Adobe Photoshop Pen Tools

Use the toolbar image map! Jump To Image Ready Screen Layout Quick Mask Color Settings The Zoom Tool The Hand Tool The Note Tools The Color Picker Tools The Shape Tools The Pen Tools The Path Selection Tools The Type Tools The Toning Tools The Distortion Tools The Eraser Tools The Fill Tools The History Brush Tools The Stamp Tools The Retouching Tools The Brush Tools The Slice Tools The Crop Tool The Magic Wand The Lasso Tools The Move Tool The Marquee Tools Pen Tool [P] The pen tool lets you create straight lines and smooth flowing curves with greater precision than is possible with the freeform pen tool. For most users, the pen tool provides the best control and greatest accuracy for drawing.
To add an anchor point when you click a line segment and delete an anchor point when you click it, select Auto Add/Delete in the options bar. To preview path segments as you draw, click the inverted arrow next to the shape buttons in the options bar, and select Rubber Band. Position the pen pointer where you want to begin to draw, and click to define the first anchor point. Click or drag to set anchor points for additional segments. Complete the path: To end an open path, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) away from the path. To close a path, position the pen pointer over the first anchor point. A small loop appears next to the pen tip when it is positioned correctly. Click to close the path.
Freeform Pen Tool [P] The freeform pen tool lets you draw as if you were drawing with a pencil on paper. Anchor points are added automatically as you draw. You do not determine where the points are positioned, but you can adjust them once the path is complete. The magnetic pen is an option of the freeform tool that lets you draw a path that snaps to the edges of defined areas in your image. You can define the range and sensitivity of the snapping behavior, as well as the complexity of the resulting path. The magnetic pen and magnetic lasso tools share many of the same options.
To draw with the freeform pen tool:
Select the freeform pen tool. To control how sensitive the final path is to the movement of your mouse or stylus, click the inverted arrow next to the shape buttons in the options bar, and enter a value between 0.5 and 10.0 pixels for Curve Fit. A higher value creates a simpler path with fewer anchor points. Drag the pointer in the image. As you drag, a path trails behind the pointer. When you release the mouse, a work path is created. To continue the existing freehand path, position the freeform pen pointer on an endpoint of the path, and drag. To complete the path, release the mouse. To create a closed path, click the initial point of the path (a circle appears next to the pointer when it is aligned).
To draw with the magnetic pen tool:
To convert the freeform pen tool to the magnetic pen tool , select Magnetic in the options bar, or click the inverted arrow next to the shape buttons in the options bar, select Magnetic, and set the following: For Width, enter a pixel value between 1 and 256. The magnetic pen detects edges only within the specified distance from the pointer. For Contrast, enter a percentage value between 1 and 100 to specify the contrast between pixels required to be considered an edge. Use a higher value for low contrast images. For Frequency, enter a value between 5 and 40 to specify the rate at which the pen sets anchor points. A higher value anchors the path in place more quickly. If you are working with a stylus tablet, select or deselect Pen Pressure. When this option is selected, an increase in pen pressure causes the width to decrease. Click in the image to set the first fastening point. To draw a freehand segment, move the pointer or drag along the edge you want to trace. The most recent segment of the border remains active. As you move the pointer, the active segment snaps to the strongest edge in the image, connecting the pointer to the last fastening point. Periodically, the magnetic pen adds fastening points to the border to anchor previous sections. If the border doesn't snap to the desired edge, click once to add a fastening point manually and to keep the border from moving. Continue to trace the edge and add fastening points as needed. If needed, press Delete to remove the last fastening point. To dynamically modify the properties of the magnetic pen, do one of the following: Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) to draw a freehand path. Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) to draw straight segments. Press the [ key to decrease the magnetic pen width by 1 pixel; press the ] key to increase the pen width by 1 pixel. Complete the path: Press Enter or Return to end an open path. Double-click to close the path with a magnetic segment. Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and double-click to close the path with a straight segment.
Add Anchor Point Tool [P] Delete Anchor Point Tool [P] Convert Anchor Point Tool [P] The add anchor point and delete anchor point tools let you add and delete anchor points on a shape. The convert direction point tool lets you convert a smooth curve to a sharp curve or to a straight segment, and vice versa. If you have selected Auto Add/Delete in the options bar for the pen tool or freeform pen tool, when you click a line segment, a point is added, and when you click an existing point, it is deleted.
To add an anchor point:
Select the add anchor point tool and position the pointer on the path where you want the anchor point added (a plus sign appears next to the pointer). Do one of the following: To add an anchor point without changing the shape of the segment, click the path. To add an anchor point and change the shape of the segment, drag to define direction lines for the anchor point.
To delete an anchor point:
Select the delete anchor point tool , and position the pointer on the anchor point you want deleted (a minus sign appears next to the pointer). Delete the anchor point: Click the anchor point to delete it and to reshape the path to fit the remaining anchor points. Drag the anchor point to delete it and to change the shape of the segment.
To convert between a smooth point and a corner point:
Select the convert point tool , and position the pointer over the anchor point you want changed. Convert the point: To convert a smooth point to a corner point without direction lines, click the smooth anchor point. To convert a smooth point to a corner point with direction lines, make sure the direction lines are visible. Then drag a direction point to break the pair of direction lines. To convert a corner point to a smooth point, drag away from the corner point to make direction lines appear.

Next...The Shape Tools
Author: AB 
Date created: February 18, 2003
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