How to Use Custom Shapes Tools in Adobe Photoshop CS2

Do you own Adobe Photo shop? Have you ever seen pictures of hearts or stars and ever wandered how people created them? Have no worries, it's not difficult at all. It's actually quite easy, and I will explain how to do so. During this tutorial we will be using Adobe Photo shop CS2. Adobe is the best Graphics Program to design in. I highly recommend it to anyone who does not have it.

First, you will need to open up a new blank document. You can make the size any size that you want. I am using a 200 x 200 pixels white document. Once you have the new document opened you will want to select a color you want to use. For this tutorial I will be using the color red. After you select the perfect color that fits your needs, go to the Custom Shapes tool (Picture 1). After you click it, a tool bar will appear at the top. You will need to click the drop down arrow and search for your heart or any other shape you'd like to use (Picture 2).

After you have selected the shape that you'd like to use, go to your blank document and click it and the shape will start to appear once you move it on the document. Stretch out the shape until it fits your taste (Picture 3). Now you have your heart. Looks pretty cool, huh? Well we will now make it look even prettier by adding special effects to the heart.

Go to your Layers Palette and right click and select Blending Options. A box will pop up on your screen. Now you want to click Stroke, and change the color to the same color as the heart, Change the size to 1 px (Picture 4). Check off Bevel and Emboss and change the style to Outer Bevel, Size 2, and Color will be the same color as the heart you used (Picture 5). Inner Glow is next. Make sure you check that off, and change the color to White, Change source to Center, and size to 35 (Picture 6). Check off Drop Shadow and change the color to the same color as the heart, and the Distance to 2 px (Picture 7).

Now you are all done with the Blending Effects to your custom shape (Picture 8). You can play around with the Blending Options and find something that fits your style. Don't be afraid to try new things.