Adding color to paths (Photoshop)

Adding color to paths (Photoshop)

You can add color values to a path by filling or stroking it Filling a path is the same as creating a rasterized shape using the shape tools (See "Creating rasterized shapes on section 202

Filling paths with color

The Fill Path command lets you fill a path with pixels using a specified color a state of the image a pattern or a fill layer.

Important: When you fill a path, the color values appear on the active layer Make sure the layer you want is active before beginning. You cannot fill a path when a layer clipping mask or text layer is active.

To fill a path using the current Fill Path settings:

Select the path in the Paths palette.

Click the Fill Path button at the bottom of the Paths palette.

To fill a path and specify options:

Select the path in the Paths palette.

Fill the path:

Alt-click ( Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Fill Path button at the bottom of the

Paths palette.

Alt-drag ( Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the path to the Fill Path button.

Choose Fill Path from the Paths palette menu If the selected path is a path component, this command changes to Fill Subpath.

For Use choose the contents for the fill (See "Filling and stroking selections and layers"

on section 249

Specify an opacity for the fill. To make the fill more transparent use a low percentage A

setting of 100% makes the fill opaque.

Choose a blending mode for the fill (See "Selecting a blending mode on section 241.) The Mode list includes a Clear mode that lets you erase to transparency. You must be working in a layer other than the background to use this option.

Choose Preserve Transparency to limit the fill to layer areas that contain pixels (See

"Locking layers on section 290

Select a Rendering option:

Feather Radius to define how far inside and outside the selection border the feather edge extends Enter a value in pixels.

Anti-aliased to create a finer transition between the pixels in the selection and the surrounding pixels by partially filling the edge pixels of the selection.

For more information on these options see "Softening the edges of a selection on section 166

Click OK.

Stroking to paint path borders

The Stroke Path command lets you paint the border of a path. The Stroke Path command allows you to create a paint stroke (using the current settings for your painting tools) that follows any path. This is completely different than the Stroke layer effect which doesn t mimic the effect of any of the painting tools.

Important: When you stroke a path, the color values appear on the active layer Make sure the layer you want is active before beginning. You cannot stroke a path when a layer clipping mask or text layer is active.

To stroke a path using the current Stroke Path settings:

Select the path in the Paths palette.

Click the Stroke Path button at the bottom of the Paths palette Each click of the Stroke Path button builds up the opacity of the stroke and in some cases makes it look thicker.

To stroke a path and specify options:

Select the path in the Paths palette.

Select the painting or editing tool you want to use to stroke the path Set the tool options and specify a brush from the options bar. You must specify the tool s settings before opening the Stroke Path dialog box. For information on specific tool settings, see "Retouching images on section 192 and "Using the painting tools (Photoshop) on section 222

To stroke the path do one of the following:

Alt-click ( Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Stroke Path button at the bottom of the Paths palette.

Alt-drag ( Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the path to the Stroke Path button.

Choose Stroke Path from the Paths palette menu If the selected path is a path component this command changes to Stroke Subpath.

If you did not select a tool in step 2 choose a tool from the Stroke Path dialog box.

Click OK.