Curvy Papers and Custom Shapes in Photoshop CS:

Photoshop CS for windows

by Angie Svoboda 2005

So you want to be curvy? I mean you want your papers to be curvy. This is a fun and easy tutorial that can be used in Photoshop 7, CS, and CS2 to make those fun and curvy papers. At the end I will then show you how to make a custom shape in Photoshop 7 or CS to make the process even easier the next time you want a sexy curve.

Start by first making a blank new transparent document. File>New>OK. I am making a 12x12 200dpi file.

A quick and easy way to make a curve is to start with a pre-made custom shape tool and tweek it to make your shape. I will start with a heart shape (this has a nice curve on each side). The custom shapes are located on the tool bar, as shown below.

The rectangle tool is the normal default tool, to get to the custom shape tool, right click on the little fly out arrow on the bottom of the rectangle box, this will open up some options. Next click on custom shape tool. At the top of the screen you can now select the shape you would like to work with. Again click on the little fly out arrow to open up the selections.

The heart should be in the default selections.

If you want to open up and load all the custom shapes in Photoshop click on the fly out arrow and click on all. Then click ok. This will load all custom default shapes from photoshop.

Click on the heart to select it. Click in the top upper right hand corner of your open blank document, hold the shift and drag out your heart. It does not matter what color you use.

You should have an image similar to this.

Next click on the move tool, and click on a corner and drag the shape to make it bigger.

As you can see in my example I have made the shape go way off the document. What you are left with is a nice curved shape.

Create a new layer.

Then click on Layer > Merge Visible

Select > Load Selection (this puts marching ants around the new shape)

Click on the Path tab in the layers palette

Make work path from selection

Edit > Define Custom Shape

Name your new custom shape and click ok

This new shape is now in your custom shapes.

To use this custom shape open up a background paper you would like to make curvy.

Draw out your new curvy shape. You can transform the shape by clicking and holding down the control key and dragging on each corner or center box.

This is what your layers palette should look like.

Double click on your background layer (or patterned paper) and click ok.

This will turn the background layer it into layer 0, you can now edit this layer.

Hold Control and click on your shape layer. This will put marching ants around the shape. Now click on your background layer. (the marching ants will stay around the shape)

Edit > copy.

Edit > paste.

You now have a layer with a curvy paper. You can drag the original shape layer and original background layers into the trash can to delete them. You are left with a curvy paper.

To save your custom shape open up the shape box. Hold the alt key and click on each shape. You will see a sissors, each time you click you will remove the shape you click on. Delete them them all then save as a new custom shape. I have created a folder on my hard drive that I save all the shapes I have created. (I do the same with actions, brushes, dingbats and contours).

Enjoy!!! I can't wait to see the new curvy shapes you create. :)