Photoshop 6 Working Review pg 4: Production Graphics with Wendy Peck at webreference.com | WebReference

Photoshop 6 Working Review pg 4: Production Graphics with Wendy Peck at webreference.com

Logo

Photoshop 6 Working Review: Vectors, wonderful Vectors

Look at that bounding box. Have you ever seen anything so sweet. Vectors have arrived.

Photoshop has vectors. How long have I been waiting to say that? And they have done a great job with them, too. It all starts with this new little tool in the Toolbox. Click on it, glance up to the Toolbar, and a whole new world opens up. You will have to get used to thinking of layers in a different way if you are familiar with vector programs, and it will take a while to make the leap from Photoshop raster format, but the time spent learning will be well rewarded.


 

Take a look at the Layer palette at the left. The vector objects are built on layers, with the color assigned by the layer. I can see great possibilities for this in proofing for clients. Double click on the color in the layer listing and the color palette opens up, ready for you to instantly change the color for the entire layer.

The real excitement for me is in the Custom Shapes option. You can use predefined shapes, or start from a predefined shape and create your own using the shape tools.
   

The shot above shows the predefined shapes, but take a look to the left. I have taken one of the shapes and reshaped it using the path controls. If you have not had reason to brush up on the path capabilities, now is the time. Once you have your shape as you want it, the real fun begins. You can add effects to vector layers, just as for raster layers. But even that is not what has me so excited. Look at the image below.

See that selection boundary? I took my vector shape and with a couple of clicks, converted it to a selection boundary. Now, your imagination should be running wild. Add this to the power of raster tools, like channels, layer masks, feathering, etc., and the full implication should start to emerge.

And the vectors are truly resolution independent until you rasterize the layer. Great stuff, and I know I have just scratched the surface.

   
 

Next page

Photoshop 6 Working Review Tutorial Index

Photoshop 6 Working Review Start
Powerful Text Upgrades
Lock and Love Those Layer Sets
Vectors, Wonderful Vectors
ImageReady is Ready

Front page2345


URL: https://www.webreference.com/graphics/
Created: August 28, 2000
Revised: August 28, 2000