Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers - Martin Evening [227]
Path modes
The pen tool has three operating modes, of which there are only two modes that you should really be interested in using. If the pen tool is in Shape Layers mode (Figure 9.57), when you draw with the pen tool this creates a vector mask path outline that masks a solid fill layer filled with the current foreground color. If you click on the Paths mode button in the pen tool Options bar this allows you to create a pen path without adding a fill layer to the document. You can of course use any path outline to generate a vector mask, so I usually suggest you keep the pen tool in the default Paths mode and leave it set like this.
Figure 9.57 The Shape Layers mode has in the past been the default setting in the pen tool options. The Paths mode button is now the new default in Photoshop CS5.
Drawing paths with the pen tool
Unless you have had some previous experience of working with a vector-based drawing program (such as Adobe Illustrator), drawing with the pen tool will probably be an unfamiliar concept. It is difficult to get the hang of at first, but I promise you this is a skill that's well worth mastering. It's a bit like learning to ride a bike, once you have acquired the basic techniques, everything else should soon start to fall into place. Paths can be useful in a number of ways. The main reason why you might want to use a pen path would be to define a complex shape outline, which in turn can be applied as a vector mask to mask a layer, or be converted into a selection. You can also create clipping paths for use as a cut-out outline in a page layout, or you can use a path to apply a stroke using one of the paint tools.
Pen path drawing tutorial
To help you understand how to draw pen paths we shall start with the task of following the simple contour shapes illustrated in Figure 9.58. You will find a copy of this image as a layered Photoshop file on the DVD and it contains saved path outlines of each of the shapes. The Background layer contains the Figure 9.58‘d’ shaped image and above it there is another layer of the same image but with the pen path outlines and all the points and handles showing. I suggest you make this layer visible and fade the opacity as necessary. This will then help you to follow the handle positions when trying to match the path outlines. Let's begin at the basic level with the ‘d’ shape (Figure 9.59). If you have learnt how to draw with the polygon lasso tool, you will have no problem drawing this path outline. Click on the corner points one after another until you reach the point where you started. As you approach this point you will notice a small circle appears next to the cursor, which indicates you can now click to close the path. Actually this is better than drawing with the polygon lasso, because you can zoom in if required and precisely reposition each and every point. To do this, hold down the key to temporarily switch the pen tool to the direct selection tool and drag a point to realign it precisely. After closing the path, hit to convert the path to a selection, or click on its own to deselect the path.
Figure 9.58 The path tutorial file, which can be found on the DVD.
Figure 9.59 With this example all you need to do is to click with the pen tool to create a series of straight line segments.
Now try to follow the ‘h’ shape (Figure 9.60). This will allow you to concentrate on the art of drawing curved segments. Note that the beginning of any curved segment starts by you dragging the handle outward in the direction of the intended curve. (To understand the reasoning behind this, imagine you are trying to define a circle by following the imagined edges of a square box that contains the circle). To continue a curved segment, click and hold the mouse down while you drag to complete the shape of the end of the previous curve segment (and predict the initial curve angle of the next segment). This last sentence is written assuming that the next curve will be a smooth continuation of the last. If there happens to be a sharp change in