The basics

280 ADVANCED PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 5.0 FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS
PRODUCING EFFECTIVE
GRAPHICS
After adding/subtracting shapes
After adding Layer Styles
11.06 Customizing shapes
Suitable for Elements – 5.0, 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0 | Diffi culty level – Intermediate
Related techniques – 11.05 | Tools used – Shape tools | Menus used – Layer
Book resources at: www.adv-elements.com
Individual shapes
New shapes>>
The Elements
Shape tool
creates vectorbased(sharpedged)
art using a
variety of preinstalled
designs.
By adding to and
subtracting from
these shapes you
can create your
own design.
Photoshop Elements’ drawing tools, such as the rectangle, ellipse, polygon and line, give users
the option to create vector-based graphics which are stored as separate layers in their Elements
document. These tools create their content independent of the pixels that are the base of
photographic images. Being vector based means that these graphics can be scaled up and down
with no loss in quality. It also means that no matter what printer is chosen for output the shapes
will be printed at the best quality available, keeping the sharp edges of the graphics sharp.
As well as the predefi ned shapes such as rectangle and ellipse, Elements also ships with a range
of custom shapes that are also vector-based graphics. Though the program does not offer the
option of creating your own custom shapes you can customize those available by interactively
adding extra parts to and subtracting areas from these shapes.
This process is very similar to that used to modify a selection. To start we draw a base shape.
Automatically Elements creates a new layer to store the shape. By default each shape that you
draw is kept on a separate layer. If you want to add a shape to an existing shape make sure that