Photoshop Pen tool Description

Pen Tool

1. Functions : 

 

Pen tool : Click on the canvas to create paths with straight segments, click and drag to create paths with Bezier curves.

Freehand Pen tool : Click on the canvas and drag to draw paths freely, as though using a brush.

Add Anchor Point tool : Click on a path segment to add anchor point.

Delete Anchor Point tool : Click on anchor point to remove from path.

Convert Point tool : Click on an anchor point and drag to create bezier handles where there were none, click on an anchor point with handles to a remove them.

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2. Keyboard Shortcuts :

• P : Select Pen tool or Freeform Pen tool, depending on which was selected most recently
  

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3. The Cursors :

         The Pen tool takes on different forms depending on what you’re doing when youre using it. Each one intuitively makes you aware of the action you are about to perform.

(Caps Lock to toggle between pointer and cross hair in some cases)

• Prepared to begin path
  
• while midway through creating or editing a path
  
• When mouse is pressed
  
• Add an anchor point to path
  
• Remove anchor point from path
  
• When hovered over begin point of path; to close path
  
• When hovered over endpoint of existing path; to continue path, or (if path is active) to edit that point
  
• Prepared to convert existing anchor point
  
• Freehand Pen Tool
  
• Magnetic Freehand Pen Tool
  
• Direct Selection Tool; Pen Tool with Command pressed
  
• Path Selection Tool; Pen Tool with Command + Alt pressed
  
• When hovered over canvas with Ctrl pressed; prepared for options menu
  

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4. Secondary Mouse Controls (with path selected and Auto Add/Delete checked) :

1. Pen tool hover over anchor point : changes to Delete anchor point tool
2. Pen tool hover over path segment : changes to Add anchor point tool

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5. Keyboard Controls :

1. Hold Ctrl and click on canvas. Opens up an options menu.
2. Hold Shift to constrain movements to 45°, 90°, 135° or 180° while creating or editing anchor points and handles.
3. Select anchor point with Direct selection tool and click Delete. Anchor and adjoining path segments are deleted leaving two paths.
4. Pen tool + Option (Alt): changes to Convert anchor point tool.
5. Pen tool + Option (Alt) while editing bezier curve: splits curve (unhinges handles).
6. Pen tool + Command whilst creating path: changes to Direct Selection tool allowing repositioning of previously drawn anchor points.

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6. Options :

           The Options Bar (Window > Options), usually located at the top of your screen, provides the most important options for whichever tool is selected. This is also true of the Pen Tools and their options are outlined below:

1. Presets: Allows presets to be saved for whichever tool is selected. Define the options as discussed below and save as a Preset to quickly come back to those settings later.
   
   




2. Shape Layers: while this is selected, paths created will contribute to a shape, visible within the Paths palette and within the Layers palette as a vector mask.
   
   




3. Paths: while this is selected, paths created will contribute to a path, visible within the Paths palette.
   
   




4. Fill Pixels: The third path type option, available while one of the shape tools is selected. While this is selected, paths created will become filled areas.
   
   





5. Pen Tool: Selects the Pen Tool.
   
   





6. Freehand Pen Tool: Selects the Freehand Pen Tool.
   
   





7. Rubber Band: Available from within the Pen Options dropdown while the Pen Tool is selected. Rubber Band gives a visual of the path youre about to create, without you having the cursor pressed on the canvas.
   
   





8. Curve fit: Available from within the Freehand Pen Options dropdown while the Freehand Pen Tool is selected. Value entered determines the accuracy to which bezier handles will be added to your freely drawn path. The higher the value, the more accurate your result will be. A value of between 0.5 and 10 pixels is required.
   
   





9. Magnetic: Available from the Options bar and within the Freehand Pen Options dropdown while the Freehand Pen Tool is selected. When selected, paths drawn will magnetize to pixels. The Magnetic settings as shown below, determine the width of the area the path is prepared to jump across, the contrast of the pixels necessary to attract the path and the frequency of anchor points added to the path.
   
   






10. Pen Pressure: Available from within the Freehand Pen Options dropdown while the Freehand Pen Tool is selected. When selected, the pressure applied to a graphics tablet (if youre using one) influences the pen width.
    
    





11. Auto Add/Delete: Available when the Pen Tool is selected; allows adding and removing of anchor points with the normal Pen Tool (see Secondary Mouse Controls).
    
    





12. Pathfinder Tools: These allow addition, subtraction, intersection and exclusion of the paths you create..
    





13. Layer Style: Available when Shape Layer is selected; this applies layer styles to shapes on a new layer (if chain link is unselected) or to shapes on the current layer (if chain link is selected)..
    
    

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7. Other Shortcuts and Tips :

• (With path selected) Spacebar to give you access to the Hand tool. Move your screen without deselecting the path or changing tools.
• Go to View > Snap To > Grid to allow precise creation of curves with the Pen Tool.
  
  

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8. Best Practice Suggestions :

• Drag handles from the first anchor point when beginning a curved path.
• Drag your handles around just one third of the curve youre creating for a smooth path.
  
  



• Position anchor points on a curve where the paths begin to change direction, not in the middle of its curve.
  
  



• Be sparing with your use of anchor points, fewer points = neater path.
  
  
  
  

Photoshop Layers Description

Working with Layers

                            In Photoshop, layers are used to work on individual parts of an image while not affecting other parts. You might say that layers are like transparency papers stacked on top of one another which can be repositioned and separately drawn on without disturbing each other.

Explaining Layers :

Consider the following Graphic created in Adobe Photoshop:




To the viewer, this is simply one flat graphic. However, in Photoshop, it is actually 4 separate layers (graphics if you will) stacked on top of one another. There is a Blue Background layer, two separate layers with a T9 Cloud, and a top layer with the “Tutorial9″ text.



As you can see, layers are more like transparencies stacked on top of one another, each with something different sketched onto them.

Let’s put this knowledge to use now!

How to use Layers in Photoshop :

                                                     You may have an easier time understanding how to use layers if we take on a simple task in Photoshop that allows you to play with them yourself. Go ahead and Create a New Document (File > New). Set it up to be 400 x 400px, with a resolution of 72px/inch.

We’re going to create the following graphic using layers:

Filling the Background :

                                 Typically, when I’m working in Photoshop, I like to work from the background to the top (probably because that’s how the graphic is seen by viewers), so to start things off we are going to fill our background layer with a nice dull green.

Select a Dull Green Foreground Color. To do this, click your foreground color, and use the color sliders to find a suitable color. Alternatively, you can enter the HEX value 36442a next to the “#” symbol on the lower right side.







Click OK to confirm the color value you’ve picked. Now grab the Fill Tool from the Toolbox, and click anywhere in your working image area. Upon clicking the mouse button, your entire background layer should be filled with the foreground color.

Create a New Layer :

                        Let’s take a quick peek at the Layers Palette, and examine some of it’s more basic functions:





To create a new layer, Click the “New Layer” icon shown above.



As you can see, a new layer “Layer 1” has been created. You can rename this layer by clicking the name of it twice, and entering whatever name you desire. While this layer is selected (highlighted) you will be working on this layer alone in the photoshop document!

Drawing the Grass :

                        Select the Brush Tool from the toolbox. Adobe Photoshop already has a preset brush called “Dune Grass” which we are going to use to create the grass in our graphic.

In the brush tool’s Option Bar, open the Brush Preset Picker (Small down arrow to the right of the currently selected “Brush”). Scroll a ways down the list, and select the Dune Grass Brush.




We’re not going to go over brushes in great detail in the tutorial, but you do need to know that this brush is setup to alternate between foreground and background colors. Because of this, we need to select a background color with a similar green value (Such as #19250f).

Once you have a good foreground and background color selected, start painting with your brush in the working image area on your new layer. Hold down the Mouse Button to use the brush tool.



Let’s add some text now!

The Type Tool :

               Select the Horizontal Type Tool from the toolbox. Set your Foreground Color to White. Click anywhere in your working image area to begin typing.



Once you’ve typed something, select all of the text with your cursor (hold down the mouse button, and drag over the text to select). We’re going to adjust some of the type attributes in the Type Options Bar.
Set the Font to Arial, the font weight to Bold, the text size to 60 pt, and the anti-aliasing to Crisp.


As you can see, the Type Tool has created a new Type Layer in your layers palette for the text. To apply the text, click this new layer (Or click Ctrl + Enter).



Great! Now let’s position our new type tool so that it appears to be emerging from the grass.

Moving Layers :

                              The first thing we need to do is position our Type Layer below the Grass Layer so that the Grass will appear in front of it. In your layers palette, click and drag your Type Layer below the Grass layer.



Now we can use the Move Tool to reposition our layer in the working image area. While the Type Layer is selected,get the Move Tool from the toolbox, and drag the text in the working image area to where the grass starts to end.



Pretty Simple, eh? Now that you have the general idea of layers down, let’s create a few more and play with some of their options.

Opacity, Blending Modes & Filling Selections :

                                   Create a New Layer just above the background (below the type and grass layers), and drag out an elliptical selection using the Elliptical Marquee Tool (this tool may be hidden behind another marquee selection tool).



Using the Fill Tool, fill this selection (on your new layer) with White. Once filled, Deselect everything (Select > Deselect, or Ctrl + D).

You should have a large, white circle in your document now. Set this layers Blending Mode to Overlay in the layers palette:



Setting the blending mode is that easy! I won’t go into details about blending modes in this tutorial, but please experiment with them to get an idea of what they do.


Now set the Opacity to something like 15-20%.



Simple! Now right click this new layer, and select Duplicate Layer. This will create an exact copy of this layer (retaining layer opacity and blending mode). Using the Move Tool reposition this layer so that you can clearly see the two different circle edges.



See how you can see through the top circle to see the circle behind it? This is because our circle layers are somewhat transparent, otherwise known as less opaque. By setting the opacity to something below 100%, we are able to see through objects.



Finally, let’s take a look at one more useful feature in the layers palette. Click the New Group icon at the bottom of the layers palette (the one shaped like a folder).

Groups function in a similar manner to a folder. You can put multiple layers inside of a group, and then when you select the group (versus an individual layer), you’re able to adjust the opacity, blending mode, and position of all those layers at the same time (as well as several other things).

Let’s give it a try! Drag your two circle layers inside of the group.

Once both layers have been placed in the group (they should appear indented from the other layers), Select the Group in the layers palette. Using the Move Tool, drag inside of your working image area. Both your circle layers should move at the exact same time, yet they still retain their individual layer attributes!