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photoshop help: so easy i don't know...

D

dphamily

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 15, 2007
21
0
i learned photoshop the non-traditional way (trial and error).

of all the things i learned, i never figured out how to draw a square box. the options on the left hand side shows u can make a rectangle and fill it with color, but i want a solid line square box with no colors filled inside and be able to control how thick the box line is...

i've been drawing squares and then cutting the inside out but i hope theres a better way.

another thing is if this is possible, how do i make the edges curved so it's a smooth square?

thanks for the help guys
 
dphamily said:
i learned photoshop the non-traditional way (trial and error).

of all the things i learned, i never figured out how to draw a square box. the options on the left hand side shows u can make a rectangle and fill it with color, but i want a solid line square box with no colors filled inside and be able to control how thick the box line is...

i've been drawing squares and then cutting the inside out but i hope theres a better way.

another thing is if this is possible, how do i make the edges curved so it's a smooth square?

thanks for the help guys
Click to expand...

If you want to draw a box, use the open box zaph dingbat. Turn it into a graphic and fill it with whatever you want!
 
There are many ways to do things in Photoshop. Here's my take.

Easy Framed Box
  1. Use the marquee tool to drag a selection to the appropriate size. (While the marquee tool is highlighted, it is possible to specify an aspect ratio or fixed size in the info panel above.)
  2. Then select the menu item Edit: Stroke.
  3. A dialog box opens where you can enter the stroke width width in pixels. For the location, specify "Inside" for sharp corners.

Easy Round Corner Box
Photoshop does not do rounded corner boxes easily. It is better to create such in Adobe Illustrator, expand the appearance and bring the path into Photoshop to file with a desired color.

Convoluted Round Corner Box
  • On a layer mask you could drag a circle with the elliptical marquee tool.
  • Fill it with contrasting solid.
  • Constrain and drag/duplicate (shift-option-command) it to the right.
  • Select both and constrain and drag/duplicate (shift-opt-comd) down.
  • Drag a tangent square rectangle in the of two horizontal circles.
  • Fill with same color as circles.
  • Drag a tangent square rectangle in the of two horizontal circles.
  • Fill with same color as circles.
    You should now have the outer boundary of a rounded corner box.
  • Command-click the layer mask to make it a selection.
  • Choose from the menu Select: Modify: Contract.
  • Enter the appropriate pixel value for desired thickness.
  • Fill the slightly smaller selection with the background color.
  • Command-click the layer mask to make the new border a selection.
  • Highlight the desired layer and fill the selection with color.
 
Just draw a box with any fill or color, set the fill to 0% in the layers palette, then use layer styles to set the stroke width and color.
Use the inside stroke option to achieve crisp corners.

The advantage of doing it this way:
You can scale the box without also changing the stroke thickness.
You can tweak the stroke width and color with realtime preview.
The style can be saved and quickly applied to other elements to create a more consistent look for the entire document.
 
snickelfritz said:
Just draw a box with any fill or color, set the fill to 0% in the layers palette, then use layer styles to set the stroke width and color.
Use the inside stroke option to achieve crisp corners.

The advantage of doing it this way:
You can scale the box without also changing the stroke thickness.
You can tweak the stroke width and color with realtime preview.
The style can be saved and quickly applied to other elements to create a more consistent look for the entire document.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. If you hold down the Shift key while making your box, it will be a perfect square. If you select the outside stroke, the corners will be rounded, I believe, but I also agree that it's better to do it in Illustrator, if you have the means.
 
Easy Round Corner Box
Photoshop does not do rounded corner boxes easily. It is better to create such in Adobe Illustrator, expand the appearance and bring the path into Photoshop to file with a desired color.
Click to expand...

yes it does, select the rounded rectangle shape tool, make your shape, then cmd+click to make a selection and stroke it. The stroke will be AA'd unlike if you do the modify selection>round corners thing which sucks. Or you can tell it to create a path instead of a raster shape and just hit cmd+enter to make it a selection (I think thats the command). Theres no need for illustrator.
 
graphic design is really meant to be done in vectors in programs such as illsutrator, you can always throw them back to ps for effects
 
He could be making a website, which is a pain in the ass in illustrator. Photoshop is the easiest and most versatile if youre making raster stuff.
 
pinktank said:
graphic design is really meant to be done in vectors in programs such as illsutrator, you can always throw them back to ps for effects
Click to expand...

Photoshop does vectors. The shape tools and text, to name two. This is what the "Rasterize..." menu item is for, so you can rasterize your vectors if necessary.

--Eric
 
you guys are great! thanks a lot.

and for reference, i'm mostly doing 8x11 print ads for my advertising classes.
 
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