Expert: Glen Demers - 8/20/2011

Question
Hi Glen,

I am quite new to photoshop. I want to create an arc around a circle and give some effects to it. I tried pen tool but not able to make proper shapes.

I have attached the image my google docs, to make it more clear what I want to achieve.

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0ByR_nvcYV2ghOWZhYmViNmEtN2FiZS00NjYwLWIzZjEtMjQ4ODhkZGE3NjMz&hl=en_US

The arc looks like they have been punched or stapled.

Will you be able to help?

Thanks

Answer
Hi Deepak,

To achieve that effect you'll have to first draw a circle on a new layer. Use the Marquee Ellipse tool and hold down the shift key to constrain it to a circle. Once a circular selection is made, go to Edit>Stroke... to make the solid circle. Then erase areas of the stroked circle to turn it into a series of arcs.
Once you have the arcs you can go to Layer>Layer Style and apply effects to get the look you want, such as Drop Shadow or Emboss. The effect in the example looks like a combination of Bevel & Emboss and Outer Glow or Drop Shadow effects.

Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Adobe Certified Expert, Photoshop 7
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com

For more Photoshop tips please visit our help pages here: http://www.bestprintingonline.com/photoshop.htm