Photoshop shapes can add a whole new dimension to your digital designs.
They’re not difficult to use, and it’s well worth the effort to master
them. Photoshop gives its users access to these shapes directly from
the Tools palette: Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Line
and Custom.
Once you’ve chosen a shape, you don’t need to go back to the Tools
palette to change it to another shape; just select a new one from your
Tool Options bar.
Inside the Tool Options bar, you will also find three options for your shapes, as described below:
1- The “Fill Pixels" option fills your shape with the foreground color (the top color square in your Tools bar).
2- The “Paths" option lets you create a shaped path to work with.
3- The “Shape Layers" option makes a new vector shape layer which, when
selected, allows you to create shapes using “Styles" from the Style
palette.
Your “Custom Shape Picker" offers a collection of shapes you can load. To find it, click on the “Custom" shape.
You can get pretty fancy with this option by combining shapes with your
Style palette. Try adding a custom filled shape to an image, then
clicking on that layer to bring up the Style palette. You can then
blend to your heart’s content, using the precise layer blending modes
inside the Style box, and changing the opacity of the fill.
To create your own shapes, first open a new blank file. Click on the
“Pen" tool icon inside your Tool bar, then click the “Paths" option. To
draw a line for your shape, simply click, then click again at a
different point. To make a curvy line, click, then drag to the second
point.
You can edit your new shape inside your “Direct Selection" tool, by
first clicking on the form to see all the stopping points, or “nodes."
Drag them around to change and perfect your custom shape.
If you need to move the nodes individually, choose the “Convert Point"
tool from your Tools palette, then drag on a handle. This separates the
connection.
To save your new shape so you can use it again, choose the “Direct
Selection" tool, then Edit > Define Custom Shape. A thumbnail will
appear. You can type in the name of your custom shape and then save by
clicking OK.
You can use any of your shapes, custom or preset, to make cutouts of
your photos. Just choose the shape, then the “Paths" option and draw
out the path. Click the “Load Path as Selection icon at the bottom of
the Paths palette; this transforms the path into a selection. Click on
Select > Inverse to invert the selection, then on Delete. This cuts
the selection out of the image just like a cookie cutter.
Photoshops shapes are great for making outstanding collages and web
designs. You’ll find many other entertaining and practical uses for
them too, but a word of warning here: once you get started on Photoshop
shapes, you’ll be hooked for life.
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