Where is ellipse tool in photoshop

For more helpful advice about using the ellipse tool, watch our Photoshop tutorial videos. Each Photoshop Basics Tutorial includes a sample image so you can learn at your own pace and follow along with the video. Ellipse Tool. How to Use the Ellipse Tool in Photoshop. Aaron Nace. Start Watching. What is the ellipse tool? Draw an Ellipse or Make It a Circle An ellipse, sometimes better known as an oval, is a curved shape. Fill with a Color or Choose an Outline With the Ellipse tool, you can create a shape that is filled in with color.

Overlap to Create New Shapes If your project requires more than one ellipse, you can choose how these shapes will interact with each other. When one shape overlaps another in the same layer, it can: Join together with the first shape: This makes one large shape out of the two ellipses.

Appear only where the two intersect: This option removes parts of both ellipses. All that remains is the space where the two shapes overlap. Create negative space in the intersecting area: This is the opposite of the above option. Drag on the image. When creating multiple shapes, use selector on the Options bar: Create new shape layer - to create every new shape in a separate layer Add to shape area - to create mutiple shapes in the same vector shape layer.

Subtract from shape area - to subtract shapes from the current shape layer. Intersect with shape area - to intersect new shapes with existing one s in the same layer. Exclude overlapping shape areas - to create new shapes in the current shape layer subtracting overlapping areas. I want to add a classic white vignette effect to this photo, and the Elliptical Marquee Tool will make it easy.

First, I'll add a new blank layer so I can create my effect without damaging the original image. I'll do that by clicking on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:. I'm going to fill this new layer with white using Photoshop's Fill command. To select it, I'll go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill :. This brings up the Fill dialog box. I'll select White in the Contents section in the top half of the dialog box, then I'll click OK to exit out of the dialog box and fill "Layer 1" with white:.

At this point, my entire document window is filled with white, blocking the photo of the wedding couple from view. To temporarily hide "Layer 1" so I can see the original photo again, I'll click on the Layer Visibility icon also known as the "eyeball" to the left of "Layer 1" in the Layers panel:. Now that I can see the original image, I'll begin my vignetting effect by drawing an oval selection around the wedding couple.

I'll select the Elliptical Marquee Tool from the Tools panel as we saw earlier and I'll click somewhere in the top left corner of the photo to mark the spot where I want to begin my selection. Then, while still holding down my mouse button, I'll drag down towards the bottom right corner of the photo. As I drag, an oval selection outline appears around the couple in the center of the image:. If you're following along with your own photo, you probably just noticed one of the big differences between using the Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee Tools.

With the Rectangular Marquee Tool, the corner of the selection always remains at the exact spot you clicked on to begin the selection, no matter how large of a selection you drag out.

With the Elliptical Marquee Tool, things get a bit trickier. Since elliptical shapes are rounded without any corners, the selection outline moves further and further away from the spot you initially clicked on as you drag out the selection. This can make it next to impossible to begin the selection at exactly the right spot you needed.

Fortunately, the same trick for repositioning selections as you're drawing them with the Rectangular Marquee Tool works with the Elliptical Marquee Tool. Simply hold down your spacebar as you're drawing the oval selection and drag with your mouse to move it back into position, then release your spacebar and continue dragging it out. You'll most likely find that you need to move the selection several times as you're drawing it, so just hold down your spacebar each time, drag the selection outline back into place, then release the spacebar and continue dragging out the selection.

When you're happy with the size, shape and location of your oval selection, release your mouse button to complete it. We can now see an elliptical selection outline surrounding the couple in the photo:. In a moment, I'm going to use the oval selection I created with the Elliptical Marquee Tool to knock out the center of the solid white layer, creating my vignette effect.

The only problem is that by default, selection edges are hard, and what I really need to create my vignette effect is a soft, smooth transition between the selected and unselected areas of the photo. We can soften selection edges in Photoshop by "feathering" them, and we do that by going up to the Select menu at the top of the screen, choosing Modify , and then choosing Feather :. This brings up Photoshop's Feather Selection dialog box. I'm going to set my Feather Radius value to around 30 pixels, which should be large enough to give me a smooth transition area between the white vignette edges and the couple in the center of the photo.

The exact value you use for your image will depend on the size of your photo and will probably require some trial and error before you get it exactly right:. I'll click OK to exit out of the dialog box. Photoshop feathers the selection edges for me, although we won't actually see the effect of the feathering until we do something with the selection, as we're about to do. I'm going to click back on the Layer Visibility icon on "Layer 1" to bring back the solid white fill:.

This fills the document window with white once again, making it easy to see the selection outline we created:.

To remove the selection outline since I no longer need it, I'll click anywhere inside the document window with the Elliptical Marquee Tool.