Create Parallelogram In Photoshop? Best 268 Answer

In the following tutorial you will learn how to create shapes in Photoshop.

First you will learn how to draw shapes in Photoshop and then we will focus on each shape tool. You will learn how to use the line tool in Photoshop, how to outline a shape in Photoshop, and how to create custom shapes in Photoshop.

If you’ve learned to create shapes in Photoshop, you should check out Envato Elements, where you’ll find plenty of resources to help you take your design to the next level. Here’s a perfect example of how you can use simple shapes to create memorable photo effects.

What you will learn in this Photoshop Shapes tutorial

How to create a rectangle in Photoshop

How to create a triangle in Photoshop

How to create a circle in Photoshop

How to create a perfect circle in Photoshop

How to create a line in Photoshop

How do I create a straight line in Photoshop?

How to create custom shapes in Photoshop

1. How to create shapes in Photoshop

Step 1

To create a shape in Photoshop, you need to select a shape tool from your toolbar. Click and hold the shape tool group to access all six shape tools: Rectangle, Ellipse, Triangle, Polygon, Line, or Custom Shape.

Press hotkey U to select the last used shape tool from your toolbar. Press Shift-U to toggle between the six shape tools.

Once you’ve selected one, take a look at the options bar (Window > Options) where you can do the following:

Set the shape mode: shape, path or pixel. Set the fill color for your shape. Set the stroke color and settings. Adjust the width and height of a shape. Control how your shapes interact with each other. Align and distribute shapes. Set the stacking order for combined shapes. Change shape and path options – you’ll become familiar with these settings in the next few steps as you learn how to create a rectangle in Photoshop.

Now that you’ve selected a shape tool, simply click and drag on the canvas to draw a shape. This creates a new shape layer in the Layers panel (Window > Layers).

step 2

Let’s take a moment to understand the other two shape modes that can be set from the options bar.

Choose Path to create just a path, which is added in the Paths panel (Window > Paths).

Select pixels to create a raster shape. In this case you must have selected a plane. Remember that this shape will be filled with the foreground color.

step 3

Before we focus on the first shape tool, let’s learn how to outline a shape in Photoshop. Click on the gear icon in the options bar and focus on the path options. The Strength and Color controls let you specify the width and color of a shape’s on-screen outline.

2. How to create a rectangle in Photoshop: Method #1

Step 1

Now that we’ve covered the general settings, let’s focus on the first shape tool and learn how to add shapes in Photoshop.

Make sure the rectangle tool is selected and click the gear icon in the options bar to open the additional options.

By default, Unrestricted is enabled. This option gives you the freedom to create a rectangle of any size. Just click and drag on your canvas to create it. Check the From Center box, and the center of the rectangle will be the point where you click.

step 2

Check the Square box to easily create a square. Alternatively, you can leave the Unconstrained check box selected and hold down Shift while you click and drag to create a square.

step 3

Check Fixed Size and set the Width and Height values ​​as desired. Click and drag on your canvas to easily create a shape of this size.

step 4

Check Proportional and set the Width and Height values ​​as desired. Click and drag on your canvas and the new shape will respect those proportions.

step 5

You can also use the rectangle tool to create rectangles with rounded corners. Just set the corner radius in the options bar, and then you’re ready to create your rounded rectangle.

Once you’ve created it, you can adjust the radius values ​​in the Properties panel (Window > Properties) or use the Path Selection tool. Focus on your shape and you’ll notice some round symbols in each corner. Click and drag any of these icons to easily adjust the curve. Hold down Alt while clicking and dragging to adjust the roundness for a single corner.

3. How to create a rectangle in Photoshop: method #2

In addition to the classic click and drag technique, you can also create a rectangle using the Create Rectangle window.

Make sure the Rectangle Tool is selected and simply click on your canvas to open the Create Rectangle window. In this window you can set the size of the shape, the corner radius, and you can choose to draw this new shape from the center. When you’re done, click OK to create your shape.

Let’s go ahead and learn how to draw a circle in Photoshop.

4. How to make a circle in Photoshop: method #1

Select the Ellipse tool, click the gear icon in the options bar again, and you’ll get the same options available for the Rectangle tool.

Activate Unconstrained if you need to create an ellipse of any size, activate Circle to create a perfect circle, activate Fixed size to create an ellipse of a specific size, activate Proportional to create proportional ellipses and activate You From Center if you want to set the center point of the circle at the point where you click. Again, you can leave the Unconstrained box checked and hold Shift while you click and drag to create a perfect circle in Photoshop.

5. How to make a circle in Photoshop: method #2

As with the other tools, in addition to the classic click and drag technique, you can also create an ellipse using the Create Ellipse window.

Make sure the Ellipse Tool is selected and simply click on your canvas to open the Create Ellipse window. You can easily set the size of the shape and then click OK to create it.

Let’s go ahead and learn how to draw a triangle in Photoshop.

6. How to create a triangle in Photoshop: method #1

Step 1

Select the triangle tool, click the gear icon in the options bar again, and you’ll get the same options that can be used with the rectangle tool and ellipse tool.

Check Unconstrained if you need to create a triangle of any size, check Equilateral to create a triangle with all sides equal, check Fixed Size to create a triangle of a specific size, check Proportional to create proportional triangles create and check From Center if you want to set the center of the triangle to the point where you click. Again, you can leave the Unconstrained box checked and hold Shift while you click and drag to create an equilateral triangle.

step 2

You can also create triangles with rounded corners. Adjust the corner radius in the options bar and just click and drag to create your triangle with rounded corners. Once you’ve created it, you can adjust the corner radius in the Properties panel or directly on the shape with the Path Selection Tool.

7. How to create a triangle in Photoshop: method #2

As with the other tools, in addition to the classic click and drag technique, you can also create a triangle using the Create Triangle window.

Make sure the Triangle Tool is selected and simply click on your canvas to open the Make Triangle window. Set the size and corner radius, check the Equilateral box if you need an equilateral triangle, then click OK to create the shape.

Let’s go ahead and learn how to create polygons in Photoshop.

8. How to create a polygon in Photoshop: method #1

Step 1

Select the Polygon Tool, click the gear icon in the options bar again, and you’ll get the same options that can be used for the Rectangle Tool, Ellipse Tool, and Triangle Tool, plus a few extra ones.

Check Unconstrained if you need to create a polygon of any size, check Symmetric to create a polygon with all sides equal, check Fixed Size to create a polygon of a specific size, check Proportional to create proportional triangles , and check From Center if you want to set the center of the polygon to where you click. Alternatively, you can leave the Unconstrained check box selected and hold down Shift while you click and drag to create a symmetrical polygon.

step 2

Focus on the options bar to set the number of sides or corner radius for each polygon shape you want to create.

step 3

Click the gear icon again and let’s explore these additional options. Activate Freeform and set the radius for your polygon. You can then rotate the new shape around the point where you first clicked on the canvas.

step 4

Lower the star ratio below 100% to easily create a star shape.

step 5

Check the Smooth star indents check box to add some rounding to the star indents.

step 6

As with other polygons, a star shape lets you set the corner radius.

9. How to create a polygon in Photoshop: method #2

As with the other tools, in addition to the classic click and drag technique, you can also create a polygon using the Create Polygon window.

Make sure the Polygon Tool is selected and simply click on your canvas to open the Create Polygon window. You can set the size, number of sides, corner radius, and star ratio, check the Symmetric check box if you need a symmetrical polygon, or check the Smooth star indents option to add roundness to the star indents. When you’re done, just click OK to create the shape.

Let’s go ahead and learn how to add lines in Photoshop.

10. How to create a line in Photoshop

Step 1

Select the line tool and focus on the options bar. The Thickness setting lets you specify the thickness of the line. Click the gear icon to open additional options.

Check out the live shape controls and after you create a line, you get access to transform controls that allow you to rotate and resize lines right on the canvas.

Hold Shift while clicking and dragging to create a straight line in Photoshop.

step 2

Select the Start and End check boxes to add arrowheads to a line.

step 3

Use the Width value to adjust the width of the arrowheads.

step 4

Use the length value to adjust the length of the arrowheads.

step 5

Use the Concavity value to adjust the arrowhead concavity.

For more tips and tricks on how to draw a line in Photoshop, check out this tutorial and video by Monika Zagrobelna: How to Draw a Line in Photoshop.

11. How to create custom shapes in Photoshop

Step 1

Select the Custom Shapes tool, focus on the options bar and click on the shape thumbnail to open the list of available custom shapes.

step 2

Select a custom shape, click the gear icon in the options bar again, and look at the additional options.

Check Unlimited if you need to create a custom shape of any size, check Defined Proportions to create a custom shape that uses predefined proportions, check Defined Size to create a custom shape that uses the shape’s original size, check Fixed Size to create a custom shape of a specific size, and check From Center if you want to set the center of the polygon to the point where you click.

Alternatively, you can leave the Unconstrained check box selected and hold down Shift while you click and drag to create a custom shape that respects the predefined proportions.

step 3

As with the other tools, in addition to the classic click and drag technique, you can also create a custom shape using the Create Custom Shape window.

Make sure the custom shape tool is selected and simply click on your canvas to open the create custom shape window. Set the size, check Maintain proportions to use the predefined proportions, then click OK to add your custom shape.

Congratulations! You are done!

Now you know how to draw shapes in Photoshop. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and you can use these techniques in your future projects.

Envato Elements has some great sources of inspiration with interesting solutions on how to add shapes in Photoshop and make them part of a memorable design.

Popular assets from Envato Elements

Envato Elements can be a great source of inspiration. Here’s a short list of some of the most popular resources you can find.

Now that you know how to draw a circle in Photoshop, you can add color, some thin lines, and simple text to create a banner. Check out this template for inspiration.

You don’t need to know how to draw a triangle in Photoshop. This amazing addon gives you the opportunity to create amazing effects for your pictures.

Now that you know how to add lines in Photoshop, you can easily apply a neon effect with this amazing layer style.

Forget learning how to create a circle in Photoshop. With this Photoshop action you can integrate your photos into a perfect sphere.

Once you’ve learned how to create shapes in Photoshop, you’ll probably want to stylize them and put a design together. This creative pack might give you some ideas on how to do that

Would you like to find out more?

We have tons of tutorials on Envato Tuts+, from beginner to advanced. Just look!

Select “E” on your keyboard and you will get the right tool you need.

With the tool selected, select the middle top point of your rectangle, hold Shift and drag as desired.

Well I think the easiest way is to draw a square, then rotate it 90º and drag the top and then the bottom point a certain distance.

You can do this by selecting the top and bottom anchor points of the rotation square.

Then use Object Transform > Scale and enter a percentage

Sometimes you can make a great photo even better by adjusting the rotation. Try changing an image from portrait to landscape by rotating it 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise. Or, for an even bigger change, rotate your photo 180 degrees to get a mirror image. Whether you want to add a slight rotation or completely change perspective, there’s a way to do it in Photoshop.

Learn the basics of drawing shapes with the shape tools in Photoshop! Covers the tools for geometric shapes, including rectangle, ellipse, triangle, polygon, and line tools. Updated for Photoshop 2022.

Written by Steve Patterson.

In this tutorial I’ll show you the basics of drawing shapes using the shape tools in Photoshop. Specifically, we’ll look at how to use the geometric shape tools, namely the Rectangle Tool, Ellipse Tool, Triangle Tool, Polygon Tool, and Line Tool. Photoshop also includes a custom shape tool for drawing more elaborate pre-made shapes. However, since the Custom Shapes tool behaves differently than the Geometric Shapes tools, I’ll cover it in a separate tutorial.

Adobe has made some changes to the shape tools in recent versions of Photoshop. So to participate, you should be using Photoshop 2022 or newer. You can download the latest version of Photoshop here.

Let’s start!

Download this tutorial as a print-ready PDF!

Set up the document

You can follow me by creating a new Photoshop document. To create one from the home screen, click the New File button.

On the home screen, click New File.

Or if you are in the main Photoshop interface, go to the File menu and select New.

Go to File > New in the menu bar.

Then, in the New Document dialog box, choose the Photoshop Standard Size preset and click Create.

Create a new document in the standard size.

The new document will appear, ready to draw some shapes.

The new Photoshop document.

Where can I find the Photoshop shape tools?

The shape tools in Photoshop are all on the toolbar and nested in the same place. By default, the Rectangle tool is the visible tool.

The Rectangle tool icon on the toolbar.

Click and hold the Rectangle Tool icon to open a flyout menu showing the other shape tools hidden behind it. We’ll look at each tool as we move on. First select the rectangle tool.

Photoshop’s shape tools.

The shape tool options in the options bar

The options for the active shape tool appear in the options bar. And most of the options are the same no matter what shape tool is selected. So let’s look at these options from left to right.

Reset the shape tool to its default settings

The tool icon on the far left of the options bar shows us which tool is active. But by doing this, we also reset the tool to its default settings. To reset it, right-click (Win)/Control-click (Mac) on the tool icon.

Right-click (Win)/Control-click (Mac) on the tool icon.

Then select Reset Tool from the menu.

Choose the Reset Tool command.

The tool mode

Next comes the Tool Mode option, where we will choose what type of shape we want to draw. Shapes in Photoshop can be drawn as either vectors, paths, or pixels.

Vector shapes are drawn using dots connected by straight or curved lines, and they remain scalable and editable without ever losing quality. A path is also scalable and editable, but it is simply the outline of the shape with no fill or stroke. And a pixel shape is made up of pixels, just like images.

In most cases you want to draw vector shapes. And for that, the mode needs to be set to Shape, which it is by default.

Make sure the tool mode is set to Shape.

The fill color

With the Fill option we select a color for the shape. The default shape color is black. To choose a different color, click the Fill color box.

Click the Fill color box.

Then use the icons at the top of the panel to select the type of fill you need. From left to right, we have No Color (which leaves the inside of the shape blank), a Solid Color preset, a Gradient preset, or a Pattern preset.

No color, solid color, gradient, and pattern blending options.

If you choose Solid Color, Gradient, or Pattern, open one of the preset groups and select a preset by clicking on the thumbnail. Here I selected the Solid Color preset option and opened the RGB group to select a preset color.

Select a spot color preset.

Or to choose your own custom fill color for the shape, click the icon in the top right corner.

Click the Custom fill color icon.

Then choose a color from the color picker. I choose a purple color by setting the H value (hue) to 295 degrees, the S value (saturation) to 70 percent, and the B value (lightness) also to 70 percent. Click OK to close the color picker when you’re done.

Choosing a custom fill color for the shape.

The stroke color

The next two options in the options bar are for adding an outline around the shape. By default, Photoshop adds a 1 pixel black stroke. To choose a different color or no color, click the Stroke Color swatch.

Click the Stroke color swatch.

Then use the icons at the top of the panel to choose from the same options we saw with the fill color. Again, from left to right, we have No Color (if you don’t want a stroke around the shape), a Solid Color preset, a Gradient preset, or a Pattern preset.

No color, solid color, gradient, and pattern stroke options.

Or click the icon in the top right corner to choose a custom stroke color from the color picker. But in my case I’m sticking with the default black.

The Custom Stroke Color icon.

The dash size

Next, specify the width or thickness of the stroke by entering a size value. I’ll set it to 16 pixels. As we’ll see, all of these options (fill color, stroke color, stroke size, and more) can also be changed in the Properties panel after we’ve drawn the shape.

Enter a size for the stroke.

Stroke type, alignment and more

For even more stroke options, click the Stroke Options box.

Open the Stroke Options.

From here you can set the stroke type to either a solid, dashed, or dotted line. Solid is the default. Or change the alignment of the stroke to Inside, Outside, or Centered on the shape’s outline. And you can change the cap type or corner type if you need.

Choose stroke type, alignment and more.

If you click the More Options button below.

The More Options button.

A separate dialog opens with most of the same options, but you can also create your own custom dashed or dotted line and save your settings as a preset. Since we’re just covering the basics here (and there’s a lot more to cover), I’ll click Cancel to close the dialog box.

The Stroke Options dialog box.

The width and height

Next in the options bar are the Width (W) and Height (H) boxes. But instead of allowing you to set a width and height for your shape before you draw it, these options are used to change the width and height after you’ve drawn the shape.

You can ignore the “Width” and “Height” options in the options bar as they can easily be changed in the Properties panel after drawing the shape.

Width and Height fields (used to resize after the shape is drawn).

Path operations, path alignment and path arrangement

The next three icons after the Width and Height fields contain options that I will cover in more detail in a separate tutorial.

But in short, clicking the first icon, Path Operations, opens a list of ways to combine two or more shapes into a larger or more complex shape. The default New Layer draws a separate and independent shape each time.

The path operation commands.

The next icon, Path Alignment, opens up all the possibilities of aligning or distributing multiple shapes. The Snap to Bottom option lets you toggle between snapping shapes to a selection or to the canvas.

The path alignment options.

And the third icon, Path Array, contains commands to move the selected shape above or below the other shapes it’s being combined with, similar to moving layers above or below in the Layers panel.

The path layout commands.

The gear icon

The next options can be found by clicking the gear icon in the options bar.

The first is the path options for changing the thickness or color of the path outline around the shape. But don’t confuse a path outline with a stroke. Paths are unique to Photoshop and do not appear when you print your work or save it as a JPEG, PNG, or other file format. These path options exist only to make the path outlines more visible when working in Photoshop. To place an actual outline or border around the shape, you need to add a stroke.

I increase the thickness to 2px to make the path more visible as I work through this tutorial. But in most cases the default thickness of 1px works well.

Below that are options to set a custom size or aspect ratio for the shape before you draw it, as well as the option to draw the shape from its center rather than a corner. But I would avoid these options because they’re sticky, meaning they stay selected until you come back and select another one, which can quickly become annoying. Instead, I’ll show you a better way to access these options from your keyboard.

The options under the gear icon.

The corner radius

Next comes the Corner Radius option, which is only visible when the Rectangle Tool, Triangle Tool, or Polygon Tool is active on the toolbar. Corner Radius lets you specify the roundness of the shape’s corners before drawing the shape by entering a value in pixels.

But again, there are easy ways to adjust the corner radius after the shape is drawn. So there’s no reason to set it here unless you know the exact value you need.

The corner radius option.

align edges

Finally, the Snap Edges option aligns the edges of your shape to Photoshop’s pixel grid, which I covered in the Image Zooming and Scrolling tutorial. Snapping the edges to the pixel grid keeps the edges of the shape sharp, so keep Snap Edges on.

The Align Edges option.

Download this tutorial as a print-ready PDF!

How to draw shapes with the shape tools

Now that we’ve gone through the shape options in the options bar, let’s look at how you can draw different types of shapes using Photoshop’s various shape tools. We’ll start with the Rectangle Tool, which draws simple four-sided shapes. I’ll show you all the ways to use the Rectangle tool, but much of what we’ll cover applies to the other shape tools as well.

Select the rectangle tool

First, make sure the Rectangle tool is selected in the toolbar.

Rectangle tool selection.

How to draw a rectangular shape

Click on the canvas to set a starting point for the shape, and then drag away from that point. As you drag, you don’t see the shape’s fill or stroke color. All you will see is the path outline.

Click and drag to start drawing the shape.

How to reposition the shape as you draw

If you hold down the spacebar on your keyboard while the mouse button is still pressed, you can drag the shape outline on the canvas to reposition it. Then release the spacebar to continue pulling out the shape.

completion of the form

Release the mouse button to complete the shape. The path outline is still visible, but so is the fill and stroke.

Photoshop completes the shape when you release the mouse button.

The Shape Plane

The new shape appears on its own shape layer in the Layers panel. And because the shape was drawn with the Rectangle tool, Photoshop names the layer Rectangle 1 . Because shapes are added on their own layers, this means a shape can be resized, edited, moved, or deleted without affecting other shapes or other elements in the document.

Each new shape is automatically displayed on its own shape layer.

Turn shape layers on and off

I’m going to hide the shape so we can look at other ways to use the Rectangle Tool by clicking on the shape layer’s visibility icon.

Click the shape layer visibility icon.

How to draw a perfect square

To draw a perfect square with the Rectangle tool, click to set a starting point for the shape, then start dragging. Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard to fix the shape’s aspect ratio to a perfect square, then keep dragging.

Start dragging, then hold down Shift and keep dragging.

Release the mouse button to complete the shape, then release Shift. Make sure you release the mouse button before releasing the Shift key, otherwise it won’t work.

The Shift key can also be used to draw a perfect circle with the Ellipse tool, an equilateral triangle with the Triangle tool, or a symmetrical polygon shape with the Polygon tool, all of which we’ll look at in a moment.

A perfect square drawn with the Rectangle tool.

In the Layers panel, the second shape appears on its own shape layer above the first. Hide the second shape by clicking its visibility icon so we can look at a third way to use the Rectangle Tool.

Hide the second shape.

How to draw an exact size shape

When you know the exact size the shape needs to be, just click and release on the canvas instead of clicking and dragging.

The Create Rectangle dialog box opens, allowing you to enter a width and height for the shape in pixels. Note that while the dialog currently says “Create Rectangle” because I’m using the Rectangle Tool, this trick can be used with any shape tool to draw the shape to an accurate size.

Enter the exact dimensions for the shape.

Click OK to close the dialog box and the shape will appear immediately.

Photoshop draws the shape with the exact width and height.

How to move a shape on the canvas

To move the shape to a new location after drawing it, switch from your shape tool to the path selection tool (the black arrow) in the toolbar, which is just above the shape tools.

Choosing the Path Selection Tool.

Then just click on the shape and drag it to where you want it.

Move the shape with the path selection tool.

Tip! Temporarily access the path selection tool

Instead of selecting the path selection tool from the toolbar, you can temporarily access it from your keyboard by holding down Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac). Hold down the key, click and drag to move the shape. Then release the button to switch back to your shape tool.

Tip! Select shapes by simply clicking on them

And here’s a tip to use when you’ve drawn multiple shapes in your document, each on its own layer, and you need to select individual shapes to move them.

Select the path selection tool from the toolbar to access its options bar options. Then in the options bar, change the Select option from Active Layers to All Layers. You can then click any shape to select it without having to click the shape’s layer in the Layers panel.

Changed Select to All Layers in the options bar.

More tricks for drawing shapes

I mentioned earlier that you can reposition a shape as you draw it by holding down the spacebar on your keyboard, dragging the shape into place, and then releasing the spacebar to pull the shape out further. This works with all of Photoshop’s shape tools.

To draw a shape from its center rather than a corner, click to set the starting point and start dragging. Then hold down the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key on your keyboard and keep dragging. Release the mouse button to complete the shape, then release the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key.

How to delete a shape

To delete a shape, click on its shape layer in the Layers panel and drag the layer down to the Trash. Or, with the layer selected, press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Drag a shape layer to the Trash to delete it.

How to reselect a shape

To reselect an existing shape in your document, click its shape layer in the Layers panel. And if the shape was off, click its visibility icon to turn it back on.

Select and switch on the second shape layer.

Edit the shape using the on-canvas controls

Back in Photoshop 2021, Adobe added shapes controls on the canvas. These controls appear around the shape after it’s drawn and make it easy to scale, resize, or rotate the shape without having to use the Free Transform command. The on-canvas controls can also be used to adjust the roundness of a shape’s corners. Here’s how to use them.

How to resize the shape

To resize a shape using the on-canvas controls, click and drag one of the handles (the squares that appear around the path outline). By default, dragging a handle doesn’t resize the shape proportionally, which means any side or corner can be moved without moving others.

Drag a handle to resize the shape.

To scale the shape proportionally, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard while dragging a handle. Just remember to release the mouse button first before releasing the Shift key.

You can also hold Alt(Win)/Option(Mac) while dragging to resize the shape from its center, or Shift+Alt(Win)/Shift+Option(Mac) to resize proportionally from its center center off to change.

Hold down Shift while dragging a handle to resize the shape with the aspect ratio locked.

How to undo a transform

To undo the last transformation you made to the shape, go to the Edit menu and choose Undo Transform Path. Or press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Cmd+Z (Mac) on your keyboard. Press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Cmd+Z (Mac) repeatedly to undo multiple steps in a row.

Go to Edit > Undo Transform Path.

How to rotate a shape

To rotate a shape using the on-canvas controls, hover just outside the path outline. When the cursor changes to a rotate icon (a curved double-headed arrow), click and drag to rotate the shape about its center.

Click and drag outside a corner to rotate the shape.

How to rotate a shape from its corner

Shapes can also be rotated around a corner or other location by moving the reference point. The reference point is the target icon that appears in the center of the shape by default. If you don’t see the reference point, I’ll show you how to turn it on next.

The reference point at the center of the shape.

How to show the reference point

If the reference point is not visible, you need to turn it on in Photoshop’s preferences. On a Windows PC, go to the Edit menu in the menu bar. On a Mac, go to the Photoshop menu. From there, select Settings and then Tools.

Open the tool settings.

Then, in the Preferences dialog box, select Show Reference Point On Transform. You only have to do this once. And as a bonus, the reference point is now not only visible on shapes, but whenever you use Photoshop’s Free Transform command. Click OK to close the dialog when finished.

Enable “Show Reference Point When Using Transform” .

Click on the reference point and drag it to a new position. I’ll move it to the handle in the top left corner:

Moving the reference point to a corner handle.

And now when you rotate the shape, it rotates around the new point. Notice that the reference point icon automatically resets to the center of the shape when you release the mouse button.

The shape rotates around the top left corner.

This is how you round the corners of the shape

The on-canvas controls can also be used to adjust the roundness or radius of the shape’s corners, although this function depends on which shape tool was used.

The Rectangle tool can round all four corners at once, or a single corner can be rounded independently. But shapes drawn with the Triangle Tool or Polygon Tool are limited to a single control affecting all corners at once. And the Ellipse tool and the Line tool don’t allow rounded corners at all.

The radius controls are the little circles right in the corners.

The corner radius controls the shape.

Round all corners at once

For rectangular and square shapes that have a radius control in each corner, drag one of the controls to round all four corners at once and by the same amount:

Drag a radius control to fillet all corners at once.

Standalone rounding of a single corner

To adjust a single corner without affecting the others, hold down Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) on your keyboard and drag the corner’s radius control.

However, if you know the exact radius value you need for the corner(s), you can type the exact value into the Photoshop Properties panel instead of dragging it with the on-canvas controls, which we’ll look at next.

Hold Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) to fillet a single corner.

The Live Shape properties in the Properties panel

While the on-canvas controls are handy, they’re not the only way to customize the appearance of your shape. In fact, any shape drawn with one of Photoshop’s geometric shape tools (the rectangle, ellipse, triangle, polygon, or line tool) is what Adobe calls a live shape.

A live shape means that once the shape is drawn, all of its properties remain active and editable. And the properties are in the Properties panel.

Since I currently have a rectangle shape selected, the Properties panel will show options for a shape drawn with the Rectangle tool. However, most of the options are the same regardless of the tool you use.

The Live Shape properties in the Properties panel.

The transform properties

The Properties panel is divided into sections, and the first section at the top is Transform. The transformation options are the same for all shape tools.

The width, height, and position of the shape

In the transform properties, you can edit the width (W) or height (H) of the shape and click the link icon to link or unlink the width and height values. The X and Y coordinates can be used to set a specific position for the shape on the canvas. X is the horizontal distance from the left edge of the canvas and Y is the vertical distance from the top edge.

The width, height, and X, Y values.

The angle of rotation

The Angle option sets the rotation of the shape. To reset the angle, enter a value of 0 degrees. If you rotated the shape using the on-canvas controls, the current angle is displayed and can be adjusted from here.

The angle option.

Clicking the arrow next to the angle value opens a list of preset angles to choose from.

The angle presets.

Tip! Changing values ​​with the scrubby slider

The width and height, the x and y values, and the rotation angle can all be changed using Photoshop’s scrubby slider. Click and hold a property name (e.g. the letter W for width) and drag left or right to change the value.

Click and drag to use the scrubby slider.

Reverse the orientation of the shape

Finally, you can use the Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical icons to reverse the orientation of the shape.

Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical options.

The display properties

The Appearance section of the Properties panel contains options to change the shape’s fill color, stroke color, stroke width, and more. Here we also adjust the roundness of the corners. The fill and stroke options are the same for all shapes, but the corner options change depending on the shape tool used.

The fill and stroke color

Click the Fill or Stroke swatches to change the colors. You’ll find the same options for choosing colors that we saw earlier in the options bar.

The color options for fill and stroke.

The stroke size and other options

Below the swatches are additional options for the stroke, which are inherited from the options bar. You can change the size of the stroke or click the Stroke Options box to the right of Size to change the stroke type from a solid line to a dashed or dotted line.

From left to right, the three icons below the stroke size allow you to change the stroke’s orientation (inside, outside, or center), the cap type, and the corner type.

The Stroke Weight, Line Type, Justification, Cap Type, and Corner Type properties.

The corner radius

Previously, we learned how to adjust the roundness of the shape’s corners using the on-canvas controls. However, you can also adjust the corner radius here in the Properties panel. In fact, if you use the on-canvas controls, you’ll see the Radius values ​​change in the Properties panel.

By default, the four boxes (one for each corner) are linked, so entering a new value for a corner changes all four by the same amount. To unlink the boxes (or link them back together), click the link icon.

Here I changed the radius value of the upper left corner to 60px. And because all four corners were connected, they all changed to 60px when I pressed Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) to accept the new value.

By default, changing one corner changes all.

Below each box is a larger box that shows the current radius values ​​for all corners at once. The first value is the top-left corner, then the top-right, bottom-right, and bottom-left corners. You can highlight any value to change it and only that one corner will be affected, even if the corners are connected.

The bottom panel shows all corner radius values ​​at once.

The Pathfinder Properties

Finally, the Pathfinder section at the bottom of the Properties panel contains the same combine shape options that we saw earlier in the options bar. From left to right we have Combine Shapes, Subtract Front Shape, Intersect Shape Areas, and Exclude Overlapping Areas. Diese Optionen sind für alle Formwerkzeuge gleich, und ich werde sie wieder in einem separaten Tutorial behandeln.

Die Pathfinder-Optionen.

Zeichnen von Formen mit den anderen Formwerkzeugen von Photoshop

An dieser Stelle haben wir die meisten Grundlagen zum Zeichnen von Formen in Photoshop behandelt. Wir wissen, wo sich die verschiedenen Formwerkzeuge in der Symbolleiste befinden, und wir haben uns die Optionen in der Optionsleiste angesehen, wie z. B. das Auswählen einer Füll- und Konturfarbe, die für jedes Werkzeug größtenteils gleich sind. Wir wissen, wie man Formen durch Klicken und Ziehen auf der Leinwand zeichnet, wie man die Formen mit den Steuerelementen auf der Leinwand bearbeitet und wie man die Live-Form-Eigenschaften im Eigenschaftenbedienfeld bearbeitet.

Aber da das einzige Formwerkzeug, das wir bisher verwendet haben, das Rechteckwerkzeug ist, werfen wir einen kurzen Blick auf die anderen geometrischen Formwerkzeuge von Photoshop. Ich werde nicht alles wiederholen, was bei jedem Tool gleich ist und was wir bereits behandelt haben. Stattdessen konzentrieren wir uns hauptsächlich auf Funktionen, die für jedes Tool einzigartig sind.

Das Ellipsen-Werkzeug

Während das Rechteck-Werkzeug Rechtecke und Quadrate zeichnet, zeichnet das Ellipse-Werkzeug runde oder elliptische Formen, einschließlich perfekter Kreise. Ansonsten verhalten sich beide Tools ziemlich gleich. Aber da elliptische Formen keine Ecken haben, werden Sie keine Optionen finden, um sie anzupassen.

Um das Ellipsenwerkzeug auszuwählen, klicken und halten Sie das Rechteckwerkzeug in der Symbolleiste oder das Formwerkzeug, das Sie zuletzt verwendet haben. Wählen Sie dann das Ellipsenwerkzeug aus dem Menü.

Auswahl des Ellipsen-Werkzeugs.

Zeichnen einer elliptischen Form

Klicken und ziehen Sie im Dokument, um eine elliptische Form zu zeichnen, oder halten Sie beim Ziehen die Umschalttaste gedrückt, um einen perfekten Kreis zu zeichnen, wie ich es hier mache:

Klicken und ziehen Sie eine elliptische Form oder fügen Sie die Umschalttaste hinzu, um einen Kreis zu zeichnen.

Bearbeiten der Form mit den Steuerelementen auf der Leinwand

Lassen Sie die Maustaste los, um die Form zu zeichnen, und ziehen Sie dann einen der Steuergriffe auf der Leinwand, um die Größe nach Bedarf zu ändern. Halten Sie beim Ziehen die Umschalttaste gedrückt, um das ursprüngliche Seitenverhältnis zu fixieren, oder halten Sie die Alt- (Win) / Wahltaste (Mac) gedrückt, um die Größe der Form von ihrer Mitte aus zu ändern.

Halten Sie Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) gedrückt, um die Größe der elliptischen Form von ihrer Mitte aus zu ändern.

Die Live Shape-Eigenschaften

Im Bedienfeld „Eigenschaften“ hat das Ellipsen-Werkzeug die gleichen bearbeitbaren Live-Form-Eigenschaften wie das Rechteck-Werkzeug. Die einzigen fehlenden Eigenschaften sind die Eckenradiusoptionen, da sie nicht zutreffen. Aber Sie können immer noch die Breite und Höhe, die Füll- und Konturfarbe und mehr ändern.

Die Live-Form-Eigenschaften für das Ellipse-Werkzeug.

Das Dreieckswerkzeug

Das Dreieckswerkzeug wurde erstmals in Photoshop 2021 eingeführt. Davor musste zum Zeichnen einer Dreiecksform das Polygonwerkzeug (das wir uns als Nächstes ansehen werden) ausgewählt und die Anzahl der Seiten auf 3 eingestellt werden. Aber wir haben jetzt ein spezielles Dreieckswerkzeug für Sie Sie müssen sich nicht daran erinnern, dass ein Dreieck nur ein 3-seitiges Polygon ist. Und wir können sogar die Ecken des Dreiecks abrunden, indem wir entweder die Steuerelemente auf der Leinwand oder die Live-Form-Eigenschaften im Eigenschaftenbedienfeld verwenden.

Um das Dreieckswerkzeug auszuwählen, klicken Sie auf das Formwerkzeug, das in der Symbolleiste angezeigt wird, und halten Sie es gedrückt. Dies ist immer das zuletzt verwendete Werkzeug. Wählen Sie dann das Dreieckswerkzeug aus der Liste:

Auswahl des Dreieckswerkzeugs.

Die Option Eckenradius in der Optionsleiste

Wie das Rechteck-Werkzeug enthält das Dreieck-Werkzeug eine Eckenradius-Option in der Optionsleiste, die verwendet werden kann, um die Rundung der Ecken festzulegen, bevor die Form gezeichnet wird. Um jedoch ein Dreieck mit scharfen Ecken zu zeichnen, belassen Sie den Radius auf dem Standardwert von 0 px.

Die Eckenradiusoption des Dreieckwerkzeugs in der Optionsleiste.

Zeichnen einer Dreiecksform

Klicken und ziehen Sie im Dokument, um eine Dreiecksform zu zeichnen, oder halten Sie beim Ziehen die Umschalttaste gedrückt, um ein gleichseitiges Dreieck zu zeichnen, bei dem alle drei Seiten gleich lang sind. Und wie bei allen Formwerkzeugen können Sie die Alt- (Win) / Wahltaste (Mac) gedrückt halten, um die Form aus ihrer Mitte herauszuziehen.

Zeichnen Sie ein Dreieck mit dem neuen Dreieckswerkzeug.

Abrunden der Dreiecksecken

Lassen Sie die Maustaste los, um die Form zu vervollständigen, und verwenden Sie dann die Steuerelemente auf der Leinwand, um das Dreieck bei Bedarf zu skalieren, zu skalieren oder zu drehen.

Dreiecke enthalten oben auch eine einzelne Eckenradiussteuerung.

Die Eckenradiussteuerung für Dreiecksformen.

Wenn Sie das Steuerelement nach oben oder unten ziehen, wird die Rundheit aller drei Ecken des Dreiecks gleichzeitig angepasst.

Abrunden der Ecken durch Ziehen der Radiussteuerung.

Der Eckenradius kann auch im Eigenschaftenbedienfeld zusammen mit allen anderen Live-Form-Eigenschaften angepasst werden, die allen Formen gemeinsam sind:

Die Eckenradiusoption im Eigenschaftenbedienfeld.

Das Polygon-Tool

Während das Dreieck-Werkzeug 3-seitige Formen und das Rechteck-Werkzeug Formen mit 4 Seiten zeichnet, kann das Polygon-Werkzeug in Photoshop Formen mit beliebig vielen Seiten zeichnen. Es kann sogar Sterne zeichnen, wie wir gleich sehen werden.

Wählen Sie das Polygon-Werkzeug in der Symbolleiste aus, indem Sie auf das zuletzt verwendete Formwerkzeug klicken und es gedrückt halten, und wählen Sie dann das Polygon-Werkzeug aus der Liste aus:

Auswahl des Polygon-Werkzeugs.

Die Seiten- und Radiusoptionen

Neben den Standardoptionen des Formwerkzeugs in der Optionsleiste enthält das Polygonwerkzeug auch ein Feld zum Eingeben der Seitenzahl und zum Einstellen des Eckenradius. Wenn Sie die Anzahl der benötigten Seiten kennen, können Sie diese hier festlegen, bevor Sie die Form zeichnen. Sie können diese Optionen auch auf ihren Standardwerten belassen (Seiten = 5, Radius = 0 px) und sie nach dem Zeichnen der Form im Bedienfeld „Eigenschaften“ anpassen.

Die Optionen für die Anzahl der Seiten (links) und Eckenradien (rechts) für das Polygon-Werkzeug.

Zeichnen der Polygonform

Klicken und ziehen Sie im Dokument, um die Polygonform zu zeichnen. Halten Sie beim Ziehen die Umschalttaste gedrückt, um ein symmetrisches Polygon zu zeichnen, bei dem alle Seiten gleich lang sind.

Halten Sie beim Ziehen die Umschalttaste gedrückt, um ein symmetrisches Polygon zu zeichnen.

Lassen Sie die Maustaste los, um die Form fertigzustellen:

Die fertige Polygonform.

Die Radiussteuerung auf der Leinwand

Genau wie das Dreieck-Werkzeug enthalten Formen, die mit dem Polygon-Werkzeug gezeichnet wurden, oben eine einzelne Eckenradius-Steuerung. Ziehen Sie das Steuerelement nach oben oder unten, um alle Ecken des Polygons gleichzeitig abzurunden.

Abrunden der Ecken mit den On-Canvas-Steuerelementen.

Die Option „Radius“ im Bedienfeld „Eigenschaften“.

Oder Sie können den Radius im Bedienfeld „Eigenschaften“ anpassen. Ich werde es auf 0 px zurücksetzen.

Die Radius-Option.

Seitenzahl ändern

Sie können die Anzahl der Seiten für das Polygon im Eigenschaftenbedienfeld ändern. Ich erhöhe es von 5 auf 6:

Die Seitenoption.

Und da das Polygon eine Live-Form ist, wird es sofort von 5 auf 6 Seiten aktualisiert:

The six-sides polygon shape.

How to draw stars with the Polygon Tool

To turn your polygon shape into a star, lower the Star Ratio option in the Properties panel. The more you lower the value below 100%, the more the sides of the polygon will indent towards the center.

I’ll set the number of sides back to 5. And I’ll lower the Star Ratio down to 47%, which is the value you need to draw a perfect 5-point star.

The Star Ratio option.

And the polygon instantly turns into a star shape.

The result after lowering the Star Ratio value.

The Smooth Star Indents option

Click the ellipsis icon (the three dots):

Clicking the ellipsis.

To reveal the Smooth Star Indents option.

Selecting “Smooth Star Indents”.

With Smooth Star Indents enabled, the star’s indents become rounded instead of sharp:

The star with Smooth Star Indents turned on.

The Line Tool

The last of Photoshop’s geometric shape tools, and the final tool we’ll look at in this tutorial, is the Line Tool. The Line Tool is used to draw straight lines, and you can add an arrowhead at either the start or end of the line.

To select the Line Tool in the toolbar, click and hold on the last shape tool that was used, and then choose the Line Tool from the list:

Selecting the Line Tool.

Choosing a line color

The Line Tool is different from the other shape tools in that the color of the line is actually controlled by the stroke color, not the fill color. That’s because a line is really just a straight path with a stroke around it.

To choose a line color, click the Stroke color swatch:

Clicking the Stroke color swatch.

Then use the icons along the top left of the panel to choose from a Solid Color preset, a Gradient preset or a Pattern preset. Or click the icon in the top right to select a custom color from the Color Picker.

I’ll click the Solid Color preset option. Then I’ll twirl open the Pure group of presets and choose orange as my line color by clicking its thumbnail:

Choosing a line (stroke) color.

Setting the line weight with the stroke size

The weight, or width, of a line is controlled by the stroke size. So still in the Options Bar, I’ll set the size to 100 px just to make the line easy to see.

Changing the stroke size to set the line weight.

How to draw an arrow with the Line Tool

While you may, on occasion, have a need to draw simple straight lines, the Line Tool is more often used to draw arrows. Arrowheads can be added to the start or end of a line but must be added before the line is drawn. Even though lines are Live Shapes with editable properties in the Properties panel, arrowheads are not something that can be added or edited later.

To add an arrowhead to the line, click the Gear icon in the Options Bar.

Clicking the Line Tool’s Gear icon.

In the Arrowhead options, add the arrowhead to either the Start or End of the line, or both. I’ll choose the end. Then enter a Width and Length for the arrowhead, in pixels. I’ll set the width to 120 px and the length to 150 px, again just so it’s easy to see.

Unfortunately, choosing the correct arrowhead size can be tricky because there is no way to preview the result until you draw the shape, and you can’t edit the size after you draw the shape. So if you get it wrong, you’ll need to delete or undo the line, click the Gear icon in the Options Bar, change the width or length value, and then draw a new line to try again.

Use the Concavity option if you want to indent the base, or bottom, of the arrowhead. I’ll set it to 20%.

The Arrowhead options for the Line Tool.

How to draw the line

To draw your line or arrow, click on the canvas to set the starting point. Then keep your mouse button held down and drag away from that point to set the line’s length and direction. Hold Shift as you drag to limit the direction to horizontal, vertical or a 45 degree angle.

As you drag, all you will see is the line’s path. If you added an arrowhead, you’ll also see the arrowhead’s path. And notice that because I set the Concavity option to 20%, the base of the arrowhead is indented.

Clicking and dragging to draw the line.

Release your mouse button to complete the line, at which point the stroke around the path appears, giving the line its color.

The stroke appears when your mouse button is released.

How to rotate the line

You can rotate the line around its center by clicking and dragging just outside one of the end points. Hold Shift to rotate the line in 15 degree increments:

Rotating the line with the On-Canvas Controls.

To rotate the line from an end rather than from its center, click and drag the reference point (which, if you’re not seeing it, we turned on earlier in Photoshop’s Preferences) to one of the ends.

Dragging the reference point to the start of the line.

And then click and drag just outside the opposite end to rotate it.

Rotating the line around the new rotation point.

The Live Shape properties

Finally, the Line Tool shares the same Live Shape properties in the Properties panel as the other shape tools. There are no options for rounding the corners, but you can change the line’s color or weight (using the Stroke options), adjust the rotation angle, flip the line vertically or horizontally, and more.

The options for the Line Tool in the Properties panel.

And there we have it! That’s the basics of drawing shapes using the geometric shape tools in Photoshop! The one shape tool we didn’t cover here is the Custom Shape Tool. But you can learn all about it in my Drawing Custom Shapes in Photoshop tutorial

Check out more of my Photoshop Basics tutorials, and don’t forget that all of my tutorials are now available to download as PDFs!

Well I think the easiest way is to draw a square, then rotate it 90º and drag the top and then the bottom point a certain distance.

You can do this by selecting the top and bottom anchor points of the rotation square.

Then use Object Transform > Scale and enter a percentage

Select “E” on your keyboard and you will get the right tool you need.

With the tool selected, select the middle top point of your rectangle, hold Shift and drag as desired.