Working with Vectors in Photoshop

A Quick Guide

This Guide contains:

Introduction
Quick Guide to the Pen Tool
Quick Guide to the Selection Tools
Combining Shapes
Create Crisp Vector shapes
Making a Path from a Selection

Cos are
to r s
Vec exy!
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Working with Vectors in Photoshop
Introduction

I have to start by saying that Photoshop is not the best tool to work with vectors. Popular
and recommended vector programs are: Illustrator, Freehand, Corel Draw, and Flash
(and the free inkscape).
However Photoshop is able to make vectors. And in this tutorial i want to show you how
to handle vectors in Photoshop.

The most important Rule: Vectors contain no rastered elements.

This means: no photographs or textures.You are not allowed to use any Filter on your
artwork.
Why? Vectors are scalable without quality loss. When you work in Illustrator and increase
the canvas size, the vector artwork will always look the same and have the same file
size. In Photoshop increasing the canvas size will maintain the same quality, too, but the
filesize will go up, because it is a pixel-based program. (But that is also why Photoshop is
not recommended)

So, what elements of

The Photoshop
Photoshop can you use? Toolbar and
what Tools can
• Blending Modes. be used for
• Adjustement Layers, used with vector vectors and
masks. which not.
• Some Layer effects, for example: Color
Overlay, Gradient Overlay and Stroke.
Fill Layers, Solid Color & Gradient
• Following Tools: Paintbucket for whole
canvas layers, Selection Tools, Rectangle,
Line, custom Shapes, the Text tool and
your best friend for vectors: the Pen tool.

And what elements are not

allowed?
• The Fill Layer Pattern.
• Any Filter.
• Following Tools: All Marquee Tools, all
Lassos, Brushes, Pencil, Clone, Stamp,
Eraser, Gradient, Blur, Sharpen, Smudge,
Dodge, Burn, Sponge.
• Feathered Selections


Working with Vectors in Photoshop
Quick Guide to the Pen Tool

The most important tool when working with vectors in Photoshop is the Pen Tool. It let‘s
you create your own shapes and you can change shapes with it to your needs.

The Pen Tool

You create vector layers by clicking and
dragging. If you only click, you will get
anchor points with sharp corners.
If you click and drag you get handles that
control the curves of your shape.

The Freeform Pen Tool

Let‘s you „live draw“ you vector shapes.
Use it like a regular brush to create your
vector layer.

The Add and Delete Anchor-Point Pen Tool

They are pretty much self-explanatory. You can either use these Tools from the Toolbar
to use them or take them autmatically when working on your path/shape.
Hovering an anchor-point with the Pen Tool will give you the Delete Anchor Point Tool
by default. Click the Anchor-Point and it is gone.
Hovering the path will give you the Add Anchos-Point Tool. Clicking on the path will
then add a new point with handles.

The Convert Point Tool

This Tool lets you delete the handles from your Anchor-Point. Use it from the toolbar or
using the Pen Tool hover over a point holding ALT.

Created by clicking. Created by clicking and dragging.


Working with Vectors in Photoshop
Quick Guide to the Selection Tools

When you work with vectors in Photoshop you will have to use both the Path
Component Selection and Direct Selection Tool.

Path Component
Selection

The Path Component Selection tool lets

you select whole vector shapes and, for
example move them at once.

Being at 100% view you can move the

whole shape pixel by pixel with the arrow
keys on your keyboard.

However if you zoom in, you will be

moving the shape by fractions of a pixel
and get blurred edges.
This is the same for the Direct Selection
Tool.

Direct Selection Tool

The Direct Selection Tool lets you select the single anchor points of a vector shape.

In the left image I selected the top anchor point of the circle. In thr right one i moved the
anchor point using the arrow keys and then dragged on of the handles to change the points
curve.


Working with Vectors in Photoshop
Combining Shapes

If you make a vector shape you can always add more shapes to it. Let‘s say you have
a circle and you want to add some bubble or cut some curve out of it, here is how to
do it. You do this using the XXX palette.

Select one of the circles with the Path Component Select Tool and play around with the XXX
palette.

Add to Shape Area Subtract from Shape Area

Bot shapes add up together to make a The selected path will cut out the parts
new one. he shares with the other one.

Intersect shape areas Exclude overlapping Shape Area

Only the part both paths share stays Here only tha part both paths don‘t share
visible. stays visible.

You can easily make one shape out of these 2 paths by clicking the „Combine“ button
right to them.
On advantage of not combining the shapes is, that you will still be able to transform the
shapes seperately. Slecting ong shape with the Path Component Tool and then press
Apple/CTRL + T to transform the path.
However you can always select single Anchor Points and adjust them to your needs.


Working with Vectors in Photoshop
Create Crisp Vector shapes

Since Photoshop is a pixel based program, you can easily get blurry lines working with
vector shapes.
But there is a really easy trick to keep your shapes crisp in Photoshop.

Select the Rectangle Tool (or any other shape tool) and click on the arrow at the right end
of the bar. There you have to check „Snap to Pixels“ and your shape will have clean and
crisp edges.

But why are the shapes not crisp from the beginning?
This is because Photoshop is pixel-based, BUT capable of vectors.
Vectors work in fractions of a pixel.

In this screenshot you can see the paths and the pixels at the same time. The left one is set
to „Snap to Pixels“ the right one drawn with that option unchecked.

You can correct the blurred adges by using the Path Component Selection or Direct
Selection Tool to correct this by moving the path or anchor points when you zoom in.


Working with Vectors in Photoshop
Making a Path from a Selection

Let‘s say you have a great grungy or splatter brush you want to use. Here is a trick to
turn it into vector shapes.

Make a new layer and paint the brush you want to vector.

Make a selection of your layer (hold apple/ctrl and click on the layer symbol in the layer
palette). Or go to „Select > Color Range“ and with the Eyedropper tool select your brush.

With the selection still active go to the Path

palette and click the top right arrow and
choose „Make Work Path“.

Select how detailed you want the path to be

and you have a path. (0,5 is the lowest you
can go.)


Working with Vectors in Photoshop
Making a Path from a Selection

Go back to the layers palette and create a new Solid Color layer.

And you have a layer in the shape of your brush.

To get the best shape you should try to find high resolution brushes and use them on a
big canvas. You will get better defined shapes which wil make your artwork look more
detailed. Since they are vector layers they are perfectly scalable.

This technique is not recommended if your brush has lots of shades and gradients.
However you can create multiple shapes, by selecting different color ranges and
setting the layers to different opacities, to get that efffect.


Working with Vectors in Photoshop
A Quick Guide

Thank you for reading!

If you like this tutorial, please fave the deviation :)

But d
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Illus n‘t forg
trato et:
Vectthe better is
or Pr r
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m!

Special thanks to =kubusrubus for providing me with english

screenshots and ^brgtt for making the vector on the cover.