THE PEN TOOL
Start a path
Open car_before then grab the Pen tool. In the top tool options,
set the mode to Path, click the cog and check ‘Rubber Band’ (this
attaches a line to your cursor, making it easier to see how the tool
works). Click on the top of the car, then again to make a curved line.
Sharp cornering
Sometimes you’ll need the path to make a sharp turn. If so, hold Alt
and click the anchor point. This removes the outer handle, allowing
you to create an abrupt corner. Keep tracing the edges of the car
until the path is complete, then click on the first point to close it off.
Drag and drop
Open another image to use as a backdrop
(we used a free image from pixabay.com,
search for road-2072528). Grab the Move
tool then drag the car into the other image
to copy it over. If you need to reposition it,
hit Cmd/Ctrl+T to transform. Next make a
new layer and drag it below the car layer.
Hug the edges
Hold Cmd/Ctrl and drag the anchor point, or its two control points,
to change either the position, or the curvature of the line. Fine-tune
the positioning so the anchor point hugs the outline of the car.
Click-drag again to make more anchors and trace around the edges.Make a mask
When the path is done, you can Cmd/Ctrl+drag to fine-tune any
anchor points that need adjusting until it hugs the edges of the car.
Next right-click the path and ‘Make Selection’. Set Feather Radius to
0.5 and hit OK. Go to the Layers panel and click the Add Mask icon.Paint a shadow
Get the Brush tool, set colour to black and
hit 3 for 30% opacity, then paint a shadow
under the car. Highlight the top layer, click
the Create Adjustment Layer icon and
choose Color Balance. Set the Blend Mode
to Soft Light, click the ‘clip to layer’ icon,
then add yellow and red to tone the car.1
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Expert Tip
PEN TOOL SHORTCUTSWhen plotting anchor points with the
Pen tool, holding Space temporarily
allows you to move the position of
the point. If you need to move the
point later, hold Cmd/Ctrl and drag
it. This also lets you adjust the
control handles of each anchor
point. If you need to make a sharp
corner and reverse the direction of
the line, alt-click the anchor to
remove the outer handle. You can
also alt-drag the control handles to
break the connection between them
and adjust each independently.6