- Set up the pen tool. Get the pen tool by clicking the icon in
the toolbox (as in Figure 10-27) or by pressing the P key. Then
confirm the following settings in the options bar:- Create a path by clicking the in the first group of icons.
This is, wisely, the default setting. - Turn on the Auto Add/Delete check box.
- Check that the first icon, , is active in the last icon group.
The preferred settings appear in the figure (below).
- Create a path by clicking the in the first group of icons.
Figure 10-27. 7. Resume the path from its endpoint. Note that if you move the
cursor into the image window but away from the path outline,
the cursor gets a little × next to it, like this:. If you were to
start clicking, you’d draw a new path that would appear as a sub-
path in your Body Path entry in the Paths panel. Don’t do that.
Instead, move the cursor over the open anchor point you se-
lected in Step 5, until you get the cursor. (That tiny square
with the two nodes is supposed to be a path going into and out
of an anchor point.) Then, click the endpoint to make it ready
to receive more points.- Add a point to the path. Slightly inside the skin area, about two-
thirds up the visible part of her lower arm, click and hold; then
continue dragging upward toward the crook of her elbow. What
you’ve just done is create a smooth point and it’s corresponding
control handles, as shown in Figure 10-28 on the facing page.
When you click and then drag with the pen tool in this manner,
Photoshop creates a pair of round control handles that sit on a
slightly inclined seesaw-style lever through the anchor point.
These handles will attract and repel the segment in a magnet-
like way as you adjust them, allowing you to manipulate the
curvature of your path outline
Before you release the mouse button, try twirling the control handles.
See how they move symmetrically about the point? This is a function of
a smooth point, which guides the path outline through a continuous,
even arc. Release the mouse button when your handles are in the
positions shown in Figure 10-28.358 Lesson 10: Creating and Applying Masks