The introduction of Ai is not only limited to dedicated ai applications like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion but is also being applied to more established platforms such as Canva to improve the design process with these applications.
Canva has several ai based tools that allow us to edit our images and designs more efficiently. Examples of these ai tools include the text-to-image feature for creating entire images with a text prompt, background removal for getting rid of the background in your photo, and, if you want to get clever, the magic eraser tool for removing single objects from an image.
To use the magic eraser tool in Canva, select the element you want to edit, normally a photo or uploaded image. Go to the Edit Photo menu, and select the magic eraser tool. Use your brush to paint over what you want to remove, and then wait a few seconds for it to work its magic.
While the magic eraser tool is not perfect, it does a fantastic job at removing unwanted elements from your designs and can be adjusted for the best possible results. So how exactly does this all work?
How Does The Magic Eraser Tool Work?
In Canva, you will find a few tools with the prefix Magic in their names, but no spells exist here, only technology so impressive that you could almost mistake it for magic.
The Magic Eraser is an AI-based tool that uses algorithms and learning parameters to understand an image’s structure and the elements contained within it.
Unlike the Background remover tool, which works automatically with just a single button press, the magic eraser tool requires more manual input from the designer.
This is because Canva cannot know precisely what you want to remove without telling it. The BG Remover instructs Canva to identify the main elements of the image, classify everything else as background objects and then remove those background objects from the image.
Magic Eraser wants to know the elements you want to delete; it is both smarter and dumber simultaneously, so let us create an example of the Magic Eraser tool in action.
Above is a photo from the canvas database that we found using the prompt ‘Working In An Office’. In this photo, there are a variety of elements that we can choose to remove if we wish. Two of these elements have been highlighted, the glasses toward the front and the drinking glass towards the back of the table.
To use the Magic Eraser tool, first, left-click on the photo element on your canvas. Then go to the top corner, where you should see the option to edit the photo. Left-click on this button, and it will open up a series of tools that will allow you to begin editing.
These tools are broken up into several categories. The top category allows us to use certain AI-based tools such as the Background Remover, Magic Eraser, and Magic Edit tools.
Left-click and select the Magic Eraser tool, and it will take you to a secondary menu where you can determine the size of the Magic Eraser brush.
The photo will also be fully enlarged so that you consume in on the various elements and use the brush on what you want to delete. In our example, we will brush over the drinking glass and the glasses sitting on the table.
As soon as we release the left mouse button, the tool will begin to work its magic, so it will need to be used for each element separately.
It’s important to note that your brush does not have to be accurate to the pixel. Make sure that the brush fully covers the element you want to delete, and Canva will be intelligent enough to recognize the elements from the backgrounds.
You may need to give allow for some time to calculate this, though. In our example, we had to wait a good 15 seconds while Conifer calculated the area of the image that we had covered. Determining how it would both delete the element and what the element would be replaced with.
You may also notice that the final result will not always be perfect. Canva at this point does a really good job of removing the elements we want to get rid of, but replacing that part of the image is tricky.
In our example, we find a few streaks forming on the table’s surface. You can brush over the streets to see if the magic eraser tool can smooth out the area again. What’s left behind won’t be razor sharp, but depending on the target size of the image, it may not be that noticeable, either.
We also find another limitation of the Magic Eraser when using the tool on the drinking glass. The drinking glass actually creates a reflection on the table. Even if we remove the drinking glass itself, the reflection of the glass will still remain on the surface of the table.
We can then repeat the process for the reading glasses that are sitting on top of some documents. Again, click and drag your brush to paint over the reading glasses and then release the left mouse button for the magic eraser tool to do its work. In our example, this actually does a slightly better job than with the class in the background.
When finished, click the Edit Photo option again in the top corner to confirm your changes.
What If You Want To Undo Changes Made Using Magic Eraser?
If you feel that using the Magic Eraser tool hasn’t given you the desired results, then you will need to know how to undo the changes made using the eraser. Simply select the edited image using the Magic Eraser tool and return to the Magic Eraser tool itself in the menu.
You will notice in the menu that an icon appears in front of the Magic eraser. This indicates that the tool has already been used, and changes have been made to the image. Left Click to go back into the Magic eraser tools, and at the bottom, you will see the button labeled Reset Erasings. Select to reset all the changes that you made using Magic Eraser.
Does Magic Eraser Work With Background Remover?
The Magic Eraser tool and the Background Remover tall work similarly. They remove elements from our image.
So are we able to use both of these tools to further edit any photos within Canva? Due to the fact that these tools require the base information of the image, they cannot be used together.
If you were to use the Magic Eraser tool first and then use the background removal tool, you would get a prompt that warns you that Canva will reset the changes made by using the magic eraser tool before using the background remover.
Does Magic Eraser work with Magic Edit?
But the same reasons listed above with regards to not being able to use the background remove at all with Magic Eraser, we cannot use the magic edit tool with the Magic Eraser either.
Ultimately, each of these AI based tools needs to use the elements of the original image to calculate effectively. So if one tool makes changes to the base image, it makes it impossible for other tools to work effectively.
This is why whenever we choose to use multiple of these AI-based tools, Canvawill always reset the changes made from the previously used one.
Do We Need Canva Pro To Use Magic Eraser?
Much like many other applications, Canva offers a free version and a paid version. There is no trial period for the free version, and you can use it as long as you like. You are just restricted in terms of certain tools.
The free version of Camber does permit you to use 90% of the tools available with the Canvas software and can be used to create a wide variety of different products and designs.
However, certain tools that are not available with the free version of Canva include AI-based tools such as Background Remover, Magic Edit, and Magic Eraser as well.
How Can I Make Magic Eraser More Effective?
Like other AI-based tools, Magic Eraser requires information from an existing image to function effectively. The ability to remove elements from an image depends on the quality of the image itself.
One aspect of an image that can determine Magic Erasers’ effectiveness is resolution. The more pixels there are for an image, the sharper the details, and the sharper the detail is, the easier it is for Canva to divide up the various elements of that image.
Another aspect that can affect the Magic Eraser tool is contrast. If the contrast between light and dark areas is sufficient, it makes it easier for Canva to identify between the two.
The third aspect is color. If an element has a very different color to its backdrop, it becomes much easier to recognize using the AI algorithm.
Going back to the resolution aspect, you can actually use vector-based images which have unlimited resolution, and these can be easier to edit down pixel-based images such as photos.
Does Magic Eraser Work With Uploaded Images?
Our example so far focused on photo images that were taken from Canvas’s own database. However, the effectiveness of the Magic Eraser tool is not limited just to these photos.
You can use the upload feature in the side of the Canva interface to bring in your own photos and images.
These will be treated by Canva in the same way that the photos are from Canvas database. This is even true for images that are not photos. For example, you can upload vector-based images which work really well with the magic edit tool if you want to remove certain aspects of that image.
The aforementioned aspects of images still apply to uploaded ones. If you have an image that has a high resolution or unlimited resolution as well as good contrast and use of colors, the magic edits hall will work much better than a low res, low-contrast photo
Does Magic Eraser Work With Text To Image?
One of the newest tools in Canva is the ability to convert texts to images. Located towards the bottom of the side panel, accessing this section allows us to type in exactly what we want to create, and then Canva will attempt to convert that into an image.
The more description we add, the better the result will be, but while it is a very impressive technology, it is again not perfect.
But can images created by text be edited in the same way that normal photos and images can, considering how other ai tools like background and magic eraser are incompatible with one another?
While these tools perform similar tasks to each other, the text-to-image feature is something completely different. Since we are still using algorithms trained using Canvas’s library of images, the results are editable in the same way.
So even though an image may be generated using artificial intelligence, we can still use the magic eraser tool to delete specific elements from the image.
What Are The Best Use Cases For The Magic Eraser?
When you are working with elements built in Canva itself, you can select those elements and edit them independently in terms of their size, position, scale, color, etc. So the magic eraser tool is not required here at all.
It only works with full images and photos where all of the elements are embedded into the image itself. The magic eraser tool is great if you want to use it to remove objects from personal photos. An example of this may be when you are visiting a historic landmark, and you want to remove the guy in the background who is photobombing the picture.
Another example where the tool is useful is when working with text-generated images, as these are not always going to be accurate and will need some additional tweaking to get right.