Make edges of anti-aliased selection semi-transparent in Photoshop

Question

So I have a path from which I create an anti-aliased selection of that arc-shaped object and paint it a solid color, red in this example. If I then want to change this color (to light gray in example) I get leftovers from red on the edge of selection and to get rid of it I have to paint with the background color over the edge with selection inverted. I should note that both dark-gray and red are on the same layer. I assume Photoshop paints beyond the selection to create an anti-aliased effect. Is there a way to avoid this efficiently while maintaining anti-aliasing?

Answer 1

Change your workflow

The problems you are encountering can effectively be avoided if you start working in a more layered fashion.

I recommend using separate Solid Color layers with Layer masks.

This way you keep color and opacity separated so you can easily change one without affecting the other.