pen tool

When it comes to making masks and selections, no other tool in Photoshop's vast repository can produce the clean, graceful outlines that you can create with the Pen tool. Rather than laying down pixels, the tool allows you to define connect-the-dots paths that you can save and edit at will. You can then employ these paths as vector masks. Or combine them with alpha channels (such as hair masks) to cleanly extract complex shapes from their surroundings. That is to say, they're wicked powerful.  Mastering this amazing tool demands a different approach from the other selection tools in Photoshop. But it offers a rich pay-off. In this tip, we'll explore the Pen tool in thrilling detail. 

Today's tip comes from Chapter 27, "Everything About the Pen Tool," from the course Photoshop CS5 One-on-One: Mastery on lynda.com. Read more » 

A mere three weeks ago---seriously? has it been that long?---I joined a few dozen of my fellow self-appointed experts for the largest gathering of Photoshop users on the planet: Photoshop World 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. At that event, I presented three all-new sessions on the topics of Photoshop CS5, the pen tool, and Camera Raw 6.

At that event, I distributed more than a thousand black-and-white notes that my illustrious sidekick, Colleen Wheeler, printed out for the attendees. But black-and-white goes only so far. Which is why I include the notes for all three sessions as full-color PDF documents that you can download from this post. The notes are altogether free to members of dekeOnline. Read more »