In this tutorial, we will look at everything related to creating arbitrary shapes in Photoshop and then working with them. Since there is a lot of material, we will break it into two parts. In the first part, we will learn how to create a shape, define it as an arbitrary shape, and then display it on the screen and use it as needed. In the second part, we will look at how to combine various shapes into separate sets of shapes and save them in the program.
The idea for this tutorial came to me when I was looking through a scrapbooking magazine with numerous pages containing ready-made templates. simple figures. These figures were grouped around various themes and were absurdly expensive. I then thought: “Hey, you can create all these shapes in Photoshop yourself and for free!” Plus, you don't have to be into scrapbooking to benefit from creating your own custom shapes.
Firstly, when creating figures, you can just have fun! And if you create many different shapes and combine them into a separate set, it will be even more interesting. Secondly, you can use arbitrary shapes as a decorative element in the design of drawings or even in design work. Thirdly, you can combine an arbitrary shape with a vector mask and get a funny 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 arbitrary shapes requires the use of the Pen Tool. You can create shapes with basic Shapes tools like the Rectangle or Ellipse, but if you don't want to limit yourself to creating specific shapes that look like boxes or bicycle tires, you'll need to use the Pen tool. We explored the Pen Tool in more detail in our How to Make Selections with the Pen Tool tutorial, so in this lesson We will touch on this topic only briefly. If you are unfamiliar with the basic properties of the Pen Tool, read our lesson on using this tool first.
In this tutorial, we will create arbitrary shapes by first tracing an object in the image. If you can draw, great - then you can easily draw a freehand shape without tracing the subject, because when creating a freehand shape, it doesn't matter how you draw it - with a stroke or freehand. As for me, I prefer to trace the object (because artistic ability do not possess), so in this lesson we will do just that.
I'm going to make a custom shape out of this cute Gingerbread Man:
Gingerbread Man
Let's start!
Step 1: Select the Pen Tool
As I mentioned, you can create arbitrary shapes using the basic Shapes tools such as Rectangle or Ellipse, but if you try to trace our Gingerbread Man with these tools, it will most likely stay in headless at best (sorry for the slight irony). What we really need is the Pen Tool, so let's select it from the Tools panel:
Selecting the pen tool
You can also select the pen tool by pressing the P key.
Step 2: Selecting the "Shape Layer" Option in the Options Bar
With the Pen Tool selected, let's take a look at the Options Bar 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 we want to use the Pen Tool
These icons show us what we can do with the pen tool. Right icon 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 you and I went through in the tutorial How to make selections with the pen tool, the icon in the middle is used when we want to draw paths, but at the moment we do not need it. We want to use the pen tool to draw a shape, and for this we need to select the icon on the left, which is responsible for the Shape Layers parameter:
To draw shapes with the pen tool, select the Shape Layer option
The Shape Layer option is selected by default whenever you access the Pen tool, so you may not need to set it yourself. But it's still a good idea to 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 anchor 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 tutorial on How to Make Selections with the Selection Tool). Feather"). In fact, whether you are "officially" drawing shapes or paths, you are drawing paths anyway. The difference is that when drawing shapes, Photoshop fills the path with color as we draw, allowing us to see the shape.
Oddly enough, but this property will make our work a little more difficult. Why - we will consider 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 with the Gingerbread Man's head. To do this, I'll click to set anchor points and start dragging guide lines to create a curved stroke around the Man's head. In the image below, you can see anchor points and guide lines, but there is a problem. Photoshop fills the shape's outline with the background color (black in my case) during the stroke, preventing us from seeing the Man's head:
The program fills the outline with the background color while drawing, preventing us from seeing the image.
In order for the program not to hide the image itself during the stroke, we just need to go to the layers panel and reduce the opacity of the shape layer. At the moment, in the layers panel, you can see that we have two layers - the bottom background layer (Background), on which the image of the Gingerbread Man is placed, and the top layer of the shape called “Shape 1” (Shape 1). I can tell for sure 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 (Opacity) in the right upper corner layers panel and reduce its value. In my case, I'll lower the opacity to 50%:
Lower the opacity of the shape layer using the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers panel
After lowering the opacity of the shape layer, the Man's head is visible through the background fill color, as a result of which it will be much easier for us to make further strokes:
After lowering the opacity of the 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 fill color of the shape I'm drawing, I can continue tracing the image with the Pen Tool until I'm back at the start 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:
On the layers panel, the figure of our Little Man is now clearly visible.
So far, we've been fine. We have outlined the shape of the Gingerbread Man, and in some cases this would be enough. In my case, however, the outlined figure needs some work. At the very least, I think we need to include the eyes and mouth in the outlined silhouette, and perhaps also 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. Optionally, we could select the eyes with the pen tool, but since they are round on the Little Man, 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 the mouse button down for a few seconds, which will bring up a pop-up menu on the screen where you can select the Ellipse Tool:
Click on the Rectangle tool in the toolbar, then keep the mouse button pressed 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 Bar, where you'll see several icons grouped together like small 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 areas of several shapes. Click on the third icon from the left, which is responsible for the option "Subtract from shape area" (Subtract from shape area):
In the settings panel, click on the option icon "Subtract from shape area":
Step 8: Draw Individual Shapes To Extract Them From The Outlined Silhouette
Now, with the Subtract from Shape Area option selected, we can start adding detail to our shape by deleting individual areas. I'll start transforming the shape 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 will immediately disappear or "cut out" from the stroke of the main shape, leaving behind a hole through which the left eye of the Little Man will be visible in the original image, placed on the lower "Background" layer:
The left eye is now "cut out" from the shape's original stroke, leaving the eye visible in the original image below the outlined silhouette.
I will do the same with the right eye. First, 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 will also be visible in the original image:
A second hole appeared on the figure, through which the Man's eye is visible.
Since the two buttons under the bow tie are also round, I'll use the Ellipse Tool again to remove them from the outlined shape. First, I'll draw an oval around the top button:
Draw an oval around the top button
When I release my mouse button, the oval area around the button will immediately disappear from the outlined shape, leaving behind a hole through which the button will be visible in the image below:
The figure has a hole through which the top button is visible.
And 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 will appear on the outlined silhouette:
Both buttons are now cut out of the outlined figure.
If I'm currently looking at the shape's layer thumbnail in the Layers panel, I can see two eye holes and two button holes that I've cut out of the outlined shape:
The shape layer thumbnail shows us the eye and button holes cut from the outlined shape.
Step 9: Extract The Remaining Details From The Outlined Silhouette Using The Pen Tool
I'm going to switch back to the Pen Tool because I need to add a few details to the outlined shape that I can't pick out 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 after reselecting the Pen Tool in the Options Bar, I'll just start tracing the mouth and bow tie to "cut" them out of the outlined Gingerbread Man silhouette.
The image below shows the stroke lines along with the original image of the Gingerbread Man showing through the holes I created:
Both the mouth and bow tie are now cut out of the outlined Gingerbread Man shape with the Pen Tool
Let's finish drawing the Gingerbread Man figure by cutting out wavy lines of powdered sugar on his legs and arms. Again, I'll be using the pen tool to create the tracks. First, I'll trace a path of icing sugar on Man's left arm, causing it to be cut out of the shape's original stroke:
Using the pen tool, cut out a path of icing sugar on the left hand of the Little Man
After outlining the first path, I'll move on to the remaining three and start tracing them until all four tracks of powdered sugar are cut out of the Man figure:
The powdered sugar trails on the legs and arms are now cut out of the outlined silhouette
If we look again at the shape's layer thumbnail in the Layers panel, we can clearly see the lines of powdered sugar, eyes, mouth, bow tie, and buttons cut out of the shape:
The shape layer thumbnail in the Layers panel reflects all the details that are cut from the original stroke of the Gingerbread Man shape.
So, the figure of the Gingerbread Man is ready! We used the Pen tool to make the 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 details to the shape.
Step 10: Increase The Opacity Of The Shape Layer To 100%
After we have stroked certain areas of our shape, we no longer need to see the original image under the outlined silhouette, so we again select the Opacity option (Opacity) in the upper right corner of the layers panel and increase the value to 100%:
Raise 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 (eyeball icon) so that we can only see the outlined shape on the transparent background. If you don't want to, you can choose not to hide the background layer. 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 opacity of the shape layer to 100%:
Finished figure of the Gingerbread Man placed on a transparent background
After numerous actions, we have finally created our figure! But this is not the end. Now we need to make an arbitrary figure out of it, and this is what we will do next.
Step 11: Define the Shape as a Custom Shape
To make a custom shape out of a shape, first make sure the Shape layer is selected in the Layers panel. You also need to make sure that the preview thumbnail of the shape layer is selected. If it is selected, then it will be framed by a white highlighted border and you can 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, just click on the layer thumbnail to select it:
If necessary, click on the thumbnail of the shape layer to select it.
Note: if you ever need to hide the outline of your shape, just click on the layer thumbnail again to deselect it
With the shape layer selected and the layer thumbnail selected, go to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and select Define Custom Shape:
Choose Edit > Define Custom Shape
As a result of this action, the Shape Name dialog box will open, where you will need to enter a name for your shape. I'll name my shape Gingerbread Man:
Enter a name for your shape in the appropriate section of the Shape Name dialog box
Click OK to exit the dialog 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've created and saved our shape. Now let's see where it can be found and how it can be applied!
Step 12: Create a New Document in Photoshop
Create a new blank document in Photoshop by going to the File menu section 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 "Settings" (Preset) line, I will choose a size of 640 × 480 pixels:
Create a new blank document in Photoshop
Step 13: Select The Custom Shape Tool
After creating a new empty document, select the Freeform 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 (Custom shape tool):
Click on the icon of the Rectangle tool and hold down the mouse button, then from the menu that appears, select the Freeform Shape tool
Step 14: Selecting Our Custom Shape
With the Freeform Shape tool selected, right-click in the document window, which will bring up a shape selection box 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 box, then click on the custom shape thumbnail to select it
Step 15: Draw Our Shape
After selecting a custom shape, simply click in the document window and, holding the mouse button down, draw the shape. To maintain the shape's proportions as you move the cursor and not accidentally distort them, press and hold the Shift key. You can also press and hold the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key to draw the shape from the center. If you want to change the location of a shape while drawing it, press and hold the spacebar, then move the shape to a new location, then release the spacebar and continue drawing the shape.
In the process of drawing, you will see only a thin outline of the future figure:
As you draw the figure, its 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 The Shape Layer Thumbnail To Change The Color Of The Shape
You don't have to 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 want to change the color of the shape after that, just double-click on the thumbnail of the shape layer. It is by the layer thumbnail, and not by the preview thumbnail of the shape located with right side(which is formally called a vector mask thumbnail). You want the thumbnail on the left side, which 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 the shape layer thumbnail (color swatch icon) on the left to change the color of the shape
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:
Use the color picker to select a new color
Click OK to exit the Color Picker when you choose a color, and your shape will immediately be filled with the new color:
Shape color has now changed
You can change the color of your shape as many times as you want, whenever you need!
Step 17: Resize The Shape If Needed With The Free Transform Command
When working with shapes, you can change more than just the color. The big advantage is that shapes are drawn using vectors instead of pixels, so you can safely resize shapes whenever you want without losing image quality! If you decide you need 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 box. Resize the shape by dragging any of the corner handles. Press and hold the Shift key while moving the handle to keep the proportions of the shape. You can also press and hold the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key as you move the handle to resize the shape from its center:
Resize a Shape with a Free Transform Box
To rotate a shape, simply click outside the free transform box and move the cursor in the desired direction:
Click outside the transformation frame and move the cursor to rotate the shape
Press the Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) key when you're done resizing the shape to confirm the final transformation.
You can add as many copies of your custom shape to your document as you wish, each time changing the color, size, and location of the shape as desired. 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 with a different color, size, and angle of rotation. Please note that regardless of their size, all shapes retain sharp, clear angles:
Add as many copies of your custom shape to the document as you wish, changing the color, size and angle of rotation of each of them
And here we are! We first created the shape by tracing the original drawing with the pen tool. We cut out the little details on our shape by 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 Custom Shape option under the Edit menu section. After that we created new document, selected the Freeform Shape tool, and drew a freeform shape on our document. And finally, we looked at how you can change the color, size and angle of an arbitrary shape at any time!
So, we have learned the basics of creating and using arbitrary shapes in Photoshop, i.e. learned the first part of our lesson. In the second part, we will look at how to combine the arbitrary shapes we have created into separate sets and save them in the program.
Translation: Ksenia Rudenko
Draw a cloud with a pen
A simple drawing lesson. How to draw anything with the Pen Tool (Pen). The tool is universal, it can do a lot, but non-professionals rarely use it. Why? They find it difficult to learn how to use the Pen Tool in Photoshop. Nothing complicated. Try this tutorial for an example.
How to draw a simple figure with a pen - a cloud or a small cloud? Or any other figure consisting of several curvilinear segments. The easiest way is to create a simple and primitive straight path, and then "curve" its segments as needed.
Take Pen tool (Pen), on the options bar, click the button Paths (Contour) to draw a path without a fill, and draw a shape like this by simply clicking in the right places with a pen:
Arrows Path Selection Tool and Direct Selection Tool, located on the toolbar immediately below the pen, allow you to move the path or its individual nodes. Use these arrows to edit if the path you've created is not entirely successful.
It doesn't look like a cloud. Select the tool Add Anchop Point Tool (Add anchor point) from the group of tools Pen and put down an additional anchor point in the middle of some straight line.
In order for the straight line to bend, you need to pull outward by the middle, that is, by this additional point that we have established. Two guides extend from this point. If they are very short, the arc will bend sharply. To change the shape of the arc, grab the tip of the guide and drag it out. For the arc to be symmetrical, the guides must be the same length and located at the same angle to it.
Turn all straight line segments into arcs as shown.
The result is a contour resembling a cloud. But the figure drawn in this way is not an image, but only a template that can be used to create an image. The outline is invisible in the picture. The created cloud outline can be filled with color or texture, or outlined with a pencil or brush.
Select the foreground color white from the Photoshop toolbar.
Right-click anywhere on or near the path. The context menu for working with the contour will open.
From this menu, choose Fill Path. In the dialog box that opens, you can select the fill color for the foreground or background, the blur radius (Feather Radius) and the layer overlap mode.
Here is the result - a nice white cloud is drawn:
But what if the cloud doesn't have to be white, and you only need to draw the outline of the cloud? Cancel the last action - the fill of the contour: palette History (History), one step back.
Select and customize the Pencil tool. In the Options Bar, set its thickness to 2 or 4 px.
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 tool Pencil (Pencil),
press OK and get the result - a cloud outline outlined in pencil.
You can also use other tools to stroke, such as a brush. Each tool must be pre-configured.
Cancel the last action - a stroke with a pencil: palette History (History), a step back. On the toolbar, select the tool Brush (Brush), set it to 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 the following 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.
Later, you will find your cloud in the freeform vector shapes section and can use it whenever you need it.
Photoshop has interesting tool — "Arbitrary 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, as well as learn how to independently add your own sets of such shapes to Photoshop.
There is a group of homogeneous tools on the toolbar (shortcut U ). These include: rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, polygon, line, and arbitrary figure.
There is a box 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 an arbitrary figure?
She represents herself vector image, and therefore has no size restrictions. Therefore, it can be stretched as much as you like without loss of 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, it resembles a brush, where you set the color yourself, everything else will have to be finished 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 your 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 choose first desired color and then draw.
Hold down the Shift key to draw the shape perfectly even, without distortion in any direction.
How to set up your shapes in photoshop?
You can independently install a set of figures into your program. The same principles work here as, for example, with or. To install them, firstly, download a set with figures to your computer. These sets have an extension csh.
After that, open the shapes menu. You will see these 4 commands:
Selecting "Download...", 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 in 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 the 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 uploaded several sets, deleted any individual shapes using the command "Delete…", in general, you made a set for yourself, then you can save it with the team "Save Arbitrary...". 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 a huge list: Animals, Arrows, Nature, Objects, etc. These are standard sets that Photoshop developers kindly provided to us.
Second installation method with added benefit
Arbitrary shapes can still be installed directly into Photoshop's system files.
It's a little more difficult to do this, 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.). In case you intend to use this tool often, then this installation method will reduce the time, and you can choose desired set in two clicks.
To do this, you need to copy the file with the extension csh in Photoshop's system folder "Custom Shapes", usually her address is: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS5\Presets\Custom Shapes.
Noticed an error in the text - select it and press Ctrl + Enter . Thank you!
The Adobe Photoshop program is widely used for working with images, providing a really wide range of possibilities. Most users use Photoshop for photo retouching, but, in addition, the program allows you to create: drawings, paintings, graphics - of varying degrees of complexity. Photoshop has several tools for creating drawings. First of all, you need to learn how to draw the simplest elements like triangles, lines, ellipses and other things, since they are used very often when creating various kinds of drawings. In this article, we will take a closer look at how to draw the simplest shapes in Photoshop. Let's figure it out. Go!
Learn the basics of computer graphics
After opening Adobe Photoshop, pay attention to the toolbar. To go to the shapes, click on the rectangle icon. In the pop-up window you will see the following tools:
- "Rectangle";
- "Rectangle with rounded corners";
- "Ellipse";
- "Polygon";
- "Line";
- "Arbitrary figure".
The editor offers several classic and freeform shapes
There are three drawing modes in total:
- A new shape is created, for which you can make a fill layer or a vector mask.
- The contour of the figure is created and painted over with some color.
- Pixel mode. In this case, the images are raster, not vector.
For each selected figure, geometric parameters are set, in other words, proportions. To draw a rectangle, select the appropriate tool, set the desired outline settings and fill color. And now just place the cursor at the point on the sheet from which you want to start drawing. Holding down the left mouse button, stretch the rectangle as needed.
There is nothing easier than drawing a line. For this, a tool of the same name is used.
For a circle, use the Shift key or the advanced settings menu
Let's move on to how to draw a circle in Photoshop. Here everything happens in a similar way. Select the Ellipse tool, decide on the color and thickness of the outline. If you want to get a circle, not an ellipse, hold down the "Shift" key on the keyboard or set the "circle" in the geometric parameters section.
We draw a beautiful composition with standard means
Now let's figure out how to draw a triangle in Photoshop. In this case, everything is not so obvious, but it is not at all more complicated. All you need to do is select "Polygons" and in the small "Sides" box, set the number of corners. Accordingly, to get a triangle, enter the number "3". Then everything is done in exactly the same way as in the previous cases. Using the Polygon tool, you can get a shape with any number of corners. If you need to get a right triangle, draw a square, and then cut off half diagonally.
Arrows at the beginning or end can be set in the tool properties
Let's see how to draw an arrow in Photoshop. This can be done in two ways. The first is that you need to select the “Line” tool, then in the options window mark which side of the line the arrow will be on (at the beginning or at the end), then you need to set the thickness of the arrow in pixels. Place the cursor at the desired point and start dragging the line with the mouse. The second way is to select "Custom Shape". On the top panel there is a table with templates, among them there is also an arrow.
Templates that are included in the standard configuration of the application
Now you know how to add simple geometric shapes in Photoshop. As you can see, nothing is easier. Write in the comments whether this article was useful for you and ask any questions you have on the topic discussed.
Hello dear readers of my blog. The easier the task, the more difficult it is to solve in Photoshop. There are a thousand articles about or creating the effect of black eyes, but how to draw a circle, a square or a rhombus - go figure it out! Today I will address this injustice.
You will find a comprehensive article about geometric shapes for Photoshop - how to draw them yourself, what additional tools you can download for a more spectacular result, as well as many other equally interesting and useful information.
We draw ourselves
Adobe Photoshop has several tools that allow you to draw shapes. Here are just some of them hide some secrets. Now I will tell you about them. So, I If you want to learn how to do as in my picture, then I recommend the article, there is nothing easier than doing the same.
So, in the toolbar on the left, you can find a rectangle, an ellipse, a polygon, a line, or an arbitrary shape. You may not see additional tools, but you found one of them, just hold down the left mouse button for a split second or click the right mouse button once. A menu with additional shapes will immediately appear.
First, I'll select a rectangle. As soon as I finish drawing, an additional menu will pop up on the left. Here you can choose the size in width and height, if you need to keep the exact dimensions. A little lower is the menu with the fill of the shape itself - you can choose no fill, solid color, gradient or pattern.
A little to the right is the stroke menu - you need to determine its width and whether it will be present at all, if you want it and make it solid, fill it with a gradient or, again, with a pattern.
To turn a rectangle into a square, you need to hold down the Shift key while drawing the shape.
An ellipse held down by the Shift button turns into a circle.
Also in the list there is such a figure as a polygon. You determine the number of sides yourself. You can enter any value - 3 to make a triangle, 7, 10 and so on.
I will not pay much attention to the lines, this thing is not difficult to figure out on your own. The only thing to be warned is that holding down Shift makes the line strictly vertical or horizontal.
Arbitrary figure
We have an arbitrary figure. What it is?
On the very right side of the top menu, you can see the finished shapes. A variety of arrows, squares, lightning and so on.
To use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T.
How to add new
Adding new figures is not difficult. A lot of free figures can be downloaded from the site photoshop-master.ru . There are about 400 sets with figures - people, patterns, spiders, abstraction, cars, chairs, fire, flowers and much more.
I'll show you how to install them using the example of "Media", they will be useful to me in the future. So I'm downloading the file.
Just wait 15 seconds. No pre-registration is required.
Now open the archive and drop the CSH file somewhere where it can be easily found.
Now open the shapes in Photoshop and click on the nut on the right side. In the list that opens, select "Load Shapes".
Now find the file that was unzipped not so long ago. By the way, after you're done, the file can be deleted from your computer. You won't need it anymore. Everything was copied to the right folder.
You can use shapes. Do not forget about the fill, thanks to which you can change the color of the shapes, as well as the stroke.
In addition to shapes, brushes can also come in handy. They can also be downloaded from the website. Photoshop-master .
You can download the required set in the same way as when working with shapes. Open brushes.
Click on the nut and select "Download".
Work with them yourself. There is nothing complicated here. They are slightly different from the figures.
Google to the rescue
Another way to draw a figure is to use other people's work. You will need Google and its Pictures section. Why exactly you will find out very soon. In order for the figure to have a transparent background and fit harmoniously into your composition, it is required. This is how you need to look: png triangle, circle, oval, and so on.
If you are doing work for yourself, then, in principle, you could use Yandex, but if the project is being created for commercial purposes, then Google will be very useful. Open "Tools", then "Use Rights" and select desired type– use or use and change.
Next, open the picture after you have found something suitable. This is important condition. The drawing should be located on such a square-checkered background. If it's just white, then it's not a png. You will understand the difference when you download. In principle, there is nothing wrong with learning from your mistakes.
This is what the PNG will look like. The checker was filled with my background.
If you want to learn more about the program, I can recommend a course « Photoshop from scratch in video format » . It is suitable for complete beginners. There is a lot of useful information about the tools and in what cases each of them is suitable.
The Internet is full of lessons that you can learn from, but it’s one thing to blindly repeat after the author and it’s quite another to meaningfully achieve a goal, knowing what you have to use for this. This is a completely different level.