Adobe Photoshop CS2 On Demand [Electronic resources]

Using the Standard Shape Tool

Creating standard shapes, such as polygons or rectangles with rounded corners used to be a hassle. That is until Photoshop released its standard shape drawing tools. Now, it's a simple matter of selecting the correct tool, choosing a color, and then drawing the shape. As with any of Photoshop's drawing functions, control is maintained with the use of additional layers. Photoshop's standard shapes consist of rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, polygons; and each one of the shape tools comes with additional options to control exactly how the shape appears when drawn.

Work with the Standard Shape Tool

Select the

Rectangle tool on the toolbox.

Click the

Fill Pixels button to create raster shapes in the active foreground color.

Click the

Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse , or

Polygon tool buttons.

Click the

Geometry list arrow, and then select from the following drawing options or check boxes:

• Unconstrained. (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse)

• Square. (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle)

• Circle. (Ellipse)

• Fixed Size. (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse)

• Proportional. (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse)

• From Center. (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse)

• Snap to Pixels. (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle)

• Radius. (Polygon)

• Smooth Corners. (Polygon)

• Star. (Polygon)

• Indent Sides By. (Polygon)

• Smooth Indents. (Polygon)

Click the

Mode list arrow, and then select a blending mode.

Enter an Opacity percentage value (1 to 100).

Select the

Anti-alias check box to create a visually smoother image.

Useful when drawing shapes with curved edges.

Drag in the document window to create the shape.

IMPORTANT

Maintain control over your design by drawing shapes in separate layers.

[View full size image]

[View full size image]