In the last lesson, we learned how to work with shapes and shape layers in Photoshop. We looked at how to use the five tools of the Shapes group (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon and Line) to add simple rectangles and ellipses to a document, as well as draw stars, lines and direction arrows.
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 figure of a more complex shape? What if we want to add a heart to a wedding photo or invitation, draw a dog or a cat for a pet shop logo? How about an image in your drawings of flowers, leaves, snowflakes, musical notes or a copyright icon?
In fact, Photoshop works with all of these shapes and more and allows us to add them to an image with the same ease as 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 in this tutorial.
Freeform Shape Tool
The Custom 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 Custom Shape tool is at the very bottom of the list:
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
If you already have one of the Shapes tools selected, you can quickly switch to the Custom Shape tool in the Options Bar, which has six icons representing the Shapes tools. The Freeform 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, then you can select the "Custom Shape" tool in the Options Bar
Choosing the shape of an arbitrary figure
After selecting the Freeform Shape tool, we need to decide on the shape of the shape we want to draw. A preview box will appear in the Options Bar to the right of the Freeform Shape tool icon, displaying a thumbnail of the currently selected shape:
The preview window displays the arbitrary shape we have chosen.
To select a different shape, click on the preview box. This action will open the Custom Shapes palette, which will display all the shapes currently available for selection. In fact, Photoshop works with a lot more custom shapes than the limited number that comes with the palette. How to load other arbitrary shapes into the palette, we will consider further:
To open the Custom Shapes palette, click on the preview window
To select a shape, simply click on its thumbnail, then on the key Enter(Win) / return(Mac) to close the palette. Or, double-click on the shape's thumbnail, which will select the shape and close the palette on its own. I'll choose a heart-shaped shape:
Selecting a heart-shaped shape from the Custom Shapes palette
Choosing a Color for a Shape
After choosing the shape of the shape, 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" (Color) in the settings panel:
Click on the color swatch icon to select the desired color for the custom shape
The program will immediately open a color palette where we can select the desired color. Since I decided to draw a heart-shaped figure, I will choose red. To close the color palette, click OK when you have selected the desired color:
Choose a color for the heart shape from the color palette
Selecting the Shape Layer option
As I mentioned in the last tutorial, Photoshop allows us to draw three types of shapes using the Shapes tools. We can draw vector shapes that are resolution independent and can be scaled without loss of quality (the kind of shapes we would draw in Illustrator). We can also draw paths, which are just outlines of shapes, or we can draw pixelated shapes that the program fills with colored pixels. In most cases, we draw vector shapes, and in order to be able to do this, we need to select the “Shape Layers” option in the settings panel. This is the first icon in a group of three icons towards the left in 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 pointer away from the starting point. As you move the cursor, the program will show you a thin outline of the future figure:
Click the mouse button to define the starting point and then drag the cursor 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 chose in the settings panel:
Photoshop will fill the shape with color when you lower your mouse button.
Drawing a figure with correct proportions
Notice how my heart shape looks a bit distorted. It is wider and shorter than I expected. This is due to the fact that, by default, Photoshop does not try to maintain the correct proportions (or otherwise aspect ratio) of the shape in the process of drawing it. I'll press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) to undo the action and try to draw the shape again.
In order to draw a shape with the correct proportions, position the cursor in the document window and, while holding down the mouse button, start dragging the cursor and drawing the shape as usual. While doing so, press the Shift key and keep it pressed 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 acquired the correct proportions:
To draw a shape with the correct proportions, hold down the Shift key while moving the cursor
When the size of the drawn shape suits you, release the mouse button, and then release the Shift key (make sure you release the Shift key last). The program will again fill the shape 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 the action, and then I'll select a different shaped shape by clicking on the Shape Preview box in the Options Bar to open the Shapes palette. This time I will focus on the image of musical notes:
Click on the thumbnail of musical notes to select a shape
In order to draw musical notes, I'll position the cursor in the document window to define the start point, and then, while holding down the mouse button, drag the mouse pointer away from the start point. Once I start dragging the cursor, I'll press and hold the Shift key to lock the shape to the correct proportions and continue drawing the image:
As the cursor moves, I'll hold down the Shift keyto keep the correct proportions of the figure
I'll then release my mouse button to finish the drawing 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 shape to be a different color than the previous one? I could just choose a different color in the options bar before drawing the new shape. However, we can also easily change the color of an already drawn shape. Each newly drawn custom shape is placed on a separate shape layer in the Layers panel, and each shape layer has its own color swatch icon that displays 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 color of the shape, double-click on the color swatch icon of the shape layer.
Photoshop will reopen the Color Picker where we can select a new color. I'll choose purple:
Select a new color from the color palette
Click OK when you're ready to close out of the Color Palette, and this is how Photoshop will change the shape's color for us:
We can change the color of the vector shape at any time.
Downloading Additional Shape Sets
As I already mentioned, Photoshop works with a lot more arbitrary shapes than the limited number that was provided to us initially. We just need to load additional shapes into the palette. We can do this by opening the Shapes palette in the Options bar and clicking on the little 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 options, at the very bottom of which there will be a list of additional sets of 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 all recent versions of the program:
All these additional sets of shapes are installed in the program, but they need to 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 sets of shapes at once. We can do this by selecting the name "All" at the top of the list of sets:
Select the name "All" (All) to load all additional sets of forms
After that, 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 existing ones. Select the "Append" item in the window, which will allow you to save the original shapes and add new ones to them:
To load new shapes while saving the original shapes in the palette, select "Add" (Append)
And now if we open the Shapes palette by clicking on the Preview box in the Settings panel, we will see a variety of new shapes from which we can choose the ones we want. I've expanded the Shapes palette a bit so that more thumbnails can be seen. To view all thumbnails of 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 arbitrary shapes provided in the program, it may happen that even after downloading all the sets, we cannot find the image we need for the particular 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 your own collection of custom shapes, save and use it later, check out our tutorial "Creating your own custom shapes"!
And here we are! We've seen how you can use the Custom Shape tool to add complex shapes to your document. In the next tutorial, we'll explore the difference between vector shapes, paths, and pixel shapes!
Translation: Ksenia Rudenko
This tutorial will help you install the new shapes for the Photoshop CS6 version. For other versions, the algorithm will be the same.
To get started, download the file with the new figures from the Internet and unpack it if it is archived.
Next, open Photoshop CS6 and go to the main menu at the top of the screen to the tab Editing -Sets- Set Management(Edit - Preset Manager). This window will appear:
Button under the letter A(in the form of a small black arrow) allows you to select the kind of add-on you want to install - brushes, textures, shapes, styles etc.
Button under the letter B shows the types of additions.
We click on the small black arrow and from the list that appears, by pressing the left mouse button, select the type of add-on - Custom figures(Custom Shapes):
A new window appears. Here you specify the address of the downloaded file with figures. This file is located on your desktop or placed in a special folder for downloaded add-ons. In my case, the file is located in the "Styles" folder on the desktop:
Press again Download(Load)
Now, in the "Manage Sets" dialog box, you can see at the end of the set of shapes the new shapes we just loaded:
Note : if there are many shapes, move the scroll bar down and new shapes will be visible at the end of the list
That's it, Photoshop has copied the specified shape file into its preset. You can use!
An athlete is drawn using a figure from the "Extreme Sports" set
In the vast majority of cases, you will draw vector shapes. Unlike pixel shapes, vector shapes are flexible, scalable and do not depend on image resolution, which means that 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 size also without loss of quality!
Regardless of whether they are shown on the screen or in print, the edges of vector shapes always remain crisp and sharp.
To make sure you're drawing vector shapes and not paths or pixels, select the Shape option from the Tool Mode Views in the Options Bar:
Selecting the Shape option in the Options Bar
Filling a shape with color
The next thing we usually do after selecting the "Shape" option is to select the color that fills the shape, in Photoshop CS6 and above, this is done by clicking on the "Fill" field in the Options Bar:
Click the button in the options bar to open the Shape Fill Properties dialog box.
This action opens a window that allows us to choose from four different ways to fill out the form, each represented by one of four icons along the top of the window. Assignment of icons, starting from the left edge:
- no color(No Color) - white rectangle with a red diagonal line, no fill
- pure color(Solid Color) - solid color fill
- Gradient(Gradient) - gradient fill
- Pattern(Pattern) - fill with a Photoshop pattern (pattern)
Various methods of filling a form
No color (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, only the contour itself may be needed. Also, often only a stroke with transparent pixels inside is needed.
Below is a simple example of what a form looks like without a color fill. All that we see is the main contour of the form, which is called "Contour" (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 won't be visible. To make it visible, we need to add a stroke to it, which we'll see how to add next:
Rectangle shape with no fill or stroke.
Solid Color
To fill your form with a solid color, select the "Solid Color" option, second icon from the left:
Option "Pure color" (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. The colors you've recently used while working in Photoshop will appear above the main swatches:
Color selection by clicking on the sample.
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.
The Color Picker dialog box will open, select a color in it and click OK to close the Color Picker after selecting the desired color.
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 select a preset gradient, or use the gradient strip thumbnail below to create your own gradient variation.
Choose a pre-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.
Pattern fill (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. Not many pattern options are preinstalled in Photoshop, choosing, 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 the standard Photoshop pattern.
If you're not sure yet what color, gradient, or pattern your shape needs, don't worry. As we'll see later, you can always come back to edit the shape later and change the fill.
Adding a Stroke to a Vector Shape
This option has been in Photoshop since version CS6. By default, Photoshop won't add a stroke to the edges of a 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 color of the stroke, as well as set many other options.
At the top of the window we have the same four icons for selecting the fill type of the stroke line, these are No Color, Solid Color, Gradient and Pattern. By default, "No Color" is selected. I'll choose the "Solid Color" type. Select and assign a stroke color in exactly the same way as the fill color, as described above.
Changing the Stroke Weight
To change the stroke weight, use the appropriate input box located immediately to the right of the color swatch rectangle in the options bar. By default, the weight is set to 3 pt (points). But you can set 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 choose pixels:
Change the width and units of the stroke.
Align Edges option
To the right of all others, in the options bar is the option "Align edges". When this feature is turned on (it's on by default), Photoshop will align the edges of the stroke with the pixel grid, making the image sharper.
The option will be active only if the stroke unit is pixel.
More Stroke Options
By default, Photoshop draws a solid line stroke, but we can change this by clicking the Stroke Options button in the Options Bar:
Button of the window for selecting additional properties - selection of a stroke stroke - solid, dashed, dotted, etc.
This opens the Stroke Options window. In this window, we can change the line type from solid to dashed or dotted. In addition, there are three additional stroke options:
Stroke Options Dialog Box
Option "Align"(Align) allows us to choose whether the stroke is located inside the path, outside or in the middle.
Next option "Ends"(Caps) only works if we have selected a dashed stroke. We can change the appearance of the ends of the segments.
- the stroke ends at the border of its specified 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 has a rectangular shape and protrudes half the width beyond the border of the specified stroke length on each side
"Angles"(Corners) allow you to change the appearance of the corner at the junction of stroke lines. The coals can be sharp (default), rounded, or beveled. This option works if the stroke is 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 window "Other options ..." (More Options...) opens another window where we can set the length of strokes and gaps between strokes. Here is an example of a rectangular shape with a fill and dashed stroke, with different stroke lengths:
A stroke within a shape that uses two types of strokes - a line and a dot.
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 for simple shapes. 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 learned more about the Pen Tool in our tutorial How to Make Selections with the Pen Tool, so we'll only touch on that topic in this tutorial. 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 (since I do not have artistic abilities), so in this tutorial 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. The icon on the right currently 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 guide lines as needed to create straight or curved sections (again, if you're unfamiliar 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 with certainty that the shape layer is currently selected because it's highlighted in blue, so to decrease its opacity, we just need to select the Opacity option in the upper right corner of the 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 in an easier way using the Ellipse Tool (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, which 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 out" them from 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 the Shape Selector 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. Namely, 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 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 with 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 a 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
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 for simple shapes. 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 learned more about the Pen Tool in our tutorial How to Make Selections with the Pen Tool, so we'll only touch on that topic in this tutorial. 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 (since I do not have artistic abilities), so in this tutorial 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. The icon on the right currently 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 guide lines as needed to create straight or curved sections (again, if you're unfamiliar 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 with certainty that the shape layer is currently selected because it's highlighted in blue, so to decrease its opacity, we just need to select the Opacity option in the upper right corner of the 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 in an easier way using the Ellipse Tool (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, which 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 out" them from 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 the Shape Selector 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. Namely, 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 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 with 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 a 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