Page #150 (119. Fill an Area with a Gradient)

120. About Drawing Shapes

Before You Begin

110 About the Toolbox

See Also

99 Move, Resize, Skew, or Distort a Layer

You can add shapes to an image such as a rectangle, circle, or even a star. You might add a circle, for example, to frame some text, or a star to adorn a favorite photo of your son. You can draw these basic shapes using the versatile Shape tool in Photoshop Elements. You can change the form of this adaptable tool to draw a rectangle, a rectangle with a rounded corners, an ellipse, a line, or a polygon with the number of sides you select. There is also a Custom Shape tool with which you can apply a variety of irregular shapes such as a heart, flower, butterfly, or pawprint.

To draw a shape, first click the Shape tool on the Toolbox. If necessary, select the shape to draw (such as a rounded rectangle) from those shown on the left end of the Options bar. On the Options bar, change other settings as desired. For example, you can change the color for the object you're about to draw by selecting a new foreground color, or by chosing a color from the Color list. You can apply a layer style to the shapes on this layer by selecting a Style.

In addition, each shape has its own options that you can change before drawing the shape. Some of these options appear on the Options bar. For example, if you chose the Polygon tool, you can change the number of sides on your polygon by adjusting the Sides value. Adjust the roundness of the corners of the Rounded Rectangle by changing the Radius value. The larger the Radius, the more round the corners. Adjust the thickness of the Line by changing its Weight. Select the shape you want to create with the Custom Shape tool by choosing one from the Shape list.

NOTES

A layer style applies special effects such as beveled edges, chrome effects, or color overlays to the contents of a layer. See 91 About Layers and the Layers Palette.

If you want to draw a shape from the center out, instead of from one corner to the other, select the From Center option on that shape's Options palette.

You can access additional options for each shape on its Options palette. Just click the down arrow at the end of the shapes list on the Options bar to display the options for your chosen shape. For example, you can enter the aspect ratio (proportions) of the rectangle you want to draw, and your shape will be constrained to those proportions automatically.

You can draw shapes on your photos with the Shape tools.

Click to establish the upper-left corner of your shape then drag down and to the right. The shape appears on its own layer. If you draw another shape, it's typically placed on its own layer, too. But there are buttons on the Options bar that allow you to add the new shape to the current layer and control how they interact.

These buttons on the Shape tool's Options bar let you specify where to place a new shape.

• To place this shape on its own layer, click the Create New Shape Layer button.

• To add this shape to any existing shape it intersects, click the Add to Shape Area button.

• To remove from an existing shape the area where it overlaps the new shape, click the Subtract from Shape Area button. The new shape is not filled; its shape is used only to take a "bite" out of an existing shape.

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  To draw a regular shape, press the Shift key as you draw the shape. Depending on the tool you have selected, you can draw a perfect square, a perfect circle, or a perfectly straight line at a 45-degree angle.

  
  

• To display only the area where the existing shape overlaps the new shape, click the Intersect Shape Area button. Neither shape is filled in this scenario; only the overlap area is filled.

• To subtract the area where the existing shape overlaps the new shape, click the Exclude Shape Area button. In this scenario, both shapes are filled, but the overlap area is not.

Shapes you draw are vector objects, which means they can be resized, moved, and otherwise manipulated after they are created. To select a shape so that you can change it, click the Shape tool on the Toolbox, and then click the Shape Selection tool on the Options bar. Click a shape in the image; handles appear around the perimeter of the shape's bounding box. Resize a shape by dragging a handle inward (to make the shape smaller) or outward (to make it bigger). To move the shape, drag it from the center. You can skew or distort an object in the same way you can a layer; see 99 Move, Resize, Skew, or Distort a Layer. You can rotate a shape in the same way you rotate a layer; see 106 Rotate an Image or Layer.

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You can change the color and layer style of a shape right after you create it if you like. Because shapes are vector data, you can change them as often as you like. To make certain changes however, such as applying a filter to the shape layer, the shape must be simplified first (that is, converted to raster data).

You can move, resize, or transform a shape.

KEY TERMS

Bounding box A rectangle that describes the boundaries of a drawn object, cropping border, or selection.

Handles Small squares that appear along the perimeter of the bounding box surrounding a drawn object, cropping border, or selection marquee. By dragging these handles, you can resize the object, border, marquee, or bounding box.