Creating Dashed Lines and Curves in Photoshop CS5
I have been making a lot of doll sewing patterns using Photoshop CS5. I've been having a lot of trouble making the dashed seam lines actually look good. I see other digital patterns for sale with perfect, uniform dash lines. I searched everywhere online, including YouTube, to find a way to do it in CS5. I found tutorials for the newer Photoshop and even Illustrator, but not CS5. I came really close to just purchasing CS6 (on ebay for around $100) or the new CC for $9.99 a month (which I think is ridiculous because after a few years, you've spent hundreds of dollars on it, when I purchased CS5 for $40 when I was a student.) Anyway, I FINALLY found the solution! And now I am sharing it with you. I have a YouTube video on it here.
Ok, so the first step is to create a DASHED BRUSH.
- Select square brush, set to 3px (My canvas is always set to 300dpi. Not sure if that matters.)
- Click brush panel (the little paint brushes in a cup icon, shown below)
- click “Dual Brush”
- Set as follows:
Size: 30px
Spacing: 168%
Scatter: 0%
Count: 10
You can play around with the settings to make it how you want.
- Create new preset from this brush (so it can be saved.)
So to make the curve, you need to use the PEN tool.
1. Create a new layer.
2. Select Pen Tool (the keyboard shortcut is "P")
3. Draw your line or curve (keep reading on for tips)
4. Right-click the line, click “Stroke Path”
5. Select “Brush,” (make sure the correct brush was selected beforehand) and “OK”
6. Hit “Enter” to end the path, otherwise it will continue the path.
Ok, so the first step is to create a DASHED BRUSH.
- Select square brush, set to 3px (My canvas is always set to 300dpi. Not sure if that matters.)
- Click brush panel (the little paint brushes in a cup icon, shown below)
- click “Dual Brush”
- Set as follows:
Size: 30px
Spacing: 168%
Scatter: 0%
Count: 10
You can play around with the settings to make it how you want.
- Create new preset from this brush (so it can be saved.)
Now, you could stop here and it would work for your dashes, using this new brush. You can make straight lines by holding down the SHIFT key while drawing your line. If you hold it down before starting, the line will be straight up and down or side to side. But if you click your starting point, then hold shift and click your ending point, it will make it straight from each point. However, curves are very difficult to make exact.
So to make the curve, you need to use the PEN tool.
1. Create a new layer.
2. Select Pen Tool (the keyboard shortcut is "P")
3. Draw your line or curve (keep reading on for tips)
4. Right-click the line, click “Stroke Path”
5. Select “Brush,” (make sure the correct brush was selected beforehand) and “OK”
6. Hit “Enter” to end the path, otherwise it will continue the path.
Tips for using the pen:
Click your starting point, click and drag the next point for curves, or just click for a line. If you need to edit it, click CTRL or ALT at the points to change them. There's an excellent tutorial on YouTube.
Hope this helps!
