Creating Custom Shapes In Photoshop

[ctaulbee]

This Tutorial requires you have Adobe Illustrator installed to use this method, it can be done in CorelDraw and other vector editors but they will need a add-on to export the path(s) to the clipboard which is a bit more complex, so for this tut, we will be using AI as the vector program.

Custom Shapes in Photoshop are pre-defined Vector objects, so using one of those is the same as using a linked vector smart object like an EPS file except it's stored and managed and editable right inside Photoshop.

To get one into Photoshop from a EPS file or other vector file, is pretty easy and requires just a few steps, for this Example I'm using Ego's Breakthrough Entertainment Logo in EPS, many thanks to him and others who share their custom files as they make all our lives a little easier.

First open AI and check your preferences--under the clipboard options--make sure the AICB box is checked else this will not work as Photoshop uses that method to import the path.
[attachment=33437:CustomSh...ViaEPS01.jpg]

Next open the EPS file in AI and select the whole object, then copy it to the clipboard ctrl+c or select copy from the EDIT options menu tab.
[attachment=33438:CustomSh...ViaEPS02.jpg]

Go to PS, create a new blank canvas, under "file - new" it will use the clipboard as a guide to make the correct size but size really don't matter as this will be inserted as a path and will be fully scale-able anyway, press ctrl+v to paste or select paste from the EDIT options menu tab, now because PS knows there is path data on the clipboard and it will give you a options box before pasting, if you don't get that you did something wrong. Select the Shape Layer option for this example, now you could use some of the other options if you wanted depending on your needs.
[attachment=33439:CustomSh...ViaEPS03.jpg]

You now have a nice vector shape layer in PS with a color thumb so you can set it's color by just clicking that and selecting the color you want it to be.
[attachment=33440:CustomSh...ViaEPS04.jpg]

By default the entire path is selected so before you do anything else, you can take this a step further and save this vector info as a Custom Shape right in PS so it is always available, I do this for often used logos so I never have to leave PS to find them. Select the 'Define Custom Shape' from the EDIT options menu tab here.
[attachment=33441:CustomSh...ViaEPS05.jpg]

A name it box will open, just enter the name for this shape like so.
[attachment=33442:CustomSh...ViaEPS06.jpg]

Now it will be on your custom shapes menu and you can add it to any file just by selecting it and drawing it in like any other shape and it remains a vector object but stored in PS now, remember to save your custom shapes file after making changes so you can re-load them if needed.
[attachment=33443:CustomSh...ViaEPS07.jpg]

[bazzah]

Great tut C

[sauron]