What Does the Sponge Tool Do inPhotoshop?

Have you ever wondered what the Sponge Tool does in Photoshop? I mean, it sits there, between the other tools in the toolbar, but you rarely see anyone use it. So if you're curious, let me quickly show you how to use the Sponge Tool in Photoshop—and how to use its more modern alternatives as well!

What You'll Learn in This Photoshop Sponge Tool Tutorial

• What does the Sponge Tool do in Photoshop?


• How to use the Sponge Tool in Photoshop


• What are the alternatives to the Sponge Tool?


• How to achieve the effect of the Sponge Tool non-destructively


• How to remove the colors and keep the values correct

1. How to Use the Sponge Tool in Photoshop

Step 1

Open your image and select the Sponge Tool (O). You can find it next to the Dodge and Burn tools.

Step 2

Select the brush that you want to apply your effect with. Set the Mode to Desaturate. If you want to apply the effect more subtly and precisely, lower the Flow.

Step 3

In the Desaturate mode, the Sponge Tool makes the colors more faded. So paint over the areas that you want to make less vibrant. Every pass will make the effect stronger, until the colors are completely removed from the area.

Step 4

If you use the Saturate mode instead, the effect will be exactly the opposite. So paint over the areas that you want to make more vibrant.

2. What to Use Instead of the Sponge Tool in Photoshop

As you can see, the Sponge Tool is pretty powerful, and you probably can think of multiple uses for it. So why isn't it more popular? The main reason is, it's destructive. Once you edit the photo this way, you can't really adjust the effect or remove it. So let me show you what you can use instead.

Step 1

Create a New Layer over your original photo. Add a Solid Color fill layer. Set it to black.

Step 2

Change the Blend Mode of the layer to Saturation. This will remove the colors from the whole photo completely.

Step 3

Click the Layer Mask of this fill layer, and press Control-I to make it transparent. Then paint on it with white to apply your desaturating effect, the same way as if you were using the Sponge Tool.

As you can see, the process is really similar, except it's more adjustable. For example, you can experiment with the Opacity to regulate the intensity of the colors, or make changes long after you run out of Control-Z's!

Step 4

What about the Saturate mode of the Sponge Tool? There's an alternative for it, too. Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and increase the Saturation.

Step 5

Invert the Layer Mask with Control-I and paint on it with white just as before to apply the effect.

Now you may be wondering, if the Saturation slider goes both ways, why not use it for desaturation as well? The answer is, you can, but the effect will be different than the one created by the Sponge Tool. The Sponge Tool and the desaturating black layer protect the values better—they remove the colors without affecting the brightness.

Good Job!

Now you know what the Sponge Tool does in Photoshop!

After you've spent some time with the Photoshop Sponge Tool, you may also be interested in other Photoshop tools. These tutorials will help you get more familiar with them:

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