How to Use the Curvature Pen Tool in Adobe Photoshop

The Pen Tool has been the primary drawing tool in Adobe design software since the beginning, allowing users to create custom outlines. It has also been a source of frustration for many a novice because it involves various mouse techniques and keyboard shortcuts to create perfect curves. Photoshop now features a Curvature Pen Tool which simplifies the drawing process considerably.

This tool is new to Adobe Photoshop CC 2018

1. It's useful to understand how the classic Pen Tool works. Lines and shapes are controlled by creating anchor points. There are corner points which connect straight line segments; smooth anchor which connect curved line segments and feature two Bezier handles for controlling the tangents; and connector points that connect straight to curved line segments, or curves that meet at an angle. Connector points can have either one or two Bezier handles.
2. The new Curvature Pen Tool is located within the Pen Tool on the Tool Bar.
3. Click and release in two spots in the image window and a straight line segment forms. The first line segment alway starts out straight, but will convert to a curved line as additional anchor points are added. To curve the first line, click and hold in the center of it, and "push" it to the desired curve. This creates an additional smooth point in that line segment.
4. As you continue adding points, more curved line segments will form.
5. If a corner point is needed, double-clicking the anchor point will convert it. If you know that corner point is needed up front, you can also double-click as you create it.
6. Paths can be either open, in the case of a simple line, or closed, as in a shape. When making a shape, a small circle appears next to the pen icon when you get back to the point of origins indicating that the path is about to be closed. You can also press Esc at any time to close a path.
7. The Options Bar has buttons for turning the closed path into a a Selection, Mask, or Shape.
8. Clicking the Shape button will create a new Shape layer in the Layers Panel.