How to Use the Curvature Pen Tool in Adobe Photoshop

See Adobe Photoshop: Tips and Tricks for similar articles.

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. Anchor Points
  2. The new Curvature Pen Tool is located within the Pen Tool on the Tool Bar. 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. Curvature Pen Tool
  4. As you continue adding points, more curved line segments will form. Curvature Pen Tool
  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. Curvature Pen Tool
  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. Curvature Pen Tool
  7. The Options Bar has buttons for turning the closed path into a a Selection, Mask, or Shape. Options Bar
  8. Clicking the Shape button will create a new Shape layer in the Layers Panel. Layers Panel

Related Articles

  1. ChatGPT Explains Photoshop Neural Filters
  2. Kerning, Tracking, and Leading
  3. How to Create a Solid-Color Fill Layer in Adobe Photoshop
  4. How to Change Color in Parts of an Image in Adobe Photoshop
  5. How to Create a 3D Sphere in Adobe Photoshop
  6. How to Apply a Perspective Warp in Adobe Photoshop
  7. How to Use the Black & White Adjustment Layer in Adobe Photoshop
  8. How to Create Image Slices Using Existing Guides in Adobe Photoshop
  9. How to Use a Gradient Mask in Adobe Photoshop
  10. How to Save an Action Set in Adobe Photoshop
  11. How to Create 3D Extruded Text in Adobe Photoshop
  12. Convert Point Text to Paragraph Text in Photoshop CC
  13. How to Prepare an Image for Print Production in Adobe Photoshop
  14. How to Use the Magic Wand in Adobe Photoshop
  15. How to Apply an Iris Blur Effect in Adobe Photoshop
  16. How to Apply Lighting Effects in Adobe Photoshop
  17. How to Use the Clone Source Panel in Adobe Photoshop
  18. How to Create a 3D Postcard in Adobe Photoshop
  19. How to Create a Custom Warp in Adobe Photoshop
  20. How to Use Variable Fonts in Adobe Photoshop
  21. How to Apply a Tilt-Shift Blur Effect in Adobe Photoshop
  22. How to Use Panels in Adobe Photoshop
  23. How to Use the Curvature Pen Tool in Adobe Photoshop (this article)
  24. How to Use Retouching and Restoration in Adobe Photoshop
  25. How to Work with Stroke Smoothing in Adobe Photoshop
  26. How to Use Brush Blending Modes in Adobe Photoshop
  27. How to Insert Action Stops in Adobe Photoshop
  28. How to Copy CSS for Text and Shape Layers in Adobe Photoshop
  29. How to Apply and Copy Layer Styles in Adobe Photoshop
  30. How to Apply Content-Aware Scaling in Adobe Photoshop
  31. How to Use Quick Share in Adobe Photoshop
  32. How to Use Guides and Organization in Adobe Photoshop
  33. How to Place and Align Thumbnails on a Page in Adobe Photoshop
  34. How to Use Blending Modes for Simple Color Correction in Adobe Photoshop