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This lesson demonstrates how to create a simple Custom Shape from a photo object.
To work a long, you will find the butterfly image Here. Unzip the file and open it onto Photoshop’s workspace.
Place Type Inside Custom Shapes Tutorial
Create Glassy Custom Shapes Tutorial
Cut-outs from Custom Shapes Tutorial
Circular Custom Shapes Lesson
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
To save an object as a Custom Shape, you must completely surround an area, or object, with a vector path. The obvious tools to use are the Pen and Freeform Pen tools because they create a path for you - you do this by carefully drawing around the outer shape of an object, surrounding it with a vector Path. You then convert the Path to a Custom Shape - by choosing Edit then Define Custom Shape. Alternatively, you can isolate your object with a selection marquee using the Magic Wand Tool, then convert the selection marquee to a path.
You can create a Custom Shape from any photo object, image, or scanned item; additionally, if you have removed a background from an image - or you have an image with a transparent background - you can surround the transparent subject with a selection marquee (using the Magic Wand tool), then convert the selection marquee to a Path. In this lesson, you surround a simple butterfly image with a selection marquee, using the Magic Wand Tool.
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Open the butterfly, or your choice of image into Photoshop’s workspace.
Ensure it is a good quality high resolution image.
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From the left-side toolbar, activate the Magic Wand Tool, and set the following Add to selection attributes.
Then left-click once outside the butterfly, and it will surround with a selection marquee (moving dotted lines), demonstrated below.
Note
If your image has centre parts that need to be selected by a marquee also, such as the 2 CV in my Making Brushes tutorial.
Because your Magic Wand Tool is set to Add to selection, you can click inside each white space (one at a time), to surround them with a marquee.
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Now you have surrounded the butterfly with a selection marquee, from the top menu, choose Select then choose Inverse and the marquee will isolate the butterfly.
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Now, right-click your image and from the drop-down menu, choose Make Work
Path.
In the subsequent Make Work Path dialogue box, change the Tolerance to 1.0, or your own choice, then click OK. Tolerance determines how close to your subject the path will render.
The selection marquee will immediately change to a solid vector path, as shown below.
You can now can save this vector outline path as a Custom Shape.
Note
The Paths palette will resemble the following. 
To display the path palette, from the top menu choose Window, then ensure there is a tick before Paths.
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From the top menu, choose Edit then from the drop-down menu choose Define Custom Shape. In the subsequent Shape Name dialogue box, enter a (unique) name for your shape, then click OK.
Congratulations! You have successfully created a Custom Shape - and to test it, activate the Custom Shape Tool from the toolbar.
Then scroll the shapes and locate your new shape - it will be at the bottom of the shape’s library.
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Permanently save your shape as a csh file
Your shape has been temporarily saved, and is ready to apply. However, if you load different custom shapes, your new shape will be lost! To permanently save it; ensure the Custom Shapes Tool is active, then from the top menu, choose Edit then choose Preset Manager. In the subsequent Preset Manager dialogue box, (shown below), scroll the Preset Type menu and locate and click Custom Shapes. Then scroll to the bottom of the shape icon library, and locate your newly created shape, or shapes. Now, Ctrl-click to highlight one or more shapes. Then click Save Set.
By default, Photoshop opens a Save dialogue, and takes you to its Custom Shapes folder, (in programme files). In the Save dialogue box, go to the File name menu, and type a name for your new shape - then click Save, then click Done.
Your new Custom Shape (or shapes) have been permanently saved.
When you next open Photoshop, activate the Custom Shape Tool, from the toolbar, then navigate the palette to your new shape set, then left-click to load your new set.
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Delete or rename custom shapes
You can delete (or rename), a shape, by right-clicking it in the palette, as shown below, and choosing Delete or Rename, from the drop-down list.
Alternatively, delete your new shape, or other downloaded shapes, from Photoshop’s Custom Shapes folder, (in programme files). 
Similar to deleting Brushes, explained Here!
Experiment with different photo objects, photographs, and scanned objects - you can have lots of fun creating and saving, personal Custom Shapes.
Wendi E M Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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