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this document is devoted to two photoshop features that are

very important to understand. the first is a tool that i use more

than any other in photoshop—the pen tool. the second item,

patterns, is usually overlooked for its total potential.

when i conduct a seminar, i usually ask the attendees, “how

many of you use the pen tool?” most of the time i estimate a

quarter of the attendees raise their hands. i then ask, “how

many of you hate the pen tool?” in response, more hands go

up than for the first question. it is my intent to make this

powerful tool a strong ally in the arsenal of tools that you

use on a regular basis.

patterns? why devote pages to something so simple? well,

i intend to show you how to create patterns that are more

complex than just your ordinary wallpaper.

pen tool and patterns

what they’re All About

PDF

Excerpted from Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy: Digital Painting by Bert Monroy. Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved, Pearson Education, Inc. and New Riders.


the pen toolIf you count the number of times I use the Pen Tool

throughout the book, you’ll realize that it is one of

my favorite tools in Photoshop. It is, in my opinion,

the most powerful tool for precision selecting and

the creation of images. The Pen Tool is Photoshop’s

tool for creating vectors. It is my main tool for draw-

ing, selecting, and creating masks.

My paintings start with the Pen Tool. It is, to use a

reference to traditional media, my pencil sketch on

the canvas. Traditionally, I would sketch the image

on the canvas with a pencil or charcoal. I would

then apply the paint over the shapes to build up

the image. In Photoshop, the Pen Tool produces

the shapes that can then be used to contain the

color. It is its capability to easily alter shapes plus

its low RAM requirement that make it the ideal

tool for planning out my images and, ultimately,

rendering them.

Figure 1 shows the basic shapes for the elements

in the painting “Lunch in Tiburon.” Each shape is

a distinct path that can be altered in any way that

I might need or want. Those very same paths are

then turned into selections for adding color.

Figure 2 shows the basic sketch for the painting

“Oakland.” Here you see that the paths start to get

much more complicated. The details in the objects

in “Lunch in Tiburon” are fluid because they are

mostly shapes that get distorted as they are seen

through glass. These details were accomplished pri-

marily with the Paintbrush Tool and fluid motions

of the stylus on the Wacom Cintiq, as covered in

Chapter 8. In the case of “Oakland,” the details are

a variety of specific shapes such as neon tubes and

the sockets that the tubes go into. These were shapes

that were made from paths that were filled with

colors and gradients, as covered in Chapter 3.

Figure 3 shows the paths for the shelters on the left

platform of “Damen.” Like “Oakland” the elements

are specific shapes, and there are many of them.

Here again all the basic shapes have been created

with the Pen Tool.

Figure 1 the paths for the painting “Lunch in tiburon.”

Figure 2 the paths for the painting “oakland.”

Figure 3 the paths for the platform for the painting “damen.”



In this document you will see the creation of these

shapes and their eventual use to complete the image. Let

me first provide you with an understanding of how the

Pen Tool operates.

pen tool operationThe Pen tool made its debut in the first version of

Adobe Illustrator. The moment I saw it, I fell in love!

Such incredibly precise control. However, not everyone

shared my enthusiasm. I remember reading reviews

in which people complained about how difficult the

“handles” were to use. The tool met with much resis-

tance from the artistic community because it did not

conform to the way people were used to working with

graphics tools on a computer. Artists were used to the

conventional clicking and dragging with tools to pro-

duce a line or shape. Clicking and dragging with the

Pen Tool produces an anchor point with a handle. It

is not until a second click is performed (producing a

second anchor point and handle) that a line is actu-

ally created. What those little handles do has confused

many to the point where they abandon the use of the

tool altogether. The main reason for the neglect is how

it is used, which happens to be very different from any

of the other selection tools in Photoshop. Mastering

it, though, could be one of the best things you do in

Photoshop because it is one of the most flexible and

powerful selection tools in the application.

Let’s take a close look at this wonderful tool.



pen tool paths (Vectors)The Pen Tool creates what is known as a path

or vector. A Photoshop document can store

up to 32,000 of these paths, which can be

turned into selections, filled, or stroked at any

point. Paths take up virtually no memory.

Having a few thousand of them will not make

a noticeable difference in the storage size of

your image.

There are two methods for making paths

available to the Pen Tool. In the options

bar for the Pen Tool, the two choices are at

the left, adjacent to the Tool Preset Picker

(Figure 4). Even though there are three

choices, only the first two apply to the Pen

Tool. The first choice creates a Shape Layer

(Figure 5). This is a vector layer that is filled

with the currently selected foreground color

and uses the path created as a mask. Consult

your manual for a full description of this

function. This function does not appear

anywhere in the book.

The second choice (Figure 6) is the one I

use the most. It creates paths.

Figure 4 the method that the pen tool will employ is chosen from the option bar.

Figure 5 the first choice is for creating Vector Layers.

Figure 6 the center choice is for creating paths. this is similar to the path tool in Adobe illustrator.



The paths created with the Pen Tool can be

stroked with any of the tools that utilize a

brush tip. Even the Eraser Tool can follow

a path. This is very handy when trying to

create a long, smooth flowing line like the

one in Figure 7. If you used the Paintbrush

Tool alone to make that shape, you would be

doing it and undoing it many times, and still

you might not get it right.

With the Pen Tool, the path is created and

then stroked with the Paintbrush Tool. In

Figure 8 you see the path that was created

with the Pen Tool.

Figure 7 A smooth line like the one shown here is difficult to create in a single stroke with a mouse or stylus.

Figure 8 the path for the shape in figure 7 was created with the pen tool.



Stroking the path can be done in a couple of ways.

One way is by choosing Stroke Path from the Path

panel submenu (Figure 9). A Stroke Path dialog box

pops up (Figure 10), allowing you to determine which

tool will be used to perform the stroke. The other way

is to select the particular tool you want to stroke the

path with, and then click the Stroke Path icon at the

bottom of the Path panel (Figure 11).

This second method is my preferred technique of

stroking a path. Choosing the submenu choice will

Figure 9 stroking the path can be done from the path panel submenu.

Figure 10 in the stroke path dialog box you can choose which tool will be used to stroke the path.

Figure 11 stroking the path can also be done by clicking the stroke path icon at the bottom of the path panel.

Figure 13 A path can also be filled by clicking the fill path with foreground color icon at the bottom of the path panel.

use the selected tool. However, the settings for that tool

will reflect the last time it was used. By stroking from

within the tool, you have total control of the shape and

parameters set for the tool, ensuring that the resulting

stroke is what you intended.

Paths can be filled with a color by either choosing Fill

Path from the panel submenu (Figure 12) or clicking

the Fill path with foreground color icon at the bottom

of the panel (Figure 13).

Figure 12 A path can be filled by clicking the fill path option in the path panel drop-down menu.



When filling a path, it is important to consider whether

the path is an open or closed path. An open path has

starting and ending points that do not meet. The path

in Figure 14 is an open path. If you filled this path,

the result would be what you see in Figure 15. The fill

creates a straight line from the starting to the ending

anchor points.

Figure 14 An open path has distinct starting and ending anchor points.

Figure 15 filling an open path creates a fill that creates a straight line between the starting and ending anchor points.

Figure 16 A closed path is a complete shape where the starting and ending anchor points meet.

Figure 17 filling a closed path adds the fill to the complete shape.

The path in Figure 16 is a closed path. The starting

anchor point at the bottom is matched up with the

ending anchor point, thus closing the path. When a

closed path is filled, the result is a filling of the total

shape, as shown in Figure 17.



selections and the pen toolThe Pen Tool can be used to make difficult

and precise selections. There are many times

when selecting a part of an image is difficult

or far too labor intensive for the other selec-

tion methods and tools. Let’s say you needed

to use the baked basket of flowers you see

in Figure 18. Due to the complexity of the

element and monochromatic nature of it

against its surroundings, separating it from

the background would be a nightmare with-

out the Pen Tool. Later in this document

you will see it selected.

As with the other selection tools in Photoshop,

a feather radius can be assigned to the selec-

tion beforehand. This will give the selected

area a soft edge or vignette.

Making the path a selection can be accom-

plished in a number of ways. Make Selection

can be selected from the Path panel submenu

(Figure 19). This will bring up the dialog box

you see in Figure 20 where attributes, such as

the feather amount, can be input.

Figure 18 selecting the basket of flowers is the perfect job for the pen tool.

Figure 19 A path can be made into a selection by clicking the make selection option in the path panel drop-down menu.

Figure 20 this make selection dialog box allows you to set certain parameters for your selection.



The path can also be dragged over the Make

Selection icon at the bottom of the Path panel

(Figure 21). If you use this method, the result-

ing selection will take on any attributes previ-

ously assigned in the Make Selection dialog

box, for example, a feather radius.

A third method is to Command-click

(Ctrl-click) on the path in the panel.

If an area of the image is currently selected,

making a path a selection gives you the abil-

ity to have the path interact with the currently

selected area (Figure 22). The path can override

the current selection and make a new selection

based on its shape and attributes. It can use its

shape and attributes to add to, subtract from,

or intersect with the current selected area.

how does the pen tool work?To make a comparison to traditional tools

of the trade, the Pen Tool is the equivalent of

using any tool such as a brush, pencil, or art

knife with a set of “french curves.” If you are

not familiar with french curves, they are simply

plastic shapes used as guides for any tool to

create a flowing, curved line (Figure 23). The

use and limitations of working with french

curves is the perfect analogy to help you under-

stand the methodology involved to make the

most of Photoshop’s paths. The main challenge

when using french curves is selecting the

specific curve that will give you the longest

and most accurate sweep.

It is often necessary to switch shapes or change

the position of the french curve to follow a

particular sweep. With the Pen Tool, a similar

approach is vital. You must try to create the

longest possible distance between two points

to keep paths as simple (with as few control

handles) as possible. The more points you

have in a path, the longer Photoshop will take

to process it.

Figure 22 when making a path a selection, if there is currently something else selected, you can choose how the path will interact with that current selection.

Figure 21 A path can be made into a selection by clicking the make selection icon at the bottom of the path panel.

Figure 23 french curves are plastic guides used to control tool movement over a paper or canvas.


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A path is any shape or line that is used to

surround an element in an image. It can also

be a shape created to serve as a new element

in an image. The path is made up of anchor

points that determine the starting and end-

ing point of each line segment (Figure 24).

These anchor points can have handles that

produce curved lines or Bezier curves. An

anchor point that has no handles makes a

corner (or sharp) point, which produces

straight lines. Figure 25 shows a comparison

of the two types of lines produced by the

two different anchor points. The path on the

left is made up of corner points that make

the resulting lines straight. The path on the

right has handles for the anchor points and

is made up of Bezier curves.

Figure 24 here you see a path that is formed by starting and ending anchor points.

Figure 25 the path on the left is made up of straight lines because the anchor points are corner points with no handles. the path on the right is made up of curves because the anchor points have handles.

ending Anchor point

starting Anchor point


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using the handles

To properly use the handles of an anchor

point it is important to understand how

they work. The most important thing to

keep in mind is to click and drag in the

direction that your line (path) will be travel-

ing. Figure 26 shows a path that starts at the

bottom left and travels to the upper right.

The handle on the second point is being

pulled to the right. To add to the confusion,

the handle that is pulled out is not the one

that determines the angle of the line: The

handle that faces the line is controlling the

curve. In Figure 27 you see a line that has

been generated. Note that the point has a

handle on either side. The handle on the

right of the anchor point is the one that was

pulled when the point was created. When

that handle was pulled, the second handle

that appears on the left of the anchor point

was generated and is a mirror image of the

other handle. It is this second handle that

will ultimately control the curvature of the

resulting line.

Figure 26 the handle of the anchor point is pulled in the direction the line is traveling.

Figure 27 the handle pulled is controlling the handle that faces the line, which is the handle being used to determine the line shape.

handle facing line and controlling path shape

handle pulled out when creating path



The click and drag action produces a handle.

This handle is not the line itself but simply

the method by which a path is controlled.

The actual line of the path is created when

the second anchor point is created: The result

is a line between the two anchor points.

There are times when you might want to pull

the handle in the opposite direction of the

route the line is following. These moves will

produce lines that exaggerate the curve or

make the line curve back on itself. Figure 28

shows how the handles work when pulled in

different directions.

The length of the handle determines the

height or depth of the curve. Figure 29

shows the effect of the length of the handles

on two similar line segments.

The control of the handles is followed for

each additional anchor point until the entire

shape is completed. The shape can be a

closed path, which means that the shape is

one complete form, such as a ball. The path

can also be an open path, which means that

the starting and ending points do not meet.

This can be used to create an arc. Figure 30

shows an open path and a closed path.

Figure 28 handles pulled in different directions will have different effects on the lines being produced.

Figure 29 the length of the handles determines the depth of the curvature.

Figure 30 At the top is a closed path that makes a complete oval. below it is an open path that makes an arc.



Changing direction

There are times, however, when a subsequent

point must follow a different curve. In this

case it is necessary to create a new handle

from the last anchor point to follow the tan-

gent of the new curve. Pressing the Option

(Alt) key while clicking and dragging on the

anchor point will produce a new handle that

can be set to an entirely new angle (Figure 31).

You can also grab the end of the handle while

pressing the Option (Alt) key and redirect it.

Figure 32 shows the effect on the line with a

new handle and without.

As mentioned earlier, having the fewest pos-

sible points on a path speeds processing and

ensures smoothness. Figures 33 and 34 show

a comparison of a good path to one with too

many points.

Figure 31 with the option (Alt) key pressed, a new handle is pulled from the anchor point.

Figure 32 the path on the left is continuing the path with the handle unaltered. the path on the right has a new handle to change the direction of the line from the anchor point.

Figure 33 the path in this image has far more anchor points than are needed to surround the element.

Figure 34 only the crucial posi-tions have an anchor point, making this an ideal path.

new handle being pulled from Anchor point



Additional pen tools

Another important detail to remember is

that the Pen Tool is very forgiving: If you

don’t get it right the first time, you can

always adjust it later. After a path is created,

you can click on any line segment with the

Direct Selection Tool and drag it to alter

the shape, or click on the anchor points of

that segment and the handles will appear.

Dragging the handles will adjust the line to

the desired shape. During the adjustment

period, if you find it impossible to get the

proper line with the existing points, you

can add more points. By the same token, if

you feel you have too many points, you can

delete some. Placing the Pen Tool over an

existing path will turn the tool into the Add

Anchor Points Tool. Placing the Tool over an

existing anchor point will convert the tool

into the Delete Anchor Points Tool. Placing

the tool cursor over an existing anchor point

while pressing the Option (Alt) key will turn

the tool into the Convert Anchor Point Tool,

which allows you to change a curved line

into a straight line and vice versa.

These last three tools mentioned can also be

chosen from the toolbox under the Pen Tool

(Figure 35).

single and compound paths

A path saved in Photoshop can be made

up of multiple line segments or individual

shapes. If there is more than one shape to

a path, it is considered a single path, and

any actions performed by it will affect all

elements uniformly. In Figure 36 you see

a close-up of the paths that make up the

image “Oakland.” Only certain paths within

the overall path are selected. Since these

particular paths were singled out from the

rest, any action performed will be applied

to the selected paths exclusively, as shown

in Figure 37.

Figure 35 Additional tools that can be used to modify paths can be found under the pen tool in the tools panel.

Figure 36 here you see multiple paths that make up the basic shapes for the painting “oakland.” the small triangles are selected.

Figure 37 filling the path with blue only affected the paths that were selected, leaving the other shapes untouched.



If any shape intersects another, the area

where they intersect will act as a compound

path, creating a hole in the shape. Figure 38

shows three shapes that have been filled

with a color. Figure 39 shows the same three

shapes, but they been moved to create an

overlap that acts like a hole when filled with

a color.

Figure 38 here two paths have been filled.

Figure 39 here the two paths overlap, which causes a negative area where the overlap occurs. this overlap area is not filled when the path is filled with a color.



selecting an odd shape

Let’s now select the basket of flowers in the

pastry crust (Figure 40). If you want to use

the same image, you can down load it from

the Peachpit Web site as with the other exam-

ples in the book.

It’s best to start out at a point where there are

two opposing angles, as you see in Figure 41.

That is a corner where two strands go in

different directions. A handle is pulled that

follows the tangent of the curve and is out

about a third of the distance to the next

point. In Figure 42 the second point is set.

Now the edge of what is supposed to be the

handle of the basket takes us in a different

direction. Pressing the Option (Alt) key,

a new handle is pulled to follow the new

direction (Figure 43).

Figure 40 the pastry crust flower basket needs to be separated from the background.

Figure 41 the first anchor point is created at a juncture.

Figure 42 the second anchor point is set.

Figure 43 with the option (Alt) key pressed, a new handle is generated for the anchor point.



A point is placed at the small twist in the

crust (Figure 44). It is then finished at the

top (Figure 45). A new handle is pulled and a

new curve follows the next shape (Figure 46).

On and on it continues until the entire shape

is surrounded. Interior shapes are also out-

lined. In Figure 47 I’ve stroked those interior

shapes to make them easier to see. As men-

tioned earlier, these shapes will be compound

paths that will cut holes in the overall shape.

Figure 48 shows the silhouetted pastry crust

flower basket.

It takes practice to master this tool. Rest

assured, the hours spent getting to know the

Pen Tool will pay off in the long run. Figure 44 An anchor point is set at a crook in the shape.

Figure 45 the anchor point that com-pletes the edge is set.

Figure 46 A new arc is created to follow the shape.

Figure 48 the final cutout.

Figure 47 the paths that will eventually cut holes in the overall shape.



patternsA pattern is usually used to fill large areas

with a repeating motif. People use patterns

as backgrounds for Web sites. But patterns

have many uses. In the book patterns are

discussed in Chapters 8 and 9. Two different

patterns are created in Chapter 9. Let’s start

with one of those patterns. In Chapter 10

you will create an intricate pattern of your

own. Figure 49 shows the brick wall on the

side of the orange building in the scene. I

have outlined the creation of a brick wall in

other books and videos, but this one is a bit

different. It required a lot of randomization

for the brick shapes. Chapter 9 goes into

detail on its creation.

To create a normal brick pattern, the process

is fairly simple. Chapter 10 provides a tuto-

rial that creates a complex pattern, but I feel

the need to show the comparison between

a simple pattern and a complex pattern by

providing you with this short step-by-step

tutorial.

1. Create a new file like the one in

Figure 50.

Figure 49 the brick wall on the side of the orange building.

Figure 50 the new file dialog box.



2. Choose View > Show > Grid (Figure 51).

3. Choose Photoshop > Preferences >

Guides, Grid & Slices (Figure 52).

4. Change the Subdivision number to 11

(Figure 53).

The reason for a large number is to make

the subdivisions small. These subdivisions

will be used to denote the grout space

between the bricks. The odd number will

ensure that the pattern will be symmetrical.

Figure 51 the show Grid menu option.

Figure 52 the Grid preferences.

Figure 53 the number for the subdivisions is set to 11.


pdf : Pen Tool And PATTerns photoshop studio with bert monroy : digiTAl PAinTing �0

5. In a new layer select a rectangle with the

Rectangular Marquee Tool that spans two

gridlines and goes down four subdivisions.

Then fill the selection with a color for the

brick (Figure 54).

6. Press the Option-Command (Alt-Ctrl)

keys to make a copy, and then drag the copy

to the right, leaving one subdivision between

the original and the duplicate, as shown in

Figure 55.

7. Drag another copy and center it beneath

the other two (Figure 56).

Here you see the reason for the odd number

of subdivisions, which enables you to center

a brick under the other two and add grout

space.

Figure 54 A single brick is created within the grid.

Figure 55 the brick is duplicated.

Figure 56 the brick is duplicated once more and centered beneath the other two.



8. Turn off the “eye” for the Background

layer. You want the area between the bricks

to be transparent.

9. Select the bricks, as shown in Figure 57.

10. Choose Edit > Define Pattern

(Figure 58).

11. Name the pattern in the Pattern Name

dialog box that pops up (Figure 59).

Figure 57 the bricks are selected to create the pattern.

Figure 58 define pattern is chosen from the edit menu.

Figure 59 the brick pattern is defined.

NOTE: When you create a pattern, the selected area treats the Photoshop file as if it was a flattened file. All elements within the selected area become the pattern.



12. Fill the layer with the pattern (Edit >

Fill > Pattern), as shown in Figure 60.

13. Fill the Background layer with a color

for the grout.

14. Add some noise (Filter > Noise > Add

Noise) to both the grout and the bricks

(Figure 61).

I usually will add a small amount of noise

that is non-Monochromatic for the grout,

which will introduce some colored texture.

I use Monochromatic for the brick to add

texture but maintain the brick color.

15. Give the bricks a little dimension by

applying a layer style of Bevel and Emboss

with Style set to Outer Bevel, as shown in

Figure 62.

That was easy!

Figure 60 the layer is filled with the brick pattern.

Figure 61 the background layer is filled with a color for the grout and textured with the Add noise filter.

Figure 62 the brick is given a layer style to give it dimension.


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pen tool and patterns - pearsoncmg.comptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/.../bookreg/digitalpainting/PenTool_Patterns_PDF_Final.pdfpdf : Pen Tool And PATTerns photoshop studio with bert monroy