N-Photo - The Nikon Magazine - USA (2019-07)

SECTION HEAD

The

Mission

• Create a cut-out with the
  Pen tool and drop it into
  a new composite image

Time

• 30 minutes

Skill level

• Intermediate

Kit needed

• Photoshop CC

Unleash the power of Pen

James Patterson shows how to create a simple composite

in Photoshop CC and get to grips with the mighty Pen tool

It might be one of the trickier

tools on offer in Photoshop, but

the Pen tool rewards those who

persevere with a level of control

like no other. It works by letting

you plot a series of anchor points,

each of which spouts control

handles that let you determine

the curvature of the line.

At first it might seem

complicated and unwieldy, but

with a little practice the controls

become second nature. In this

tutorial we’ll use the Pen tool to

trace around a car then, once

done, we’ll use a layer mask to

hide its original background

and drop in an entirely new one.

There are different selection

tools for different tasks in

Photoshop. For example, if

you want to make a very rough

selection, then you might use

the Lasso tool, and if you want

to select a portion of an image

like a sky then it’s usually best to

use the Quick Selection tool. By

contrast, the Pen tool isn’t meant

for intricate selections with lots

of fuzzy detail. Instead it excels

at isolating hard-edged, curvy

objects, like our car here.

It’s worth noting, too, that the

tool is equally adept at creating

shapes as it is at selecting them,

which is why it’s beloved by

graphic designers and art editors.

When using the tool, there are a

few vital keyboard shortcuts

that speed things up, and it’s

worth spending time to learn

these straight off the bat.

ADOBE CC

Project^ five:^ Adobe^ CC

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