How to Cut an Ellipse in Photoshop?

Cutting an ellipse in Photoshop involves using the Elliptical Marquee Tool and a few other steps to isolate the elliptical shape. Here's how you can do it:

Steps to Cut an Ellipse

1. Open your Image: Launch Photoshop and open the image you want to work with by going to File > Open.

2. Unlock the Background Layer: In the Layers panel (usually found on the right side), double-click on the "Background" layer. This will open the "New Layer" dialog. Click "OK" to convert it into a regular, editable layer (e.g., Layer 0). This allows for transparent areas.

3. Select the Elliptical Marquee Tool: Locate the Rectangular Marquee Tool in the Tools panel (usually on the left side). Click and hold on the Rectangular Marquee Tool icon to reveal a flyout menu. Select the "Elliptical Marquee Tool" from the menu.

4. Create the Ellipse Selection:

   • Click and drag on your image to create an elliptical selection.
   • To create a perfect circle (a special case of an ellipse), hold down the Shift key while dragging.
   • To start the ellipse from the center, hold down the Alt (or Option on Mac) key while dragging.
   • To create a perfect circle from the center, hold down both Shift and Alt (or Option) keys while dragging.
   • You can reposition the selection while creating it by holding down the Spacebar.

5. Inverse the Selection (Optional): If you want to remove everything outside the ellipse: Go to Select > Inverse. This selects the area around the ellipse. If you want to cut just the ellipse (leaving everything else in the original image untouched), skip this step.

6. Cut or Delete:

   • To Cut: If you want to cut the ellipse and paste it elsewhere, press Ctrl+X (Windows) or Cmd+X (Mac). Then, you can paste it into a new layer or document by pressing Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac).
   • To Delete (Removing everything outside the ellipse, if Inverse was used): Press the Delete key (or Backspace key on some keyboards). This will delete the selected area, leaving a transparent background if applicable. If you didn't inverse the selection in step 5, this will delete the contents inside the ellipse.

7. For a Clean Cut (Masking): Alternatively, and often preferably, you can use a layer mask. After creating your elliptical selection in Step 4, with the layer selected in the Layers panel, click the "Add Layer Mask" icon at the bottom of the Layers panel (it looks like a rectangle with a circle inside). This will create a mask based on your selection. Anything inside the ellipse will be visible, and everything outside will be hidden (but not deleted). To reverse this, select the mask in the Layers panel, then press Ctrl+I (Windows) or Cmd+I (Mac) to invert the mask.

8. Save your Work: Go to File > Save As... and save your image in a suitable format like .PSD (Photoshop Document) to preserve layers or .PNG if you need transparency.

By following these steps, you can effectively cut an ellipse in Photoshop for various editing purposes.