How to be accurate with Photoshop?

Question

I have a sketch of a shape, it resembles a 2 dimensional pretzel. How do I create it in Photoshop? I need the shape to be exact meaning smooth curves and maintain a constant width of line all along the shape.

Do I need to use a different software ?

Answer 1

You should start by snapping a photo of your sketch, or better yet using a scanner. Next, you can run photoshop filters on the image such as "trace edges" that will give you just the outlines of your image. If you need to change the shape around, you can use the "Transform", "Skew" and "Perspective" tools, which are found in the "Edit" menu. You can also use the smudge tool (looks like a hand with a finger pointing) to do subtle adjustments to lines and shapes. In order to really manipulate lines, you would have to "Export Paths to Illustrator". This turns each line into a vector that you can bend at will w/out any loss of quality. I'll warn you that using Illustrator effectively takes a lot of practice, and it my experience it is less intuitive than photoshop.

Answer 2

I doubt there is any graphics program out there that has your particular pretzel shape preset, so you will most likely have to create it yourself. I think Photoshop's outstanding precision allows you to do that better than any other program. In it, you can maintain a constant width of line easily. Either the brush or pencil tool will maintain line width down to a pixel. With them, you can also adjust hardness and opacity. As for curves, you can create them using the pen tool and then dragging the anchor points in the direction you want the curve to go.



For more help on how to use these tools, I suggest you consult the Photoshop Help section (just hit F1).

Answer 3

The benefit of using the layers is that you can directly decide which part of your design you want to change. With other software you have to start pressing the item and you might grab a different layer than the one you need and make a mistake. With layers you can choose the specific object and edit only that object without affecting the rest of the design. If you want to learn more about photoshop I placed a link on the source. Hope this helps you.

Answer 4

Photoshop or Illustrator. Be nice with the pen tool and you'll do just fine. You really do have to be sensitive on how curves are done in Photoshop. Also try using ruler guides in Photoshop -- it helps you align stuff.



There are probably videos in YouTube that can help.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pen+tool+tutorial&page=&utm_source=opensearch