When it comes to versatility in putting together an original image, Photoshop is second to none with the features that it provides in order to allow you to customize your image however you like. One of the best ways to do that is by including vector based shapes to your image.
Photoshop shapes can be used to do something as create a box or a frame for your image, or something as fun as creating a talk bubble to add to your photograph. No matter what you choose to use them for, the vector based shapes provide ultimate flexibility when it comes to meeting all of your design needs.
To locate the pre-installed shapes that are located in Photoshop, you’ll need to start by locating the shapes tool in the main toolbar on the left hand side of the window. By default, the symbol that defines the shape tool is a square, but by clicking and holding on the shape tool a multitude of other options will appear.
Standard shapes available by clicking on the shapes tool include the rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, polygon and line. While these shapes can be exactly what you need in some cases, you haven’t walked on the wild side of Photoshop until you embark on the land of the custom shapes tool.
Once you click on the custom shapes tool, a menu will appear at the top of your Photoshop window giving you multiple options for drawing your shape. In this tutorial we’re going to focus our attention on the custom shape selector box which is located mid-way through the menu at the top of the screen.
From the pull down arrow you’ll see the default shapes that are loaded into Photoshop, but by clicking again on the tiny arrow to the right of the shapes pallet, you’ll see a list appear that will give you even more options for the pre-installed shapes that came when you installed your version of Photoshop. Categories such as animals, arrows, frames and talk bubbles are just a few of the options that you already have available. In order to take a quick look at everything that you have to choose from, select “All” from the list and you will then be prompted to replace your current shapes selections. Click okay, and your shapes pallet will immediately fill with all of the shapes currently loaded onto your system.
Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with using these shapes, and discover the many uses that shapes can offer.
One of the many joys of Photoshop is that there’s always a way to improve on a good thing. Shapes are no different.
There are hundreds of websites available that offer free Photoshop shapes to download that fit a variety of different themes and styles. One such website, deviantart.com, offers a wide selection of shapes that you can download to suit just about any project that you might be working on. More shapes can easily be located simply by doing a web search for “Photoshop Shapes”.
Once you’ve located a shape set that you want to download, place it on your desktop so that you can easily locate it when it’s time to install it. Shapes will generally download as a single file, however if they download as a zipped folder you’ll need to extract the zipped folder before you can install the shapes into Photoshop.
Next, you’ll need to locate your shapes folder in your Photoshop program. In the case of Photoshop CS2 the shapes folder is located in C:Program FilesAdobeAdobe Photoshop CS2PresetsCustom Shapes
Once you’ve located your shapes folder, simply drag and drop your new shapes file from your desktop to the shapes folder.
Now it’s time to reopen your Photoshop and play with your new shapes.
With your shapes tool selected from the tools menu, return to the shapes palette at the top of the screen and click on the small arrow from the palette to expose your new list of installed shapes. Select the shapes you want to use and have a blast!
Vector based shapes offer ultimate versatility when it comes to color, sizing and warping so you never have to worry about the fuzzy effect that can sometimes happen with pixel based graphics. With a variety of shapes to choose from, your design possibilities have no limits!
