The pen tools.

The Pen tools

The pen, and its related group of tools are used for creating, and editing ‘paths.’ These are outlines which can be used to make selections, or which can be stroked or filled with color. Paths are made from mathematical formulas, called Beziér Curves, which do not print, and which contain no pixels. They are like a blueprint; from them you can make a building, but the blueprint itself is not a part of that structure.

I found it very difficult to learn how to draw paths, and I would recommend that beginners leave this tool until they have mastered all the others. If you wrestle with it long enough, you’ll get the hang of it, but it takes a while. For instructions on how to use the pen tool, see the Photoshop manual, their online Help section, or any number of available books. The key to learning how to use it is simply practice. The concepts aren’t too hard, but getting your hand, and eye to do it is murder.

The freeform pen is supposed to allow you to draw as you would with a pencil, without any of the difficulties inherent in using the other pen tools. It really doesn’t work very well, but here it is. To use this pen, select it in the toolbox, set its options [see below], and drag in the image. If you want to continue an existing line, you need to position the pointer over the end point of the previous line, and then drag. To end an open path, release the mouse button. To close a path, drag over the starting point, until a small circle appears next to the cursor. Release. It sounds easy, but it doesn’t work that way. Try it.

The magnetic pen, which used to be listed in the toolbar as a separate tool, is now simply an option on the freeform pen’s options bar. It is a tracing tool, which snaps to distinct edges, as you drag along the outline of an existing object.

• Marquee tool
• Move tool
• Lasso tool
• Magic wand tool
• Crop tool
• Slice tool
• Airbrush tool
• Paintbrush and Pencil tools
• Stamp tool
• History Brush
• Eraser tool
• Gradient and bucket
• Blur, sharpen, smudge
• Dodge, burn, sponge
• Path tool
• Text tool
• Pen and anchor
• Shape and line
• Notes tool
• Eyedropper, measure
• Hand tool
• Zoom tool
• Color Picker
• Mode tools

Photoshop Tutorials

	Creating spooky text - 6+7
	Creating 3d Text - 6.0
	Creating Engraved text - 6.0
	Working with colormasks - 6.0
	Using the quick mask tool - 6.0
	Creating perfect rounded edges - 6.0
	Slicing a graphical interface - 6.0
	Creating torn and burnt images - 6.0
	Creating realistic wires - 6.0