Erasing Question

[ProShooter]

In some tutorials, when people work with a render they often tell you in the tutorial to erase anything unwanted on the render.

So here I am, taking my erasing tool and erasing over the render and my whole render is gone. It just erases in white.

I don't get what this whole erasing thing is?
Can someone tell me how to do it properly and what it is used for.

Thanks

 

[ROB64]

The layer that the render is on is probably locked.
Just hit "Ctrl + J" to duplicate the layer, then delete the original (locked) layer.

 

[ProShooter]

thanks ROB. But what exactly is erasing supposed to do

 

[ROB64]

If the layer is locked, when you erase something in that layer, it changes to the background color. (default BG color is white)
When the layer isn't locked, the background and foreground are transparent, so the layer underneath shows through, or it just becomes transparent.

 

[Gymdawg]

Also, if you're trying to accurately render something the eraser tool is your worst option.
If the background you're trying to remove is a solid color you can use the "Color Range" option (Select > Color Range). On top of that you should start using the pen tool to select details.

You'll get a much better result.