PS7 newbie question - smooth edges using pencil tool ect?

talk design
1

Hi,

Just started using ps7 and I have never used an art program for real before. Apart from using FlashMX drawing capabilities. Anyway, I decided to use ps7 for website graphics and so on and I’m realising just how powerful it is. Wow! But I am stumped on a simple problem I keep coming accross. Creating smooth edges.

I use the pencil and I get this jagged edge. I create a shape with the pen and again a jagged edge.

I use the marquee tool a lot for creating buttons and interfaces - filling selcected areas then running through eye candy or blending options. With the marquee tool I set anti-alaised on and I get my smooth edges. Just now I decided that I was going to do some psychedelic art and creating some blades of grass in the corner of my pic. I used the pencil to create an outline then paint bucket to fill it and selected the whole thing with the magic wand and applyed some filters. After I got the result that I wanted I deselected. I was left with these jagged edges.

What do I do to have smooth edges when using the pencil tool like in FlashMX? Or when I use the shape tools in PS7 how do I get smooth edges, same goes for the pen tool as well.

Thanks for any help.

2

The paintbrush tool will anti-alias your lines. Just right click on the pencil tool and you will be presented with the option for paint brush tool.

Photoshop is not a vector program, so you have to realize that not everything gets anti-aliased.

3

nice one - getting the effect I want now

What’s the point of the pencil tool?

I when for a google and came accross this site - excellent resource http://www.phong.com/tutorials/

4

Yes, Phong is a good tutorial site.

The point of the pencil tool is for when you don’t want anti-aliasing.

It comes in handy when doing detail work mostly.

5

yes the brush tool is better also because you can get the airbrush effect. i think i used the pencil one time, but i hate the square head on it, so i stopped useing it.