Creating a Path with the Pen Tool in Photoshop

The best way to get the hang of the Pen tool is to dive right in and work with it. You’ll want to start with straight lines, which are very easy, and then move on to the more difficult curves. The more you practice with the Pen, the more comfortable and proficient you’ll become. It definitely is an example of the old adage “you get out what you put into it.”

Knowing your Pen tool options
Although every path consists of three basic components — segments, points, and direction lines — the Pen tool enables you to use these components to create a few different types of paths. You must choose one of the following:
-->Shape Layers: This option creates a shape on a new layer that’s called, not surprisingly, a shape layer. After you create the path that defines the shape, Photoshop fills the shape with the foreground color and stores the path as a vector mask in the Paths palette. A shape layer is a unique entity.

-->Fill Pixels: This option is available only when you’re using the Shape tools. It allows you to create a shape and fill it with the foreground color, but it does not create a shape layer nor does it retain the path.

-->Paths: This option enables you to create a traditional path that hovers over the image. The path you create will be a work path, which is temporary, appears in the Paths palette, and is unsaved. If you’re creating a path that will eventually be loaded as a selection, this is your option.