAC, an automatic contrasting color change. It’s very annoying to have to hunt or guess where the cursor is when the color nearly matches gray. I do more "fixing" with the healing brush on digital photos now, and it’s very irritating to lose the cursor and have to "guess" where it’s at when the colors closely match.
Please, please, please, make tool cursors easier to see on the PC!
Mike
