Learn Adobe Photoshop Free: 12/27/10

This page contains all the practice templates for drawing with the pen. Here are tutorials for Deneba Canvas™, Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe Photoshop®, Macromedia® FreeHand® and CorelDRAW®. These tutorials are setup for both Macintosh® and Windows® platforms.

You might ask, "What are Photoshop tutorials doing here in the vector application section?" Using the pen in Adobe Photoshop is virtually the same as using the pen in Adobe Illustrator. Learning pen skills really belongs here with the other vector applications. I have linked the Photoshop section of the web site to these pages for learning the pen.

These tutorials are short and fun. Make sure to download the setup sheet for the application you are using. The setup is very straightforward. Except for Photoshop (which rasterizes the PDF file...turns it into a bitmap), you simply load the tutorial PDF file into the drawing application, then lock the layer containing the template, then add a new layer and draw on that new layer. The reason you keep the template on a locked layer is because the template contains vector objects which can get selected and altered otherwise. Don't worry, it's really simple. All the instructions are in the setup sheets.

The tutorials are setup in sequence starting with the easiest ones. Each one gives you a different skill. By the time you get to the last one you will see how it all comes together. They have been purposely setup to take advantage of keyboard shortcuts so you don't have to return to the tool palette once the pen tool has been selected.

The whole point is to train you to take advantage of the keyboard shortcuts so you will draw faster, smoother and more fluidly.

Download Instructions:

Instructions:

1. First download and install the free Adobe Acrobat® Reader

2. If you wish to view the PDF file only, simply click on the link below

3. To download in Windows®: Place mouse pointer on the link, then right click the mouse.

For Internet Explorer®: "Save Target As..."
For Netscape®: "Save Link as..." then save it to disk

4. To download in Mac®: Hold the mouse button down for a second or Control + Click and a pop up window will appear.

For Internet Explorer: "Download Link to Disk"
For Netscape: "Save this Link as..." then save it to disk.

Pen Tutorials For Macintosh® and Windows

	Canvas 5-7	Illustrator 7-9	Photoshop 5	FreeHand 8-9	CorelDRAW 8-9
Setup Sheet	setupcnv.pdf 34.20K	setupai.pdf 15.20K	setuppsd.pdf 15.60K	setupfh8.pdf 18.50K	setupcdr.pdf 41.70K
Tutorial 1	tem1cnv.pdf 9.33K	tem1ai.pdf 3.38K	tem1psd.pdf 3.49K	tem1fh8.pdf 9.45K	tem1cdr.pdf 10.00K
Tutorial 2	tem2cnv.pdf 5.48K	tem2ai.pdf 9.03K	tem2psd.pdf 5.42K	tem2fh8.pdf 5.35K	tem2cdr.pdf 5.50K
Tutorial 3	tem3cnv.pdf 6.67K	tem3ai.pdf 8.76K	tem3psd.pdf 6.20K	tem3fh8.pdf 6.19K	tem3cdr.pdf 6.73K
Tutorial 4	tem4cnv.pdf 4.36K	tem4ai.pdf 10.10K	tem4psd.pdf 6.80K	tem4fh8.pdf 6.87K	tem4cdr.pdf 4.33K
Tutorial 5	tem5cnv.pdf 3.68K	tem5ai.pdf 6.22K	tem5psd.pdf 3.69K	tem5fh8.pdf 3.73K	tem5cdr.pdf 3.82K
Tutorial 6	tem6cnv.pdf 32.60K	tem6ai.pdf 21.30K	tem6psd.pdf 21.10K	tem6fh8.pdf 32.00K	tem6cdr.pdf 31.80K
Complete Set Macintosh	temcnv.sit 84.60K	temai.sit 61.90K	tempsd.sit 56.00K	temfh8.sit 73.00K	temcdr.sit 92.00K
Complete Set Windows	temcnv.zip 82.20K	temai.zip 60.60K	tempsd.zip 53.90K	temfh8.zip 70.70K	temcdr.zip 89.10K

The idea behind the keyboard shortcuts in Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe Photoshop® and Macromedia® FreeHand® is so you can draw paths in a fluid manner with as few interruptions as possible. Ideally, you would draw as fluidly as if you were actually using a pen or pencil. The previous page described the hand positions with the keyboard and mouse. This page describes how it is done. The next page gives you practice templates for each application.

While the pen tool is selected and you are actively drawing a path, pressing the following keys will bring up a different tool:

For Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop:

Macintosh®	Windows®	Function
Command Option Shift	Ctrl Alt Shift	Selects the last selection tool Selects the Convert Direction Point Tool Constrains angle to 45° increments

For Macromedia FreeHand:

Macintosh	Windows	Function
Command Option Shift	Ctrl Alt Shift	Selects the Pointer Tool Places a corner point Constrains angle to 45° increments

Basically the functions of these keys between the Adobe applications and Macromedia FreeHand are the same. There is only a slight difference in the use of the Alt or Option key to create a corner point. In Illustrator and Photoshop, all newly placed points with control handles are smooth points by default. The Convert Direction Point Tool is used to change a smooth point to a corner point with handles. In FreeHand, you can drag out control handles for a corner point when you first place it.

Brief Example - Adobe Illustrator

In the following example, three tools are used without returning to the tool palette to change tools:

1. Drag out the first point

2. Drag out the second point. The first curve is off, now.

3. Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and use the Direct Selection Tool to drag back the first curve.

4. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) to bring up the Convert Direction Point Tool and drag the second point's handle (changing it from a smooth point to a corner point) to redirect the next curve.

5. Place the next point and continue drawing the path.

Pen Cursors

The pen cursor helps you identify where you're at when drawing paths. You need to know when you are over a point so you can append to an open path (restarting the path) or when you are over a point so you can close a path. You also need to know what the cursor looks like to start a new path so you don't inadvertently keep adding to an existing path or vice versa. These are the most important cursors. Their functions are identical between Adobe Illustrator 7 and 8, Adobe Photoshop 5 and Macromedia FreeHand 8. The chart below describes these cursors.

	Start New Path	Continue Adding To Path	Restart Open Path	Close Path
Illustrator 7 / 8

Photoshop 5

FreeHand 8

Deneba Canvas™

The Curve tool is used for drawing Bezier curves in Deneba Canvas. Some of the various cursors are described below.

	Add Points To Path	Pointer Directly Over an Anchor Point. Next Click Closes Path	Placing Straight Segments	Placing Segments Constrained To 45°
Deneba Canvas