How to open shapes in Photoshop. How to draw curves with a pen in Photoshop
In the vast majority of cases, you will be drawing vector shapes. Unlike pixel shapes, vector shapes are flexible, scalable and independent of image resolution, which means we can set them to any size we want, edit and scale them as much as we need without losing quality, and even print them in any format. size also without loss of quality!
Whether they're shown on screen or in print, the edges of vector shapes always remain crisp and clear.
To make sure you're drawing vector shapes rather than paths or pixels, select the Shape option from the Tool Mode Views in the Options Bar:
Selecting the Shape option from the Options Bar
Filling a shape with color
The next action that we usually perform after selecting the "Shape" option is to select the color to fill the shape, in Photoshop versions CS6 and higher, this is done by clicking on the “Fill” field in the options bar:
Click on the button in the options bar to open the shape fill properties dialog box.
This action opens a window that allows us to select one of four in various ways form, each of which is represented by one of four icons located along the top of the window. The purpose of the icons, starting from the left edge:
- No color(No Color) - white rectangle with a red diagonal line, no fill
- pure color(Solid Color) - fill with solid color
- Gradient(Gradient) - fill with a gradient
- Pattern(Pattern) - fill with a Photoshop pattern (pattern)
Various mold filling methods
No Color
As the name suggests, selecting this option will leave the shape with no fill, with empty pixels inside. What is it for? Well, in some cases you may only need the circuit itself. Also, often you only need a stroke with transparent pixels inside.
Below is a simple example of what a form looks like without a color fill. All we see is the main outline of the form, which is called “Path”. The outline only appears in the Photoshop document, so if you save your work as a JPEG or PNG, or print it, the outline will not be visible. To make it visible, we must add a stroke to it, which we will look at how to add next:
Rectangle shape without fill or stroke.
Solid Color
To fill your form with a solid color, select the Solid Color option, second icon from the left:
Option "Solid Color" to fill the shape with a solid solid color
With the option active, select a color for the shape by clicking on one of the color swatches. Colors you've recently used in Photoshop will appear above the main swatches:
Select a color by clicking on the swatch.
If the color you need is not among the samples presented, click on the “Color Picker” icon located in the upper right corner of the window:
Click on the Color Picker icon to select your own color.
A color picker dialog box will open, select a color from it and click OK to close the Color Picker after selecting the color you want.
As you can see in the figure below, after these actions we have the same form, only now the form has a color:
A figure filled with color.
Gradient fill
To fill your shape with a gradient, select the Gradient option. Then click on one of the thumbnails to choose a preset gradient, or use the gradient strip thumbnail below to create your own gradient variation.
Select a ready-made one or create your own gradient to fill the shape.
Here's the same shape, only now it's filled with a gradient:
A shape filled with one of Photoshop's preset gradients.
Filling with a pattern (Patterns)
Finally, the pattern fill option allows us to fill the shape with one of Photoshop's preset patterns.
Click on one of the thumbnails to select a pattern. There are not many pattern options preinstalled in Photoshop; selecting, loading, and installing a fill pattern is described in detail.
Below is the same shape, this time filled with a pattern:
The same shape, only this time filled with a standard Photoshop pattern.
If you're not sure what color, gradient or pattern your body needs yet, don't worry. As we'll see later, you can always come back to edit the shape later and change the fill type.
Add a stroke to a vector shape
This option has been available in Photoshop since CS6. By default, Photoshop won't add a stroke to the edges of the shape, but adding one is as easy as adding a color fill.
To add a stroke, click on the appropriate option in the options bar:
Option to add a stroke.
This opens a window with options where we can choose the stroke color, as well as set many other options.
At the top of the window we have the same four icons for choosing the fill type for the stroke line, these are No Color, Solid Color, Gradient and Pattern. The default option is No Color. I'll select the Solid Color type. Select and assign a stroke color in exactly the same way as a fill color, as described above.
Changing stroke thickness
To change the stroke thickness, use the input box located directly to the right of the color swatch rectangle in the Options Bar. By default, the thickness is set to 3 pt. But you can specify other units of measurement if you click on this input field with the right mouse button, a drop-down list of units of measurement will open. I almost always select pixels:
Change the stroke width and units.
Align Edges Option
To the right of all the others, in the options bar there is the "Align Edges" option. When you enable this feature (it's on by default), Photoshop will align the position of the stroke edges with the pixel grid, resulting in a sharper image.
The option will be active only if the stroke unit is pixels.
Additional stroke options
By default, Photoshop draws the stroke as a solid line, but we can change this by clicking the Stroke Options button in the Options Bar:
Button in the window for selecting additional properties - selecting a stroke - solid, dotted, dotted, etc.
This opens the Stroke Options window. In this window we can change the line type from solid to dotted or dotted. In addition, there are three additional options strokes:
Advanced Stroke Options Dialog Box
Option "Align"(Align) allows us to choose whether the stroke will be located inside the path, outside or in the middle.
Next option "Ends"(Caps) only works if we have selected a dotted stroke. We can change the appearance of the ends of the segments.
- the stroke ends at the boundary of its given length and the end has a rectangular shape
- the end has a semicircular shape and protrudes half the width beyond the border of a given stroke length on each side
- the end is rectangular and protrudes half the width beyond the specified stroke length on each side
"Angles"(Corners) allow you to change the appearance of the corner at the junction of the stroke lines. Coals can be sharp (default), rounded, or beveled. This option works if the stroke is located outside or in the middle of the path. If the stroke is inside the path, the corners always remain sharp.
Clicking on the button at the bottom of the "More Options..." window opens another window where we can set the length of strokes and breaks between strokes. Here's an example of a rectangular shape with a fill and a dashed stroke with different stroke lengths:
A stroke within a shape that uses two types of strokes—line and dot.
Drawing a cloud with a pen
A simple drawing lesson. How to draw anything with a tool Pen Tool(Feather). The tool is universal, it can do a lot, but non-professionals rarely use it. Why? They think it is difficult to learn how to use the Pen tool in Photoshop. Nothing complicated. Try this tutorial as an example.
How to draw a simple figure with a pen - a cloud or a small cloud? Or any other figure consisting of several curved segments. The easiest way is to create a simple and primitive rectilinear contour, and then “bend” its segments as needed.
Take the Pen Tool, click the Paths button on the Options Bar to draw a path without a fill, and draw a shape like this by simply clicking in the right places pen:
The Path Selection Tool and Direct Selection Tool arrows, located on the toolbar immediately below the pen, allow you to move the path or its individual nodes. Use these arrows for editing if the outline you created is not entirely successful.
It doesn't look much like a cloud. Select the Add Anchop Point Tool from the Pen tool group and place an additional anchor point in the middle of a straight line.
In order for the straight line to bend, you need to pull it outward by the middle, that is, by this additional point that we installed. Two guides extend from this point. If they are very short, the arc will bend steeply. To change the shape of the arc, grab the tip of the guide and stretch it. For the arc to be symmetrical, the guides must be the same length and located at the same angle to it.
Convert all straight segments into arcs as in the figure.
The result is a contour resembling a cloud. But a figure drawn in this way is not an image, but only a pattern that can be used to create an image. The outline is invisible in the picture. The created outline of the cloud can be filled with color or texture, or outlined with a pencil or brush.
Select white from the Photoshop toolbar.
Right-click anywhere on or near the outline. A context menu for working with the contour will open.
From this menu, select Fill Path. In the dialog box that opens, you can select the foreground or background fill color, Feather Radius, and layer overlay mode.
Here is the result - a nice white cloud is drawn:
What if the cloud should not be white, and you only need to draw the outline of the cloud? Undo the last action - filling the outline: History palette (History), one step back.
Select and customize the Pencil tool. In the Options Bar, set its thickness to 2 or 4 pixels.
Right-click to bring up the context menu for working with the path. Select Stroke Path from the menu.
In the window that opens, select the Pencil tool.
Click OK and get the result - the outline of the cloud outlined in pencil.
You can also use other tools for outlining, such as a brush. Each tool must be pre-configured.
Undo the last action - pencil stroke: History palette (History), one step back. On the toolbar, select the Brush tool and give it the following parameters:
Right-click to bring up the context menu for working with the path. In the menu, select Stroke Path (Stroke) and in the dialog box, instead of Pencil (Pencil), set Brush (Brush)
You will get this result:
If during the learning process you created a small masterpiece and want to save it for future use, then again right-click the context menu for working with the contour and select Define Custom Shape.
In the window that opens, enter a name for the shape and OK.
In the future, you will find your cloud in the section of ready-made vector shapes free form and you can use it whenever you need it.
In this lesson we will look at everything related to creating arbitrary shapes in Photoshop and then working with them. Since there is quite a lot of material, we will divide it into two parts. In the first part, we will learn how to create a shape, define it as a custom shape, and then display it on the screen and use it as needed. In Part 2, we'll look at how to combine different shapes into separate sets of shapes and save them in the program.
The idea to create this tutorial came to me while I was looking through a scrapbooking magazine with numerous pages containing ready-made templates simple figures. These figures were grouped under various themes and were absurdly expensive. I then thought, “Hey, you can create all these shapes yourself in Photoshop and for free!” Plus, you don't have to be into scrapbooking to benefit from creating your own custom shapes.
First of all, you can just have fun while creating shapes! And if you create a lot various figures and combine them into a separate set, it will be even more interesting. Secondly, you can use arbitrary shapes as a decorative element when designing drawings or even in design. Thirdly, you can combine a custom shape with a vector mask and get a fun photo frame. But before we start using custom shapes, let's learn how to create them!
Before starting to master the material, I will allow myself one more digression. Creating freeform shapes requires using the Pen Tool. You can create shapes using the basic Shapes tools, such as Rectangle or Ellipse, but if you don't want to limit yourself to creating shapes a certain shape, resembling boxes or bicycle tires, you'll need to use the Pen Tool. We looked at the Pen Tool in more detail in our How to Make Selections with the Pen Tool tutorial, so in this lesson We will touch upon this topic only lightly. If you are not familiar with the basic properties of the Pen tool, read our tutorial on using this tool first.
In this lesson we will create arbitrary shapes by first tracing an object in the image. If you know how to draw, great - then you can easily draw a figure by hand without outlining the object, since when creating an arbitrary figure, it does not matter how you draw it - using a stroke or by hand. For me, I prefer to outline the subject (because artistic abilities I don’t have it), so in this lesson we will do just that.
I'm going to make a freeform shape out of this cute Gingerbread Man:
Gingerbread Man
Let's start!
Step 1: Select the Pen Tool
As I mentioned, you can create freeform shapes using the basic Shapes tools, such as Rectangle or Ellipse, but if you try to trace our Gingerbread Man with these tools, he will most likely remain in best case scenario without a head (sorry for the slight irony). What we really need is the Pen Tool, so select it from the Tools panel:
Selecting the Pen Tool
You can also select the Pen tool by pressing the P key.
Step 2: Select the “Shape Layer” option in the Options Bar
With the Pen tool selected, let's take a look at the settings panel at the top of the screen. On the left side of the panel you will see a group of three icons:
Three icons in the Options bar that allow us to choose how to use the Pen tool
These icons show us what we can do with the Pen Tool. Icon on the right in this moment looks shaded. It is available to us only when we work with the main tools of the “Shapes” group (the “Pen” tool and the tools of the “Shapes” group have almost the same options in the settings panel). As we went through in the lesson “How to make selections using the Pen tool”, the icon in the middle is used when we want to draw outlines, but at the moment we do not need it. We want to use the Pen tool to draw a shape, and to do this we need to select the icon on the left, which is responsible for the Shape Layers option:
To draw shapes using the Pen tool, select the Shape Layer option.
The Shape Layer option is selected by default whenever you use the Pen Tool, so you may not have to set it yourself. But it's still a good idea if you check and make sure this option is selected before you start drawing the shape.
I should point out that there is no difference between drawing paths and drawing shapes with the Pen Tool. In both cases, you click in the document window to set reference points, then move the guide lines as needed to create straight or curved sections (again, if you're not familiar with these concepts, check out our How to Make Selections with the Pen Tool tutorial). In fact, whether you "officially" draw shapes or outlines, you are drawing outlines anyway. The difference is that when drawing shapes Photoshop program fills the outline with color already during the drawing process, which allows us to see the figure.
Oddly enough, this property will make our work a little more difficult. We'll look at why further.
Step 3: Start Drawing the Shape
Once we've selected the Pen Tool and the Shape Layer option in the Options Bar, we can start tracing the image. I want to start tracing the Gingerbread Man's head. To do this, I'll click to set the anchor points and start moving the guide lines to create a curved section of the stroke around the Man's head. In the picture below you can see the anchor points and guide lines, but there is a problem. Photoshop fills the outline of the figure with a background color (black in my case) as it strokes, preventing us from seeing the Man's head:
The program fills the outline with the background color as we draw, preventing us from seeing the image
In order for the program not to hide the image itself during the tracing process, we just need to go to the layers panel and reduce the opacity of the shape layer. At this point in the Layers panel, you can see that we have two layers - a bottom layer of Background (Background), which contains the image of the Gingerbread Man, and a top layer of a shape called “Shape 1” (Shape 1). I can tell with confidence that the shape layer is currently selected because it's highlighted in blue, so to reduce its opacity, we just need to select the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers panel and reduce its value. In my case, I'll lower the opacity to 50%:
Reduce the opacity of the shape layer using the Opacity option in the upper right corner of the Layers panel
After reducing the opacity of the figure layer, the Man's head is visible through the background new color filling, as a result of which it will become much easier for us to do further strokes:
After reducing the opacity of a shape layer, the image is visible through the background fill color
Step 5: Continue tracing the image
Now that the Gingerbread Man is visible through the shape's fill color, I can continue tracing the image with the Pen Tool until I return to the beginning of the stroke:
The outline of the figure is completely finished
If we look at the shape layer in the Layers panel, we can see that a distinct Gingerbread Man shape has appeared on it:
The figure of our Man is now clearly visible in the layers panel.
Everything has been fine with us so far. We outlined the Gingerbread Man figure, and in some cases this would be enough. In my case, however, the outlined figure requires some work. At the very least, I think we need to include the eyes and mouth in the outlined silhouette, as well as perhaps a bow tie and two large buttons underneath. How do we add these details to the outlined shape? Very simple! We will not add them - we will remove (or subtract) these details from the figure!
Step 6: Select the Ellipse Tool
Let's start with the eyes. If we wished, we could select the eyes using the Pen tool, but since the Man's eyes are round, we will select them more the easy way using the Ellipse Tool. Select the Ellipse tool from the toolbar. By default, this tool is hidden behind the Rectangle Tool, so click on the Rectangle Tool and hold down the mouse button for a few seconds, which will cause a pop-up menu to appear on the screen where you can select the Ellipse Tool:
Click on the "Rectangle" tool in the toolbar, then hold down the mouse button until a pop-up menu appears on the screen, where we select the "Ellipse" tool.
Step 7: Select the “Subtract from Shape Area” option
With the Ellipse tool selected, look in the Options panel where you will see several icons grouped together that look like little squares that are connected to each other in various ways. These icons allow us to perform various actions with shapes, such as adding a shape to an area, subtracting a separate area from it, and intersecting the areas of several shapes. Click on the third icon from the left, which is responsible for the “Subtract from shape area” parameter:
On the settings panel, click on the “Subtract from shape area” option icon:
Step 8: Draw individual shapes to extract them from the outlined silhouette
Now that we've selected the Subtract from Shape Area option, we can start adding detail to our shape by removing individual areas. I'll start transforming the figure by drawing an oval around the left eye:
Draw an oval around the left eye while holding down the mouse button
When I release the mouse button, the oval area around the eye immediately disappears or is “cut out” from the outline of the main shape, leaving behind a hole through which the left eye of the Man can be seen in the original image placed on the bottom “Background” layer:
The left eye is now "cut" out of the original outline of the figure, resulting in the eye being visible in the original image below the outlined silhouette.
I'll do the same with the right eye. To start, I'll draw an oval around the eye:
Draw an oval around the right eye
As soon as I release the mouse button, a second round hole will appear, through which the Man's eye in the original image will also be visible:
A second hole has appeared on the figure, through which the Man’s eye is visible.
Since the two buttons underneath the bow tie are also round in shape, I'll use the Ellipse Tool again to remove them from the outlined shape. To start, I'll draw an oval around the top button:
Draw an oval around the top button
When I release the mouse button, the oval area around the button immediately disappears from the outlined shape, leaving behind a hole through which the button can be seen in the image below:
There is a hole in the figure through which the top button is visible
Now I'll do the same for the bottom button, starting by drawing an oval around it:
Draw an oval around the bottom button
When I release the mouse button, a fourth hole appears in the outlined silhouette:
Both buttons are now cut from the outlined shape
If I look at the shape layer thumbnail in the Layers panel right now, I can see two holes for the eyes and two holes for the buttons that I cut out from the outlined shape:
The shape layer thumbnail shows us the holes for the eyes and buttons cut out of the outlined shape
Step 9: Extract the remaining details from the outlined silhouette using the Pen Tool
I'm going to switch to the Pen Tool again because I need to add some detail to the outlined shape that I can't select with the Ellipse Tool.
I want to add a mouth to the outlined silhouette, as well as a bow tie. Since the Subtract from Shape Area option is already checked when I select the Pen Tool again in the Options Bar, I'll just start tracing the mouth and bow tie to "cut" them out of the outlined Gingerbread Man silhouette.
In the image below you can see the stroke lines along with the original Gingerbread Man image peeking through the holes I created:
Both the mouth and bow tie are now cut out from the outlined Gingerbread Man shape using the Pen Tool.
Let's finish drawing the Gingerbread Man figure by cutting out wavy trails of powdered sugar on his legs and arms. Again, I'll use the Pen tool to create the tracks. First, I'll trace a trail of powdered sugar on the Man's left arm, causing it to be cut out from the original outline of the shape:
Using the Pen tool, cut out a trail of powdered sugar on the Man's left hand.
After outlining the first track, I'll move on to the remaining three and start tracing them until all four tracks of powdered sugar have been cut out of the Man figure:
The tracks of powdered sugar on the legs and arms are now cut out from the outlined silhouette
If we look again at the shape layer thumbnail in the Layers panel, we can clearly see the powdered sugar trails, eyes, mouth, bow tie, and buttons cut out of the shape:
The shape layer thumbnail in the Layers panel reflects all the details that were cut from the original outline of the Gingerbread Man shape
So, the Gingerbread Man figure is ready! We used the Pen tool to make an initial stroke of the shape, and then we used the Pen and Ellipse tools along with the Subtract from Shape Area option to add fine detail to the shape.
Step 10: Increase the Opacity of the Shape Layer to 100%
Once we've outlined individual areas of our shape, we no longer need to see the original image underneath the outlined silhouette, so we'll again select the Opacity option in the upper right corner of the Layers panel and increase the value to 100%:
Increase the opacity of the shape layer to 100%
I'm also going to temporarily hide the Background layer from view by clicking on the layer's visibility icon (the icon that looks like eyeball) so that we can only see the outlined figure on transparent background. If you don't want to, you can leave the background layer unhidden. I do this only for the convenience of viewing the figure:
Click on the layer visibility icon to temporarily hide the background layer from view.
And here's what the Gingerbread Man shape I created looks like after hiding the background layer from view and increasing the shape layer's opacity to 100%:
The finished Gingerbread Man figure placed on a transparent background
After many steps, we finally created our figure! But this is not the end. Now we need to make an arbitrary figure out of it, and that’s what we’ll do next.
Step 11: Define the shape as a freeform shape
To turn a shape into a custom shape, first make sure the shape layer is selected in the Layers panel. You'll also want to make sure the shape layer preview thumbnail is selected. If it is selected, it will be surrounded by a white highlighted frame and you will be able to see the outlined outline around the shape in the document. If the layer thumbnail doesn't have a highlighted border and you can't see the outline around the shape, simply click on the layer thumbnail to select it:
If necessary, click on the shape layer thumbnail to select it
Note: If you ever need to hide the outline of your shape, simply click on the layer thumbnail again to deselect it
After selecting the shape layer and selecting the layer thumbnail, go to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and select Define Custom Shape:
Select “Editing” > “Define Free Shape”
This action will open the Shape Name dialog box, where you will need to enter a name for your shape. I'll name my figure "Gingerbread Man":
Enter a name for your shape in the appropriate section of the Shape Name dialog box.
Click OK to exit the dialog box when the name is entered, and that's it - your custom shape is ready to use! At this point, you can close the document in Photoshop since we have created and saved our shape. Now let's look at where you can find it and how you can use it!
Step 12: Create a New Document in Photoshop
Create a new one blank document in Photoshop by going to the File menu at the top of the screen and selecting New. This action will open the New Document dialog box, where you can specify any image size for your document. In the “Preset” line I will select the size 640x480 pixels:
Create a new blank document in Photoshop
Step 13: Select the Free Shape Tool
Having created a new empty document, select the Free Shape tool from the toolbar. By default, the Rectangle Tool is displayed on the screen, so click on it and hold the mouse button down for a few seconds until a pop-up menu appears with a list of other tools, where you can select the Custom Shape Tool Shape Tool):
Click and hold the Rectangle Tool icon, then select the Free Shape Tool from the menu that appears.
Step 14: Selecting our custom shape
Having selected the “Freeform Shape” tool, right-click in the document window, as a result of which a shape selection window will appear, where you can select any of the currently available freeform shapes. The shape you just created will be the last one in the list of shapes. To select it, simply click on the corresponding figure thumbnail:
Right-click in the document window to open the shape selection window, then click on the thumbnail of a custom shape to select it
Step 15: Drawing Our Shape
After selecting an arbitrary shape, simply click the mouse in the document window and, while holding the mouse button pressed, draw the shape. To maintain the proportions of the shape as you move the cursor and not accidentally distort them, press and hold the Shift key. You can also press and hold Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) to draw the shape from the center. If you want to change the location of a shape while you're drawing it, press and hold the Spacebar, then move the shape to a new location, then release the Spacebar and continue drawing the shape.
During the drawing process, you will only see a thin outline of the future figure:
As you draw the shape, a thin outline will appear.
When you are satisfied with the location and size of the shape, simply release the mouse button and the program will immediately fill the shape with the color that is currently the background (in my case, it is black):
Release the mouse button and Photoshop will fill the shape with color
Step 16: Double-click on the shape layer thumbnail to change the shape color
Don't worry about the color of your shape as you draw it and add it to your document. The program will automatically fill the shape with the color that is currently selected as the background color. If you then want to change the color of the shape, just double-click on the shape layer thumbnail. It is by the layer thumbnail, and not by the shape preview thumbnail located on the right side (which is formally called the vector mask thumbnail). You want a thumbnail on the left side that looks like a color swatch icon with a little slider at the bottom. Double-click on it with the mouse button to change the color of the shape:
Double-click on the shape layer thumbnail (color swatch icon) located on the left to change the shape color
This action will open the color picker where you can choose a new color for your shape. For my Gingerbread Man I want to choose brown color:
To select a new color, use the color picker
Click OK to exit the color picker once you've selected a color, and your shape will immediately fill with the new color:
The color of the figure has now changed
You can change the color of your figure as many times as you want, whenever you need to!
Step 17: If necessary, change the size of the shape using the “Free Transform” command
When working with shapes, you can change more than just the color. The big advantage is that drawing shapes uses vectors instead of pixels, so you can easily resize the shapes whenever you want without losing image quality! If you decide you want to make your shape bigger or smaller, simply select the shape layer in the Layers panel and then press Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) to open the Transform frame. Resize the shape by dragging any of the corner handles. Press and hold the Shift key while moving the handle to maintain the shape's proportions. You can also press and hold Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) while moving the handle to resize the shape from its center:
Resize a shape using the Free Transform frame
To rotate a shape, simply click the mouse outside the free transformation frame and move the cursor in the desired direction:
Click outside the transformation frame and move the cursor to rotate the shape
Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you're done resizing the shape to confirm your final transformation.
You can add as many copies of your custom shape to your document as you want, changing the color, size, and location of the shape each time you want. Each copy of the custom shape will be placed on a separate shape layer in the Layers panel. In my case, I added several Gingerbread Man shapes to the document, each of which had its own color, size and rotation angle. Please note that regardless of their size, all figures retain sharp, clear angles:
Add as many copies of your custom shape to your document as you wish, changing the color, size and rotation angle of each of them
And now we're done! First, we created the shape by tracing the original drawing using the Pen Tool. We “cut out” small details on our shape using the Pen and Ellipse tools with the “Subtract from Shape Area” option set. Next, we saved our shape as a custom shape using the Define Free Shape option in the Edit menu section. After that, we created a new document, selected the Free Shape tool, and drew a freeform shape in our document. And finally, we looked at how you can change the color, size and angle of any shape at any time!
So, we have learned the basics of creating and using freeform shapes in Photoshop, i.e. studied the first part of our lesson. In the second part, we will look at how to combine the arbitrary shapes we created into separate sets and save them in the program.
Translation: Ksenia Rudenko
In Photoshop there is interesting tool — "Free figure". In practice, this tool is rarely used, but it still has a number of interesting features. In this lesson you will get acquainted with arbitrary shapes, and also learn how to independently add your own sets of such shapes in Photoshop.
There is a group of similar tools on the toolbar (shortcut U). These include: rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, polygon, line and arbitrary figure.
There is a window on the attributes panel where you can select a shape from among the standard ones. To do this, click on the small arrow to the right of the thumbnail. Look at the screenshots:
What is a free figure?
She represents herself vector image, which means it has no size restrictions. Therefore, it can be stretched as much as you like without losing quality.
The shape does not have its own color (other than the one we choose before creating), volume, shadows, border strokes, or anything else. In this way, it resembles a brush, where you set the color yourself, everything else will have to be painted on your own.
How to use?
To draw a custom shape, select it from the drop-down list, then left-click in your open document and move the mouse to the side. You will see that the outline of the future figure has appeared. By moving the mouse in different angles and directions, you adjust its size and shape, i.e. it can be wide or narrow. Don't forget to first choose the color you want and then paint.
Hold down the Shift key to draw the figure perfectly straight, without distortion in any direction.
How to install your shapes in Photoshop?
You can install a set of figures into your program yourself. The same principles apply here as, for example, with or. To install them, first, download a set of figures to your computer. Such sets have the extension csh.
After that, open the shapes menu. You will see these 4 commands:
Selecting "Load...", a dialog box will open in which you need to specify the path to the file with the extension csh, for example like this:
This set will automatically be added to the end of the list of all shapes. Let's say you had a set with animals on the list, and you loaded arrows. The result is a list consisting of animals and arrows.
Selecting "Replace...", everything will be the same, except that new figures will not appear at the end of the list, but will completely replace those that already exist. For example, you initially had sets with animals and arrows loaded in the list, and you decided to open with a replacement set of ornaments. As a result, only ornaments will be on the list.
And if you have loaded several sets, delete any individual figures using the command "Delete…", in general, if you have made a set for yourself, you can save it with the command "Save custom...". In the future it will be possible to download it in the same form or transfer it to someone via the Internet.
Last command "Restore arbitrary..." allows you to return everything to default.
Please note that in the same menu there is huge list: Animals, Arrows, Nature, Objects, etc. These are standard sets that were kindly provided to us by the Photoshop developers.
Second installation method with additional benefit
Free shapes You can also install directly in system files Photoshop.
This is a little more difficult to do, but the main advantage of this method is that your set will appear in the list that I described above (Animals, Arrows, Nature, Objects, etc.). If you intend to use this tool often, then this installation method will reduce time, and you will be able to select the desired set in two clicks.
To do this, you need to copy the file with the extension csh to the photoshop system folder "Custom Shapes", usually her address is like this: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS5\Presets\Custom Shapes.
If you notice an error in the text, select it and press Ctrl + Enter. Thank you!
It's good to have tools in the program that allow you to draw circles and squares, but what if we need to draw a more complex shape? What if we wanted to add a heart to a wedding photo or invitation, or draw a dog or cat for a pet store logo? How about using flowers, leaves, snowflakes, musical notes, or a copyright icon in your drawings?
In fact, Photoshop works with all of these shapes and more and allows us to add them to an image with the same ease that we added circles and squares. In the program, all these more complex shapes are called custom shapes, and we can draw them using the Custom Shape Tool, which we will learn about in this tutorial.
Free Shape Tool
The Free Shape tool is located on the toolbar in the same section as the other tools in the Shapes group. By default, the Rectangle Tool is displayed on the screen, but if you click on it and hold the mouse button down for a few seconds, a pop-up menu will appear with a list of other tools that are also available in this section. The Free Shape tool is at the very bottom of the list:
Click and hold the Rectangle Tool icon, then select the Free Shape Tool from the menu that appears.
If you already have one of the Shapes group tools selected, you can quickly switch to the Free Shape tool in the Options panel, where there are six icons representing the Shapes group tools. The Free Shape tool icon is the last one on the right (it looks like a blob):
If you already have another tool in the Shapes group active, you can select the Free Shape tool in the settings panel
Selecting the shape of an arbitrary figure
After selecting the Free Shape tool, we need to decide on the shape of the shape we want to draw. In the Options Bar, to the right of the Free Shape tool icon, a preview window will appear showing a thumbnail of the shape that is currently selected:
The preview window displays the arbitrary shape we have selected
To select a different shape, click on the preview window. This action will open the Custom Shapes palette, which will display all the shapes currently available for selection. In fact, Photoshop works with a much larger number of arbitrary shapes than the limited number that is initially presented in the palette. We'll look at how to load other arbitrary shapes into the palette next:
To open the Custom Shapes palette, click the preview window
To select a shape, simply click on its thumbnail, then click on the button Enter(Win) / Return(Mac) to close the palette. Or double-click on the shape thumbnail, which will select the shape and close the palette itself. I'll select a heart shape:
Select a heart-shaped shape from the "Custom Shapes" palette
Choosing a color for a shape
After choosing the shape of the figure, you need to choose a color for it. This can be done by clicking on the color swatch icon located to the right of the word “Color” in the settings panel:
Click on the color sample icon to select the desired color for an arbitrary shape
The program will immediately open color palette, where we can select the desired color. Since I decided to draw a heart shape, I will choose the color red. To close the color palette, click OK when you select the color you want:
From the color palette, choose a color for a heart-shaped figure
Selecting the Shape Layer option
As I mentioned in the last tutorial, Photoshop allows us to draw three types of shapes using the Shapes group of tools. We can draw vector shapes that are resolution independent and can be scaled without losing quality (the type of shapes we would draw in Illustrator). We can also draw paths, which are just outlines of shapes, or we can draw pixel shapes, which the program fills in with colored pixels. In most cases, we draw vector shapes, and to be able to do this, we need to select the Shape Layers option in the settings panel. It's the first icon in a group of three icons located toward the left edge of the Settings panel:
To draw vector shapes, select the "Shape Layer" option in the settings panel
To draw a shape, click in the document window to define the starting point and then, while holding down the mouse button, drag the mouse cursor in a direction away from the starting point. As you move the cursor, the program will show you a thin outline of the future figure:
Click to define the starting point and then drag to draw the shape
Release the mouse button to finish drawing the shape, and the program will immediately fill the shape with the color you selected in the settings panel:
Photoshop will fill the shape with color when you release your mouse button
Drawing a figure with correct proportions
Notice that my heart shape looks a little distorted. It is wider and shorter than I expected to see. This happened due to the fact that, by default, Photoshop does not try to maintain the correct proportions (or otherwise aspect ratio) of the figure in the process of depicting it. I'll press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) to undo the action and try to draw the shape again.
To draw a shape with the correct proportions, position the cursor in the document window and, while holding down the mouse button, begin dragging the cursor and drawing the shape as usual. While doing this, press the Shift key and continue to hold it down as you move the cursor. As soon as you press (and hold) the Shift key, you will see that the outline of the shape has the correct proportions:
To draw a shape with the correct proportions, hold down the Shift key while moving the cursor
When you're happy with the size of the shape you've drawn, release the mouse button, and then release the Shift key (make sure you release the Shift key last). The program will fill the shape again with the selected color:
Release the Shift key only after you release the mouse button
I'll press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) again to undo, and then select a different shape by clicking the shape preview box in the Settings panel to open the Shapes palette. This time I'll focus on the image of musical notes:
Click on the musical notes thumbnail to select a shape
In order to draw musical notes, I'll position the cursor in the document window to define the starting point and then, while holding down the mouse button, drag the mouse cursor in a direction away from the starting point. Once I start dragging the cursor, I'll press and hold the Shift key to lock in the correct proportions of the shape and continue drawing the image:
As I move the cursor, I'll hold down the Shift key to keep the shape's proportions correct
I'll then release the mouse button to finish the painting process, and Photoshop will fill the shape with the same color I chose for the previous shape:
The new shape will be filled with the same color as the previous one
Change the fill color of a drawn shape
What if I want my new figure to be a different color from the previous one? I could have just chosen a different color in the settings panel before I painted new figure. However, we can also easily change the color of an already drawn shape. Each new custom shape you draw is placed on its own shape layer in the Layers panel, and each shape layer has its own color swatch icon that represents the shape's current fill color. In order to change the color, you just need to double-click on the color swatch icon:
To change the current shape color, double-click the shape layer color swatch icon
Photoshop will re-open the color palette where we can select a new color. I'll choose purple:
Select a new color for the figure from the color palette
Click OK when you're ready to close the Color Picker, and this will allow Photoshop to change the shape's color for us:
We can change the color of a vector shape at any time
Loading additional shape sets
As I already mentioned, Photoshop works with a much larger number of custom shapes than the limited number that is initially provided to us. We just need to download additional figures into the palette. We can do this by opening the Shapes palette in the Options panel and clicking on the small arrow in the top right corner of the palette:
Click on the small arrow in the upper right corner of the shapes palette
This action will open a menu with various parameters, at the very bottom of which there will be a list additional sets shapes installed in Photoshop. Each of these sets is a collection of figures united by a common theme, for example, “Animals”, “Music”, “Nature”, etc. Some of the sets only appeared in Photoshop CS5 (which is the version I use), but most of the sets are available in any recent version of the program:
All these additional sets of shapes are installed in the program, but they must be loaded into the palette manually
If you know which set of figures you need, you can select it by clicking on the corresponding set name in the list. However, it's easier to load all the shape sets at once. We can do this by selecting the name "All" at the top of the list of sets:
Select the name "All" to load all additional sets of forms
After this, a dialog box will appear and you will need to decide whether to replace the current custom shapes with new ones or add shapes to the existing ones. Select "Append" in the window, which will allow you to save the original shapes and add new ones to them:
To load new shapes when saving the original shapes in the palette, select “Add” (Append)
And now if we open the shapes palette by clicking on the preview window in the settings panel, we will see a variety of new shapes from which we can select the ones we need. I've expanded the shape palette a bit so that more miniatures can be seen. To view all thumbnails of the shapes, use the scroll bar on the right side of the palette:
The Shapes palette is now loaded with all the additional shapes available in Photoshop
Below are some examples of shapes that we can now draw in the program:
The Shapes palette now reflects all the additional shapes available in Photoshop
Despite all the variety of ready-made freeform shapes provided in the program, it may happen that even after downloading all the sets, we will not be able to find the image we need for the special design we are working on. And in this case, Photoshop will be an indispensable assistant for us, because it allows us to create any shape ourselves. To learn how to create, save, and use your own collection of custom shapes, check out our Create Your Own Custom Shapes tutorial!
And now we're done! We looked at how you can use the Free Shape tool to add a complex shape to your document. In the next tutorial, we'll explore the differences between vector shapes, paths, and pixel shapes!
