How to Make a Bow in Photoshop

Photoshop is a graphics software program that users can utilize to create original art and edit images. Users can open up image files and change these images using a variety of tools. Photoshop can create virtually any image including bows. Bows are relatively simple objects that can be created using the pen tool. The pen tool, located on the toolbar, can perfectly create the curves necessary in order to create convincing bows that can be used individually or placed on the head of a character that you have created using Photoshop.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Adobe Photoshop

1. 

   Find the "pen tool" on the toolbar and select it. This pen tool is located underneath the path selection tool and to the left of the ellipses tool.

2. Click on any spot on the canvas to create a vector.

3. Click and hold the mouse on a spot beneath the vector you just created and drag the mouse until you've created a curve that curves high above the vector.

4. 

   Find the "eraser tool" and select it.

5. 

   Erase the bottom half of the line you just created. Use the "pen tool" to create a more simple curve that attaches to the first line.

6. 

   Use the "pen tool" to create two curves that connect to and extend away from the line you have just created. Have one line travel upward and to the right before curving downward abruptly. Have the other line curve downward and to the right before curving upward abruptly. Have both lines meet as they curve and travel back toward the left.

7. Draw a line within the polygon using the "pen tool." This line will travel from left to right. This line will have a slight upwards curve. The point of this line is to make the bow appear slightly folded in the middle.

8. Use the marquee tool to select the bow you have created. Right-click and click on the "free transform" selection. Right-click again and click "flip/horizontal." Click on the "move" tool and move the rotated part of the image to the left, forming a completed bow.

9. 

   Select the "paint bucket tool." Fill the bow lines with a color of your liking.

Tips & Warnings

• When trying to imagine what a bow or any other object looks like, try to find a reference picture.
• Be sure to save your work as frequently as possible, since Photoshop does not save work that is lost when a PC crashes. Do not make your image too large. Some computers cannot handle high resolutions.

Resources

• Photoshop Download

[karileighk]

on 7/13/2009 This is fantastic!!! Thanks!!