PS - Pen Tool (Part 4)

Part 4: Creating Custom Shapes

If we go to Paths Palette you will see our path is still there. 

• Click once on the path layer to reveal our work path again.

Now with Edit >> Define Custom Shape…

Name your shape and click OK. Select your Custom Shape Tool from the Toolbar.

You will now see your new shape in the Custom Shape picker. 

Now check your foreground colour before you make the shape. You can see in the image below my foreground color is black. The shape you create will be the foreground color.

Until now we have been making WORK PATHS but now we want to make a SHAPE. 

• Click and drag on your canvas to create your shape. 

• Hold down Shft while you drag, to re-create the shape so it won't distort

Now if you select Shape Layers and then create the shape you will see it creates a vector shape. Creating vector shapes is best.

Because the shape is a vector you can scale it up and down and it will never pixelate! (To apply effects to the layer you will need to rasterize the layer…simply right click on the layer and choose rasterize from the options).

If you create the shape using Fill Pixel (see image below) you must make sure the anti-alias box is checked.

You Pen Tool Exercise (10 Marks Application):

(save to computer)

Your Task:

Download and use Kermit here to recreate the graphic from the tutorial.

You will need to (1) cut out the image of Kermit,  (2) Recreate the Complex Donut Shape, and (3) Create a Custom Shape.

Assemble your work to mimic the example by Melissa Evans.

HAND-IN finished graphic on Google Classroom.