How to Change Canvas to Black in Photoshop

Each time you open an image in Photoshop, there is a gray canvas area around your images to set a contrast between your work area and non-editable areas. Since its version 4.0, Photoshop has allowed a user to change the color of the work canvas around the image. The option to edit the work canvas to another color, including black, can lend another level of usefulness to Photoshop.

Instructions

1. Click the foreground color swatch, located on the left-hand toolbar, to open Photoshop's color picker tool. Move the color circle down to the lower left-hand corner or enter the color code "000000" to pick black. Click "OK" to set black as the foreground color.

2. Click the Paint Bucket tool on the left-hand toolbar. The Paint Bucket tool is in the "Gradient" sub-menu.

3. Select "Foreground" from the "Fill" drop-down at the top of the Photoshop interface. "Foreground" is the default setting for the Paint Bucket tool.

4. Press and hold the "Shift" key on your computer's keyboard. Click anywhere within the gray canvas area around your image to change the default gray to black.

References

• CreativeTechs Tips: How to Change Photoshop's Canvas Color
• Photoshop CS3: Help Resource Center