The Beginners’s Guide to the Pen Tool in Photoshop
In today’s retouching video, I teach how to use the pen tool when working with product [More]
Pen Tool
Pen Tool in Photoshop–Putting it all Together
In this video, we step through the process of extracting an object from a busy background – one that doesn’t work well at all with the quick selection too, nor any of the pixel based selection tools. The Pen Tool is the right tool for this job, and we’ll step through the practical use of the Pen Tool for this [More]
Pen Tool in Photoshop – Converting Points
We continue to progress through the tricks and details of using the Pen Tool in Photoshop, and today we look at ways of converting anchor points from corners, to smooth curves, to cusp points and back. This final skill, combined with what we’ve learned in the previous videos, will give you everything you need to manage creating and editing of virtually any complex path in any image. [More]
Pen Tool in Photoshop–Cusp Points
In this, our 5th instalment of our series on using the Pen Tool in Photoshop, we explore the problem of cusp points. Cusps are formed when two curves meet, but not in a smooth point – rather in a corner or sharp angle, as you might see on a heart, or perhaps on the fin of a fish. The technique for drawing this type of shape in Photoshop is not obvious, but it is easy once you know how. [More]
Pen Tool in Photoshop – Smooth Curves
We’ve been chipping away at the Pen Tool in Photoshop, and in this part 4 of our series, we finally begin to draw curved paths, freeform, with the Pen Tool. Learning to use control points and control handles requires some practice and some experience, but with the knowledge base from the first three segments in this series, we’re ready to tackle curved paths. [More]
Pen Tool in Photoshop – Adding Paths and Anchor Points
In part 3 of this series on learning to use the Pen Tool in Photoshop, we learn how to add paths together to create complex selections, and how to add anchor points to our paths to create more complex shapes. [More]
Pen Tool in Photoshop–Straight Paths
In part 2 of my series on using the Pen Tool within Photoshop, we finally do break out the Pen Tool, and start drawing straight line paths. Learn how to place and modify corner anchor points, and how to close a path. With the closed path, we'll learn how to save the path, load the path as a selection and use it as a layer mask. [More]
Pen Tool in Photoshop – Path Fundamentals
In this series of videos, we are going to work our way from the basics to pen tool mastery, but we need to start with the fundamentals. In fact, in this video, I’m not even going to use the pen tool. Instead, we’ll spend our time understanding how paths work in Photoshop, so that when we do start using the pen tool, we’ll be on familiar ground. [More]
Photoshop – Quick Tip for Working with Paths
Hate the Pen Tool, no problem. My first tip is for you to try the Freeform Pen Tool, and be sure to check the Magnetic option. You're now creating paths with a tool that acts like the Magnetic Lasso. [More]
Masking with The Photoshop Pen Tool
Creating a good mask is one of the essential skills in compositing images within Photoshop. Recognizing the right tool for the masking job is an art in itself. Today, we’ll look at an often overlooked, but highly effective way of creating a very good mask – using the Pen Tool in Photoshop. [More]
Repeating Patterns with Photoshop Actions
In this tutorial, artist and writer Simon Rudd explores the use of Actions to create a repeating pattern.
Make a new Photoshop document – I'm using a canvas that is 1024x768, as always you can set your own size if you want. Make the background black by pressing D on your keyboard followed by ALT and Backspace (or go to Edit>Fill>Black). Finally make a new Layer above the background Layer called Pattern1. [More]
