Photoshop 6 or Higher: Creating Custom Shapes

Step 1: Create the initial forms in the source file

Create a new file and create a new layer. Keeping your work on layers rather than the background will make the final steps much easier.

When creating custom shapes, the more complex the final shape will be, the larger your original source file should be. For this tutorial we'll be creating a fairly simplistic and stylized ladybug, so I chose to keep my source file's dimensions to 600x600 pixels.

Since custom shapes are defined by positive and negative space only, keep your design simple and direct by using one high contrast color. I prefer to do my source drawings in black.

CTRL T to bring up the free transform handles on the oval. Rotate the oval about 30° to add some dynamism to the custom shape.

Keeping in mind that custom shapes are made up of positive and negative space, to create some spots on the ladybug's back, some areas will need to be deleted. Use the circular marque and shift drag to create a small perfect circle. Drag the selection or use the arrow keys to position the marquee. Then hit delete to remove some of the black areas. Repeate until a number of spots are created.

If you're hesitant to delete: create a new layer and the set your paint color to white. Use the circular marquee and the paint bucket to fill in circles of white paint on a layer above the black oval. You can merge visible layers (keeping the background hidden during that step) to bring the positive and negative spaces together later.

Step 2 >>>