Of course, this may raise the question of why, if we can make selections with the Pen Tool, is it not grouped in with the other selection tools (the Rectangular Marquee Tool, the Elliptical Marquee Tool, the Lasso Tool, etc.) at the top of the Tools palette? Why is it down there with those other tools which are clearly not selection tools? You'll find the Pen Tool in the Tools palette, grouped in with the Shape Tools, the Type Tool, and the Path Selection (the white arrow) and Direct Selection (the black arrow) Tools (see the image on the left).

This tutorial is from our How to make selections in Photoshop series.ĭownload this tutorial as a print-ready PDF! Where Do I Find The Pen Tool?īefore we start talking about what the Pen Tool is or how to use it, we should look at where to find it in Photoshop first.

Far from it! Virtually every popular photo editing, graphics and page layout program uses the Pen Tool in one form or another, so once you've learned how to use it in Photoshop, you'll already have a good understanding of how to use it in lots of other programs as well! One of the great things about the Pen Tool is that it's not something that's exclusive to Photoshop.

But getting to that point requires a little practice and effort, and while reading every book there is on how to ride a bike may teach you the fundamentals of how the pedals, gears and brakes work, it's not until you're on the bike struggling to keep your balance that the real learning begins. Once you've learned, it will seem completely natural and you'll wonder how anyone could possibly not know how to use something so simple. Learning how to use the Pen Tool is a lot like learning how to ride a bike. Now, when I say 'easy', I don't mean you're going to read this tutorial and be instantly transformed into a Pen Master. We're going to learn just how easy it really is to make selections with the Pen Tool.

In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, we're going to put an end to the suffering. Ultimately, their work in Photoshop suffers for it, since they're stuck relying on the Lasso Tool for just about everything they can't select with the Rectangular or Elliptical Marquee Tools. Most people put off learning how to use the Pen Tool for as long as possible, while others never get around to learning it, believing it's just too confusing, too complicated, and just plain unnatural. When it comes to making selections in Photoshop, there's really two types of people - those who know how to use the Pen Tool, and those who struggle.

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