This tutorial introduces you to Photoshop's vector graphics, demonstrating how to create a badge entirely with vectors. You'll explore creative uses of Photoshop's vector tools, including paths, shapes, and text, as well as techniques like clipping paths and text manipulation.
Completing the tutorial is worthwhile as you'll gain valuable skills applicable to various Photoshop projects.
1.1. Select "File > New" and create a new document, 800 x 800 pixels:
1.2. Click on "View" on the main menu; make sure that "Snap" is checked. Click on "Snap To" and make sure that all options are activated:
1.3. Press Ctrl+ R (Mac: cmd+ R) to show the ruler. Right-click on the ruler and select “Percent”:
- PHOTOSHOP CC: Select “View > New Guide Layout” from the menu and use these settings:
2.1. Go to Photoshop's Toolbar, right click the Shape tool and select the Polygon Tool:
2.2. Move your mouse to the top of the work area; click the "Fill" color swatch and set the fill color to black:
2.3. Move your mouse a bit to the right; click the "Stroke" color swatch and set Stroke to “No Color” (indicated by a diagonal red line over the white color swatch):
The “Create Polygon” dialogue box shows up. Enter these settings and hit OK:
Note 3: You can ‘play’ with the settings in the “Create Polygon” dialogue box to create different badge shapes:
2.5. A new layer named “Polygon 1” has been created in the Layers panel. We will align it both horizontally and vertically with the background:
Hold down the Shift key and click the "Background" layer, to select both layers:
2.6. Select the menu command: “Layer > Align > Vertical Edges”
2.7. The polygon shape should now be centered over the background:
2.8. Press Shift+ Ctrl+ N (Mac: Shift+ cmd+ N) to create a new blank layer. Name it “White circle”:
2.9. Go to Photoshop's toolbar.
Right click the "Shape tool" and select the “Ellipse Tool”:
2.10. Move your mouse pointer to the tool's options bar (below the menu) and click the "Fill" color swatch.
This time set white as the fill color. Keep the “Stroke” color set to “No Color” (indicated by a diagonal red line over the white color swatch):
2.11. Move the mouse pointer a bit to the right; click the little gear icon and select “Circle (draw diameter or radius)”:
2.12. Click anywhere inside the document. The “Create Ellipse” dialogue box shows up. Enter 500px in both the "Width" and "Height" fields and hit OK:
2.13. Let’s center the white circle. Go to the layers panel. With the “White circle” layer selected, hold down the Shift key and click the “Background” layer. You should have selected all 3 layers:
2.15. Select the “White Circle” layer. Press Ctrl+ J (Mac: cmd+ J) to duplicate it. Rename the new layer to “Black circle”.
2.16. Press Ctrl+ T (Mac: cmd+ T). Go to the top of the work area and set the Width and Height to 99%:
Hit the Enter key twice to confirm. Your document should look like this at this point:
3.2. Press Shift+ Ctrl+ N (Mac: Shift+ cmd+ N) to create a new, blank layer. Name it “Circle of circles”:
3.3. Zoom in to the top of the badge (I am reminding you of the keyboard shortcuts in step 3.1.):
3.4. Go to the toolbar and select the “Ellipse Tool”:
3.5. Move your mouse pointer to the top of the work area; click the "Fill" color swatch. Set White as the fill color. Leave “Stroke” set to “No Color”:
3.6. The mouse pointer should have a crosshair shape. Move the pointer at the top, exactly over the point where the 50% vertical guide crosses the 20% horizontal guide:
3.7. Click on that point. The “Create Ellipse” dialogue box shows up. Enter 4px in both the width and height fields, check the "From Center" box and hit OK:
The first circle has been added:
3.8. Now zoom to the bottom of the badge. You can hold down Space and drag the mouse so that you pan over the document.
Place the crosshair pointer exactly where the 50% vertical guide crosses the 80% horizontal guide:
3.9. Click on that point. The “Create Ellipse” dialogue box shows up. Enter 4px in the width and height fields and hit OK.
The second circle has been added:
3.10. Go to the Layers panel. You’ll notice that a new layer named “Ellipse 1” has been created and is selected. Hold down the Shift key and click the “Circle of circles” layer, to select both layers:
3.12. Let's view the entire badge, as it looks so far.
- Press V to select the Move tool.
- Press Ctrl+ ; (Mac: cmd+ ;) to hide the guidelines.
- Press Ctrl+ 1 (Mac: cmd+ 1) to zoom to 1:1.
At this point the badge should look like this:
The Layers panel should look like this:
Go to the top of the work area and enter 2.5 in the transformation angle box (or 2,5 depending on your Photoshop language locale) :
3.14. Now here comes the trick. Keep pressing Shift+ Ctrl+ Alt+ T (Mac: Shift+ cmd+ option+ T). Each time you press these 4 keys simultaneously, Photoshop will be adding 2 circles. Repeat as many times as needed to complete the big circle:
3.15. Go to the Layers panel. There you will find a host of new layers named “Circle of circles copy X” (where X is a number).
The first layer should be named “Circle of circles copy 71”:
3.16. With the “Circle of circles copy 71” layer selected, scroll down to the bottom of the layers’ stack.
Hold down Shift and click the “Circle of circles” layer. This will select all intermediate layers:
3.17. Press Ctrl+ E (Mac: cmd+ E) to merge the selected layers. Rename the merged layer to “Circle of circles”.
The Layers panel should now look like this:
4.3. Press Ctrl+ T (Mac: cmd+ T). Move your mouse at the top of the work area and enter 60% in the Width and Height fields.
Hit the Enter key twice to apply (or click the check-mark at the tool options bar).
The badge should now look like this:
4.5. Go to the toolbar and select the “Rectangle Tool”:
4.6. Go to the top of the work area; click the "Fill" color swatch and set white as the fill color. Keep “Stroke” set to “No Color” (indicated by the diagonal red line over the white swatch):
4.7. Click and draw a rectangle that covers the area defined by the thick blue line in the screenshot below:
Press Ctrl+ T (cmd+ T). Go to the top of the work area; enter 60% in the Height field (leave the Width field set to 100%) and press the Enter key twice to confirm:
Your badge should now look like this one:
4.9. Now we’ll create a clipping path.
Go to the layers panel and select the “Black circle” layer.
Press Ctrl+ J (cmd+ J) to duplicate it. Rename the new layer to “Black circle 2”.
Select the “Rectangle 1” layer and press Ctrl+ Alt+ G (Mac: cmd+ option+ G) to create the clipping mask. Observe the effect on the left and right edges of the “Rectangle 1” layer:
4.10. Select the “Black circle 2” layer. Press Ctrl+ T (cmd+ T). Go to the top of the work area; enter 94% in both the Width and Height fields and press the Enter key twice to confirm:
Observe how the reduction in the size of the “Black circle 2” layer affected the left and right edges of the “Rectangle 1” layer:
5.1. Press T to pick the Text tool. Go to the options bar (at the top of the work area), set black as the text color and choose the "Center Text" mode:
Aside from text, you can add one or more custom shapes of your choice, using the Custom Shape Tool:
5.2. In my example, I added two horizontal text layers ("artistic" and "COLLECTION") and a custom shape above them:
There you will find a path named “White circle 2 Shape Path”.
Click and drag it on to the “Create new path” icon, at the bottom of the Paths panel:
5.5. A new path named “White circle 2 Shape Path copy” should now have been created in the Paths panel
(in Photoshop CS6 its name should be "Path 1":
Press Ctrl+ T (cmd+ T). Go to the top of the work area; enter 130% in both the Height & Width fields and press the Enter key twice to confirm:
5.7. Move the mouse pointer at the top edge of the circular shape. The pointer should change its shape to a cursor imposed over a dotted curved line:
Click and start typing your text. When you finish, hit the Enter key to confirm. A new text layer has been created in the layers panel. Rename it to “Circular Text 1” and click the eyeball on the left of the layer name to temporarily turn off its visibility:
Go to the Paths panel and duplicate the “White circle 2 Shape Path” path by dragging it on to the “Create new path” icon:
5.11. This time move the pointer at the bottom of the circular shape and click to start typing. As you see, your text appears up-side down:
To fix this, go to the toolbar and select the “Path Selection Tool” (or press Shift+ A until you select the little black arrow):
Move the cursor over the text until the cursor shape changes into a double-headed arrow:
Click and drag the cursor upwards, until the text flows along the inner side of the circle:
That’s it. You should have created a badge that looks like this one. It's made up entirely of vector graphics. You can therefore change its size (press Ctrl+ Alt+ i or cmd+ option+ i) without losing any quality!
Congratulations on following patiently the tutorial steps!
You learned how to create your own badges! You also learned how to use vector graphics (paths and shapes) in Adobe Photoshop, how to use clipping paths, how to make text flow along shapes.
