You have a natural talent for drawing, friends and relatives tell you all the time too. Now you would like to try your hand at digital drawing, or in the use of IT tools to create drawings and, more specifically, in the use of Photoshop. No problem: if this is the case, know that I will be happy to help you achieve your goal.
In the next paragraphs, in fact, I will be able to illustrate you in detail how to draw in Photoshop using the brushes and all the other multiple tools integrated into the famous Adobe software. However, before starting, let me make a necessary clarification: Photoshop does not allow you to create vector drawings, or those drawings that do not lose quality when they are enlarged. To do this, it would be better to turn to ad hoc solutions, such as Adobe Illustrator, of which I have palate in another guide of mine.
All clear? Well, now then I'd say we can take action. If you are willing to draw with Photoshop, keep reading: find all the information and directions you need right below. There is nothing left for me to do, except wish you good reading and have fun!
Index
- How to draw with Photoshop
- How to draw lines in Photoshop
- How to draw circles in Photoshop
- How to draw arrows in Photoshop
- How to draw a triangle in Photoshop
- How to draw hair in Photoshop
How to draw with Photoshop
If you want to learn a draw with Photoshop, you must familiarize yourself with the main tools for digital drawing included in the famous Adobe program. Before that, however, if you haven't already done so, you need to download the program on your PC.
Photoshop can be used free of charge for 7 days, after which it requires the subscription to the ad Adobe Creative Cloud, which starts from 12,19 euro / month. For more information on how to buy, download and install Photoshop, refer to my tutorial dedicated to the subject.
After installing and starting Photoshop, click on the button Create new ... present in its main window, define the size of the sheet on which you want to work, using the text fields and menus in the box New document and press pulsating Crea. Also remember to choose the background color of the worksheet by selecting one of the options in the menu Background content (Eg. White, Black o Background color).
At this point, the first thing I recommend you do is create a new layer. To do this, select the items New> Level ... from the menu Subscription (above) and, after having defined the characteristics of the latter in the window that opens, click on the button OK. Now, if you want to do a "freehand" drawing, call it up Brush tool from the toolbar on the left: right click on the icon brush and select the item Brush tool o Pencil tool from the menu that opens, according to the tool you want to use at this stage.
Then click on the symbol (⌵) at the top left and use the control rods Dimension e Hardness to define the characteristics of the brush. Then choose the color you want to give to the stroke: then click on the tabs Colors o Samples placed on the right, select the color of your interest (eg. Black) and sketch your drawing using it directly on the worksheet.
If you make a mistake, you can press the key combination Crtl + Z (your Windows) or cmd + z (on Mac) to undo the last action performed or, alternatively, you can select the tool rubber from the left sidebar and delete the wrong part of the drawing.
Once you have the "sketch" made, you may need to adapt it to the worksheet. To do this, open the menu Modification, select the voice Free transformation and make the drawing smaller by dragging it in from one of the squares that appear in the four corners of the same (remember to hold down the key Shift while you do this, so as to keep the right proportions).
As soon as you are ready to do this, you can color the design you made using the bucket, if the areas of the drawing to be colored already have well-defined edges. Alternatively, you can create a precise selection with the lasso tool and then color the selection made: to do this, select the Magnetic Lasso tool from the Photoshop toolbar and select with it a part of the drawing to color (eg the face of your character, a detail of the landscape, etc.), concentrating on small portions of the drawing.
After making your selection, I suggest you then refine it by clicking on the button Refine Edge located at the top right and use the adjustment bars in the window that opens to make the selection more precise and, when you have finished the operation, click on the button OK.
Now, call him back Paint Bucket tool from the toolbar and select the color with which to fill the part of the design you selected previously. In case there is some small portion of the design that has not been colored by the aforementioned tool, you can refine the work using the Brush tool and "pass" it over the areas that are not colored. When using the brush to color a drawing, remember to set his opacity (via the drop-down menu located at the top left) to about 50%, so as to avoid erasing the lines of the drawing.
To darken some parts of the design and give it a three-dimensional touch, select it Burn tool from the toolbar and "pass" it over the areas of the drawing you want to shade. As soon as you are satisfied with the result, all you have to do is select the item Save with name from the menu Fillet (top left) and save the design you made in the folder and format you prefer.
To make the most of the potential of the drawing tools included in Photoshop, however, it is advisable to have one graphics tablet, in order to be able to draw on a much easier surface than a screen and, above all, to be able to draw with pencils and other tools capable of making all the work more natural. If you want to know which are the best graphics tablets of the moment, consult my buying guide dedicated to these products.
Alternatively, I point out that you could also use one scanner and import the drawings made on paper into Photoshop. To do this, all you have to do is go to the menu File> Import> Pictures from Device of the program. And if you don't have a scanner yet and want some buying advice, check out my guide to the best scanners.
How to draw lines in Photoshop
Do you want to learn a draw lines on Photoshop? No problem, it's child's play! After starting the program and opening a new worksheet or an existing image (via the menu File> Open, top left), recalls the Line tool from the toolbar located on the left, by right clicking on the icon rectangle and selecting the voice Line tool give the menu check if you press.
Then define the thickness, color and other characteristics of the line using the menus located at the top (e.g. the field Track is what allows you to choose the color of the line) and, as soon as you are ready to do so, draw the line on the worksheet by clicking with the left mouse button in the point where you want to insert it, dragging the cursor to the desired point and releasing the pressure.
How to draw circles in Photoshop
draw circles on Photoshop, recalls it Ellipse tool from the toolbar located on the left, by right clicking on the icon rectangle and selecting the voice Ellipse tool give the menu check if you press.
Then keep your finger pressed on the key Shift on the keyboard and draw the circle: hold down the left mouse button in the point where you want to insert the circle, drag the cursor to draw the geometric shape and then release it to finish the operation. Using the menus at the top, you can change the fill color of the drawn circle, define the thickness and color of the border and so on.
How to draw arrows in Photoshop
draw arrows on Photoshop, you can take advantage of the aforementioned Line tool. Recall the latter from the toolbar located on the left, by right clicking on the icon rectangle and selecting by voice Line tool give the menu check if you press.
Then click on thegear, located at the top right and, in the box that appears on the screen, check the items Home and / or end, to insert the arrowhead at the ends of the line.
Then define the thickness, color and other characteristics of the arrow using the menus located at the top and, as soon as you are ready to do so, draw the arrow on the worksheet by clicking with the left mouse button in the point where you want to insert it, dragging the cursor to the desired point and releasing the pressure to complete the operation. Simple, right?
How to draw a triangle in Photoshop
If, on the other hand, you wish draw a triangle on Photoshop, recalls it Pen tool: right click on the icon fountain pen placed on the toolbar and select it from the context menu.
Then click in three places on the worksheet, so as to insert the anchor points necessary for the creation of the shape and, as if by "magic", the triangle will be automatically drawn.
At this point, press the button Esc on the keyboard and use the menus located at the top to choose the color to give to the triangle and all its other characteristics.
How to draw hair in Photoshop
If you've come to this guide with the intention of learning a drawing hair on Photoshop, start the famous photo editing program on your computer, click on the button You open… present in its main window and select the image you want to import into the program (or create a new one, as explained above).
Now, select the items New> Level ... from the menu Subscription (above) and, after having defined the characteristics of the latter from the window that appears on the screen, click on the button OK, so as to create a new level.
At this point, call it back Brush tool from the toolbar located on the left and define its characteristics through the menus located at the top: I suggest you start from a light base color, so you can darken it with the tools I will talk about shortly.
Once you have added a draft of the hair to the face of the subject portrayed in the photo, go over the hair that you added the subject again using the Brush tool, but this time taking care to use a color slightly darker than the one used previously, which you will need to use to draw the lines that will simulate the details and shading of the hair.
To conclude the work, recall him Smudge tool by right clicking on the icon drop present on the toolbar and selecting it from the context menu, and go over the draft of the hair you drew just now. As you can see, this tool will give an incredibly realistic effect to the hair.
As soon as you are satisfied with the result, save your work by selecting the item Save with name from the menu Fillet (top left). Did you see that it wasn't that complicated to design hair in Photoshop?
