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Matt Fons/3 min read

How to Create a New Canvas File in Photoshop: Step-by-Step Guide

New Document Setup

1

File → New (Ctrl/Cmd+N)

Opens the New Document dialog with preset categories.

2

Pick a Preset Category

Print, Web, Mobile, Photo, Video — sets sane defaults.

3

Set Resolution

72 PPI for screen, 300 PPI for print. Don't mix these up.

4

Choose Color Mode

RGB for screen, CMYK for print — easy to forget but critical.

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This Photoshop tutorial walks through how to create a new canvas file in photoshop, covering essential tools and techniques for your projects.

In this video, we'll quickly go over how to create a new file as a canvas. Let's start by going to File > New**, and here we have the opportunity to create a canvas.

Let's go over some of the details of how we can configure this file. First, we'll double-click the title and simply type “Canvas.” Next, we have the ability to change not only the width and height, but also the units of measurement. We'll select Inches and change this to Pixels**.

Let's also change our width by double-clicking and typing,000**. We'll change our height to,000 as well. In order to maintain a canvas-type file, we won’t select Artboards**, as we’ll be covering artboards in the future.

Next, our resolution refers to the PPI**, or pixels per inch**. The higher this number, the higher the resolution, and the more clarity and detail in the image. When creating an image for the web or for a draft, we might reduce our resolution to 72 PPI**.

However, for many photos and high-resolution images, we'll leave it at 300 PPI**. In addition, we can also change our Color Mode and our Background Contents**. Then, we’ll click Create**.

Since this file will just be used for demonstration purposes, we won’t need to save it. However, we do want to go over how to change our canvas size if we determine that we need to adjust it after creation. To do this, we’ll go to Image > Canvas Size**, and with Canvas Size selected, we can adjust our width and height.

We can also change the units of measurement to Pixels**. For example, we can change the width to,000**, and using the Tab key twice, we’ll also change the height to,000**.

Click OK**. If we zoom out using CTRL + Minus (-)** on the keyboard, we’ll see that we still have a square canvas. However, looking at our document properties, we’ll see it’s now roughly twice the size.

Next, let’s go over one helpful trick that may be useful when correcting mistakes. Let’s say we’ve created a square using the Rectangle Tool**, and while holding Shift**, we create a perfect square.

Next, we move this square using the Move Tool**, dragging it to the right. However, let’s say that moving it there was a mistake.

We could try to click and drag it back to its original position, or we can press CTRL + Z on the keyboard to undo the mistake. In addition, if we want to redo something we've previously undone, we can press CTRL + SHIFT + Z on the keyboard to redo it.

As we make multiple changes throughout these videos, remembering that we can undo mistakes with CTRL + Z can be very helpful. We'll continue in the next video. See you there.