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This lesson demonstrates how to replace a road with a river, using the The Polygonal Lasso Tool, and you will find the start images Here. Unzip the file, and open the road image and water seamless pattern, onto Photoshop’s workspace, ready to use.
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
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Open your road and river images onto Photoshop’s workspace.
Tip: Hover your cursor over the river image’s top-right menu, and drag it, diagonally upwards, to display its grey workspace.
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To (temporarily) save the river seamless tile to Photoshop’s Patterns library, activate the tile, then from the top menu, choose Edit then choose Define Pattern. In the subsequent Pattern Name dialogue box, accept the name already there, or clear the Name tab and add your own, then click OK.
This installs your new water pattern into Photoshop’s Pattern library ready to use later. However, please note, for a pattern to tile seamlessly, you must convert it to a seamless tile prior to installing it into Photoshop’s Pattern library. I have already converted the water tile. Permanently save patterns tutorial here!
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From the top menu, choose Layer then choose New then choose Layer from Background. In the subsequent New Layer dialogue box, accept the default settings, then click OK. Your river image’s layer will change from Background, to Layer 0.
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Now, activate the Polygonal Lasso Tool. 
And set the following attributes.
Tip
To zoom in, from the top menu choose View then choose Zoom In.
You are looking to click-and-stretch a lasso line around the road’s outline - with the aim of isolating it with a selection marquee. Therefore, hover your cursor over the left-side of the road, as illustrated below.
Then left-click the mouse button. Now, in a clockwise direction, stretch a short lasso line around the outside of the road; (illustrated below-left), then release your mouse button. Now, continue to stretch-and-click a lasso line, completely around the outside of the road.
 
Don’t forget the tiny area of road on the right-side.
After you have followed the road in a complete circuit, pass your cursor over the exact point where you began, then double-left-click.
The lasso line will immediately change to a selection marquee, as illustrated below.
Tip - retracing your steps
Whilst you are stretching the line - and before the marquee is applied, to go back one step, press either, the Delete or the Backspace key of your keyboard - press your chosen key for however many steps you want to go back - this is for Window PC users.
Mac Keyboard Shortcuts (Opens An External PDF Page) Here - and Here.
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From the top menu, choose Select then choose Modify then choose Smooth. In the subsequent Smooth Selection dialogue box, enter a Sample Radius of 2 (Pixels), then click OK.
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Now, from your keyboard, press the Delete button. Alternatively, from the top menu, choose Edit then choose Clear.
The road will then be deleted - leaving the following chessboard transparency.
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From the top menu, choose Layer then choose New Fill Layer, then choose Pattern. In the subsequent New Layer dialogue box, click OK.
You will immediately see the following Pattern Fill dialogue box.
Click open your Patterns library, as circled above, then scroll the library, locate your water tile, and double-left-click to set it. The water pattern will immediately fill the empty road, creating a river effect.
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To smooth rough edges between the water’s edge and the river bank; from the toolbar, activate the Blur Tool.
And set the following attributes.
Now, carefully smooth away the hard edges.
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To finish, from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image, and press Ctrl then D to remove the marquee. Finally, link Here to save your work.
Wendi E M Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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