Recently I have seen many people interested in learning how to use the Photoshop pen tool to create edits. It's quite simple, so I hope many of you editors out there can get some use out of this tutorial.

I don't usually use the pen tool in Photoshop, just because I have been boycotting it ever since I first tried it. I very much like the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator(which I first started designing with over 6 years ago), so when I tried the Photoshop pen tool a few years after that... I was pretty disappointed. But they both pretty much do the same thing - Photoshop's pen tool is just a tad more inconvenient to use.

I brushed up on my Photoshop pen tool skills with Ann Madison the other day and decided to give the Photoshop pen tool a shot again.

This is my final outcome:


>>>DOWNLOAD THE .PSD<<<


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How to use the Pen Tool
First off, if you don't know how to use the pen tool at all - read these simple instructions:
(if you already know how it works skip past this part)

This is the pen tool:


Make sure your top workspace looks like this before starting(have paths selected instead of shape layers):


Basics on how to use it:
1. Click the canvas once with the pen tool on a blank layer
2. Click the canvas a second time to make the two "anchor points" to make a straight line
3. Keep going
4. If you want a curved line: When you click the second time DO NOT unclick - instead drag your mouse in any direction. You will notice how the line curves, then drag your mouse around until you get the desired curved line, then unclick
5. To continue most curved lines properly you will need to click your last anchor point while holding ALT on your keyboard. What this essentially does is make your last anchor point become a "neutral" anchor point again (like your very first one)
6. To deselect your path/line hold CTRL and click anywhere on the canvas

If you need more help please take a look at some of these more-in depth tutorials:
Pen Tool for Beginner Level Photoshop Users
Pen Tool Selections
Pen Tool Basics

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Pen Tool Dress Tutorial
*Note - For this tutorial I left my bimbo out to keep everything simple and easy to see, but I recommend making your dress over your bimbo. It will help you stick to effective shading and proportions.

1. Start with a sketch. Use the brush tool to lay out what you want your dress to look like. It can be as messy or clean as you want - you will clean it up with the pen tool soon.


2. As you can see I have already cleaned up my dress with the pen tool. I used the pen tool over my quick sketch and when I was done I right clicked> then clicked "fill path". Now I am starting to draw the dress's outlines on a new layer.

*Tip: Dollphane's clothes always have a outline in a darker shade around them, and for all major folds/ruffles/seems/etc in the fabric. Make sure to keep this in mind if you are trying to achieve a similar style!


3. Once you outline your dress right click your mouse and select "stroke path". Make sure your brush tool is set to 1px width and 100% hardness BEFORE you stoke the path - if it is not then your stoke will be either very thick or blurry. Once your brush is set up properly, reselect your pen tool.


4.Continue to give your dress all its essential outlines with the pen tool, and right click to stroke your paths. If you mess up, you can always erase your lines and start over. Here is mine finished:

*Tip: I didn't like some of the hard lines on lower portion of my dress - so I went over them with the eraser tool at a low opacity a few times. They blend a bit better into the dress this way.


5.I am now starting to put shadows on my dress. Make a new layer for your shading, and drag the layer underneath your outline layer. Use the pen tool to make a closed shape. Then, right click and select "Fill path". Make sure you have a color that is slightly darker than the dress for the shadows.


6.Finish all your shading - if should look something like this:

*Tip: All of Dollphane's designs (including the bimbo itself) have a shadow on the right side of them, with the light source coming from the left. Keep this in mind as you decide where the shadows should be.


7.Pick a color slightly lighter than your dress color for the highlights, and create a new layer under the outline layer. Use the same method as you did for the shadows on the dress.

*Tip:Not all of the little highlights and shadows need to be done with the pen tool, I used the brush tool on a few of the smaller highlight/shading areas.


8. Add any little details your dress that you want. I choose to make some beads around the neckline of my dress, and change the color of my sash.

To make the beads I made a 1pixel white dot and added a 1 pixel brown stoke with a lighter opacity on it in the layer style menu.

To change the color of the sash I held: SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+E and made a copy of all my layers. I then cut out the main sash part, deleted the rest, and changed the color of it using the hue and saturation menu. You can get to the hue and saturation menu by CTRL+U.

I then put a layer mask on my sash layer. After that, I used the gradient tool with a black/white gradient on my layer mask. What this did was make my purple sash fade upwards to pink, instead of being solid purple.



9. My favorite part... putting on a texture or pattern! Find a texture you want to use. I used a pattern I downloaded from DeviantArt. You can find it here.

To add a texture/pattern make a new layer. Use the paint bucket tool with a patten selected on your new layer. Turn your layers opacity down to 40% or lower.
 

Erase everything you don't want to have a pattern on. I choose to leave the straps, sash, and details un-patterned.


I also changed my pattern layer to hard light and turned the opacity to 15%.


*Tip: Remember that you can change the color/saturation of your texture/pattern with CTRL+U. You can also change the contrast of it with the level's menu by CTRL+L.

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That was it! Doesn't look too hard does it?

I hope you enjoyed - and learned something.

If you do try this tutorial please post your results. If you have any questions you can ask them here or message me.

Last edited by Nebby (03-08-2010 11:09)