Draw with the Pen tools

From the Pen tools group, select the Content-Aware Tracing Tool.

Hover the cursor over the edge of an object to highlight it.

Click on the highlighted section to create a path.

To add to the path, hover over an adjacent edge to highlight a new section and hold the Shift key while clicking to extended the path. The pink line that appears indicates that you're adding a new section to the existing path.

To delete an area from the path, hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) while you click. You can also click and drag in a direction to remove larger sections.

From the Pen tools group, select the Curvature Pen tool.

To create the first anchor point, click or tap anywhere in the document.

Click/tap again to define the second anchor point and complete the first segment of the path. Click once (default) if you want the next segment of your path to be curved. Double-click if you want to draw a straight segment next.

(Curved path) Using a mouse or on a touch device, drag the pointer to draw the next segment of your path. While the mouse button is pressed down, optimize the curve of the segment. The previous segment is automatically adjusted to keep the curve smooth.

(Curved path) Release the mouse button to drop the anchor point and complete the second segment.

Draw additional segments and complete the path.

When you're done drawing, press the Esc key.

Select the Pen tool.

Position the Pen tool where you want the straight segment to begin, and click to define the first anchor point (do not drag).

Click again where you want the segment to end (Shift-click to constrain the angle of the segment to a multiple of 45°).

Continue clicking to set anchor points for additional straight segments.

The last anchor point you add always appears as a solid square, indicating that it is selected. Previously defined anchor points become hollow, and deselected, as you add more anchor points.

Complete the path by doing one of the following:

• To close the path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor point. A small circle appears next to the Pen tool pointer  when it is positioned correctly. Click or drag to close the path.

• To leave the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) anywhere away from all objects.

To leave the path open, you can also select a different tool.

Select the Pen tool.

Position the Pen tool where you want the curve to begin, and hold down the mouse button.

The first anchor point appears, and the Pen tool pointer changes to an arrowhead. (In Photoshop, the pointer changes only after you’ve started dragging.)

Drag to set the slope of the curve segment you’re creating, and then release the mouse button.

In general, extend the direction line about one third of the distance to the next anchor point you plan to draw. (You can adjust one or both sides of the direction line later.)

Hold down the Shift key to constrain the tool to multiples of 45°.

Position the Pen tool where you want the curve segment to end, and do one of the following:

• To create a C‑shaped curve, drag in a direction opposite to the previous direction line. Then release the mouse button.

• To create an S‑shaped curve, drag in the same direction as the previous direction line. Then release the mouse button.

Continue dragging the Pen tool from different locations to create a series of smooth curves. Note that you are placing anchor points at the beginning and end of each curve, not at the tip of the curve.

Complete the path by doing one of the following:

• To close the path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor point. A small circle appears next to the Pen tool pointer  when it is positioned correctly. Click or drag to close the path.

• To leave the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) anywhere away from all objects or select a different tool.

Using the Pen tool, click corner points in two locations to create a straight segment.

Position the Pen tool over the selected endpoint. A small diagonal line, or slash, appears next to the Pen tool. To set the slope of the curved segment you’ll create next, click the anchor point, and drag the direction line that appears.

Position the pen where you want the next anchor point; then click (and drag, if desired) the new anchor point to complete the curve.

Using the Pen tool, drag to create the first smooth point of the curved segment, and release the mouse button.

Reposition the Pen tool where you want the curved segment to end, drag to complete the curve, and release the mouse button.

Select the Convert Point tool from the toolbox, and then click the selected end point to convert it from a smooth point to a corner point.

Select the Pen tool from the toolbox, position the Pen tool where you want the straight segment to end, and click to complete the straight segment.

Using the Pen tool, drag to create the first smooth point of a curved segment.

Reposition the Pen tool and drag to create a curve with a second smooth point; then press and hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and drag the direction line toward its opposing end to set the slope of the next curve. Release the key and the mouse button.

This process converts the smooth point to a corner point by splitting the direction lines.

Reposition the Pen tool where you want the second curved segment to end, and drag a new smooth point to complete the second curved segment.

Complete a path in one of the following ways:

• To close a path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor point. A small circle appears next to the Pen tool pointer  when it is positioned correctly. Click or drag to close the path.

• To leave a path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) anywhere away from all objects.

Select the Freeform Pen tool .

To control how sensitive the final path is to the movement of your mouse or stylus, click the inverted arrow next to the shape buttons in the options bar, and enter a value between 0.5 and 10.0 pixels for Curve Fit. A higher value creates a simpler path with fewer anchor points.

Drag the pointer in the image. As you drag, a path trails behind the pointer. When you release the mouse, a work path is created.

To continue the existing freehand path, position the pen pointer on an end point of the path, and drag.

To complete the path, release the mouse. To create a closed path, drag the line to the initial point of the path (a circle appears next to the pointer when it is aligned).

To convert the Freeform Pen tool to the Magnetic Pen tool  , select Magnetic in the options bar, or click the inverted arrow next to the shape buttons in the options bar, select Magnetic, and set the following:

• For Width, enter a pixel value between 1 and 256. The Magnetic Pen detects edges only within the specified distance from the pointer.

• For Contrast, enter a percentage value between 1 and 100 to specify the contrast required between pixels for that area to be considered an edge. Use a higher value for low-contrast images.

• For Frequency, enter a value between 0 and 100 to specify the rate at which the Pen sets anchor points. A higher value anchors the path in place more quickly.

• If you are working with a stylus tablet, select or deselect Pen Pressure. When this option is selected, an increase in pen pressure causes the width to decrease.

Click in the image to set the first fastening point.

To draw a freehand segment, move the pointer or drag along the edge you want to trace.

The most recent segment of the border remains active. As you move the pointer, the active segment snaps to the strongest edge in the image, connecting the pointer to the last fastening point. Periodically, the Magnetic Pen adds fastening points to the border to anchor previous sections.

If the border doesn’t snap to the desired edge, click once to add a fastening point manually and to keep the border from moving. Continue to trace the edge and add fastening points as needed. If you make a mistake, press Delete to remove the last fastening point.

To dynamically modify the properties of the Magnetic Pen, do one of the following:

• Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) to draw a freehand path.

• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) to draw straight segments.

• Press the open square bracket key ([) to decrease the Magnetic Pen width by 1 pixel; press the close square bracket key (]) to increase the pen width by 1 pixel.

Complete the path:

• Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS) to end an open path.

• Double-click to close the path with a magnetic segment.

• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and double-click to close the path with a straight segment.