ABSTRACT
If you need to define a complex outline you will usually find it quicker to draw a path and convert this to a selection rather than rely on selection tools like the magic wand or lasso, or painting on a mask. The Paths panel is shown in Figure 8.73. The Fill path button fills the current path using the current foreground color. The Stroke path button strokes a path using a currently selected painting tool. The Load path as a selection button can be used to convert a path to a selection. If a path is selected, clicking the Add mask button adds a vector mask based on that path. Clicking the Create new path button creates a new empty path and you can remove a path by clicking the Delete path button. Figure 8.74 summarizes how a pen path can be converted to a selection or a vector mask to isolate an object. An active selection can be converted to a path by clicking on the ‘Make work path from selection’ button. Alternatively, you can choose the Make work path option from the Paths panel fly-out menu.
