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Mahalo expert Justin Z. gives a tutorial on the Photoshop pen tool.

About the Pen Tool
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The Pen Tool is a very powerful selection and Masking tool that allows you to make very exacting selections of an image for manipulation. Once you learn to master this tool, it will be more useful than the Lasso tools, which tend to be less accurate. 

Using the Pen Tool
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1. On the
Tool bar (leftmost side of your screen) click the icon of a pen tip, or Control/Command + P on your keyboard for a shortcut. 
2. To start making a
path, simply click on an image around its edges. Each click that you make will string the image together automatically. 3. Once you are done making the image, you have many options. You can create a new layer that you can manipulate, you can create a mask which is a powerful option for image control, you can fill your selection with a solid color or brushstroke or you can create a shape, which will make for a new layer, as well. 
4. To make the path you have created smooth, apply Control/Command + mouse click right on the path. This will reveal your path points. If you place your pen cursor over a path point, it will prompt a minus sign which signifies you can delete the point. 

5. To add a point, click anywhere on the path itself (make sure your pen cursor has a plus sign). Notice that you have tiny brackets on each side of your new point. This means your point can be manipulated for curves, so you can refer to this as a "curve point." 

6. To control these points, hit your Control/Command key, then click and drag a point. You can move the point around, but unless it's a curve point, the edges will remain straight. 

7. Click on a curve point and it will create smooth contours that you can shape. You can also choose the
Direct Selection Tool on the Tool bar. 
8. Press A to access it, then click and drag on any point. The brackets themselves allow for manipulation of the curves. 

9. Still holding the Control/Command key, click and drag these brackets to create the curves. This tool can be very useful for creating extremely accurate shapes for masking or manipulation but it is no good for hair or multiple, jagged edges.

Read more by visiting our page at:
http://www.mahalo.com/learn-adobe-photoshop-pen-tool/