Question about . . .

Hello again. Well, I'm still working on learning layers. Layer masks especially. I was using the paintbrush set to black color to erase some of my image using a layer mask the other day, and I was wondering...

What's the difference between using the actual eraser tool rather than using a paintbrush set to black in a layer mask to make items look like they're blended together naturally?

Isn't it basically the same end result? Or does using the layer mask make it look more refined rather than simply erasing with
a regular eraser tool?

Can somebody please clairify this? The difference between using the eraser tool and using a layer mask with black paintbrush in making layers look more natural or naturally merged.

well, when using layer mask.. you're not completely erasing the image ... its temp

so if you made a mistake you just use white to restore...

Using the eraser doesn't make it look any different than using a layer mask. The layer mask simply aids, like Sidefx said, in keeping the pixels hidden in case you need them again. And unlike the eraser, you aren't just limited to the paintbrush to erase with when using a mask. You can use just about every tool available to do it. A gradient fill on a mask achieves results that aren't possible with the eraser tool.