Using Photoshop shapes
5. Load custom shapes.
Select the Custom Shape tool in the toolbox. In the options bar, click the down arrow to open the Custom Shape Picker. Click the black triangle to open the palette menu and select All, and then click Append. This loads all of Photoshop’s predrawn shapes into the Custom Shapes palette.
6. Draw a custom shape.
Now we’ll add a custom shape to the foreground for an overlay effect. Select the top layer of the image, and use the foreground color swatch to select a color for the new shape. Select a custom shape from the Custom Shapes palette. (For our image, we chose the sunburst shape.) Holding down the Shift key to constrain proportions, click and drag in the image to draw the shape.
Since it’s a vector shape on its own level, the sunburst is easy to move or resize. Select the layer and then use the Move tool to move the shape, or choose Edit > Free Transform to resize, rotate, flip, or skew it.
7. Fill the custom shape with a pattern.
Next we’ll apply one of Photoshop’s pattern effects to make our shape more interesting. Select the new shape in the layers palette, and then choose Layer > Change Layer Content > Pattern. Click the pattern in the Pattern Fill dialog box to open the Patterns palette. Click the black triangle to open the palette menu.
The palette menu shows different sets of patterns—Artist Surfaces, Color Paper, Nature Patterns, and so on—that you can add to your basic patterns palette. Select a set, and then click Append. Click a pattern to apply it to the custom shape. To change your shape back to a solid color or to a gradient, choose the Layer > Change Layer Content command again.
8. Add a layer effect to the shape.
To enhance your shape further, you can add layer effects to it. With the shape layer selected, click the Add a Layer Style button. Choose Stroke from the menu. In the Layer Style dialog box, choose settings for the stroke color, width, and position, and then click OK.
Experiment with different blending modes for the layer, such as Hue, Darken, or Multiply, using the mode menu in the Layers palette. To remove a layer effect, select the effect in the Layers palette and drag it to the Delete Layer icon.
