Skip to main content
Dan Rodney/2 min read

Creating Paths with the Pen Tool

Common Photoshop Tools

Brush Tool

Paint with custom brushes, opacity, and flow control.

Clone Stamp

Sample one area and paint it elsewhere — perfect for repairs.

Healing Brush

Smarter than clone — blends texture and tone of the source.

Pen Tool

Create precise vector paths for selections or shapes.

Master Photoshop at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's Photoshop Bootcamp covers retouching, compositing, color correction, and pro editing.

Expand your Photoshop skills with this detailed tutorial on the Pen tool, complete with step-by-step exercises and invaluable tips for creating Bézier curves.

Topics Covered in This Photoshop Tutorial:

The Pen Tool, Creating Paths of Bézier Curves

Exercise Preview

curves template large

Exercise Overview

This exercise gives you an overview of the Pen tool. You’ll draw some basic curves (known as Bézier curves) using the template we have made for you. It’s easy once you know how!

  1. From the Photoshop Class folder, open the file Curves Template.psd.
  2. Choose the Pen tool pen tool.
  3. In the Options bar, on the left, select Path in the dropdown menu. (A path refers to a combination of as many Bézier curves as you want.)

Bézier Curve Drawing Tips

This file is a template for you to trace so you get practice drawing Bézier curves. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you draw:

  1. In part A, you will drag from the numbered black points to the red circle. This must be done in ONE motion: press down (without releasing) on the black point and hold while dragging to the red circle.
  2. If you mess up, just undo it.

  3. When done drawing one line, do any one of the following to deselect the line before continuing on to draw the next line:

    • Hit the Escape (Esc) key.
    • Switch to the Path Selection tool path selection tool and click off the line to deselect it.
    • Hold Cmd (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) (a shortcut to get the Direct Selection tool) and click off the line to deselect it.
  4. Each section removes some of the “training wheels” so you get a chance to get better at judging how far to drag, and in what direction.

  5. If you finish and want to try tracing the lines again, just go to File > Revert and your work is erased so you can start tracing them fresh again.

    NOTE: For more tips on drawing Bézier curves, please refer to the Drawing Paths reference at the back of the book.