proxy101

Hi

There are many wires tutorials out there, but some of them are too complex for such a simple stuff and some don't work (perhaps the different ps version).

So my question is simple.
After i have created a path and i want to stroke path - i can't.
I select the path selection tool, right click, and the "stroke path" option is not available.

May be somebody can help me.


thnx

ziggy

did you use the polygonal lasso tool to draw your shape

proxy101

no - i used the pen tool to draw the path

ziggy

you need to draw it with the polygonal lasso tool after you do that ,go to edit stroke ( width 1 pixel -location inside)
press m to get the marquee tool and draw square around ,then go to edit -define brush ,save it ,new layer ,press brush and then f5
and lower the spacing to 5 or try it out ,new layer and brush and you got your wire

Blinky2004

Ziggy...

I don't understand how you can draw your wire using that tool. It's not condusive to that function at all. It's designed more for creating sharp angles.

Generally the Pen tool is the method best applied for shapes like wires, pipes, etc.

Jux if you aren't getting the option to Stroke your path then somethings not right. Make sure your Pen tool style option is set to Path and not vector. Make sure the Pen tool is indeed selected (and not the Path selection tool), and you've activated the desired layer. Then right click the canvas and you should see the option to Stroke the path.

Also... make sure that prior to stroking you setup the brush you want to apply as the stroke.

Let us know if that still isn't working for you.

General tips:

If your wire is to be very thin/small, create it larger and scale it down afterward.
Avoid odd angle in your wires, so that PS can render your path as smooth as it's able to. Otherwise you risk getting some 'barbs' & 'frays' along your path.

Here's a quick'n'dirty way to create a wire:

Draw a Path to create your wire.
Stroke the Path with say, a 5px hard brush.
Open the Lighting Effects filter and use a "Directional" light. Adjust the light length so your image become high in contrast.
And change the "Texture Channel" to "Layer # Transparency". Set the amount to 100. Then jack up the settings to "shiny=100" and "plastic=100".
Apply.
Then 'Lock' the layer transparency and open the FILTER>Stylize>Anisotropic filter. Apply that once.

If need be manually add any further highlighting/shading.

proxy101

Yes it worked now. Problem was that my pen tool was on "shape layers" mode. After changeing it to path mode it worked well. And applying those lightning efects u gave, meda it look really good.

This is not the first time u have helped me ... thnx.

Blinky2004

Ya i thought it might be something just that simple. hehe
Glad it's working now. [excited]