Select the Rectangle tool or Rounded Rectangle tool. You can also select the Rectangle and Rounded Rectangle tools from the Tool Options bar.
Last updated on
Apr 27, 2021
About shapes
In Photoshop Elements, shapes are vector graphics, which means they are made up of lines and curves defined by their geometric characteristics instead of pixels. Vector graphics are resolution-independent—that is, they can be scaled to any size and printed at any resolution without losing detail or clarity. You can move, resize, or change them without losing the quality of the graphic. Because computer monitors display images on a pixel grid, vector data is displayed on-screen as pixels.
Shapes are created in shape layers. A shape layer can contain a single shape or multiple shapes, depending on the shape area option you select. You can choose to have more than one shape in a layer.
You can change the color of a shape by editing its fill layer and applying layer styles to it. Shape tools provide an easy way to create buttons, navigation bars, and other items used on web pages.
Draw a rectangle, square, or rounded rectangle
Note
Press Alt/Option and click a shape tool to cycle through all the available tools.
(Optional) In the Tool Options bar, you can set the following
options:
Unconstrained
Lets you set the width and height of a rectangle by dragging.
Square
Constrains a rectangle to a square.
Fixed Size
Draws a rectangle at the exact size you specified in the Width and Height text boxes.
Proportional
Draws a rectangle in proportion to the specified Width and Height values.
Radius
Specifies the radius of the rounded corner. Smaller values result in sharper corners.
From Center
Draws a rectangle from the center of where you begin drawing (usually a rectangle is drawn from the upper-left corner).
Snap
Snaps edges of a rectangle to the pixel boundaries.
Simplify
Converts the shape drawn into a raster graphic. Once converted to raster form, shrinking or expanding the shape may result in jagged edges and pixelated appearance.
Drag within your image to draw the shape.
Draw a circle or ellipse
In
the Edit workspace, select the Ellipse tool 
.
.
Note
Press Alt/Option and click a shape tool to cycle through all the available tools.
(Optional) In the Tool Options bar, you can set the following
options:
Unconstrained
Lets you set the width and height of an ellipse by dragging.
Circle
Draws a perfect circle instead of an ellipse.
Fixed Size
Draws an ellipse at the exact size you specified in the Width and Height text boxes.
Proportional
Draws a proportional ellipse based on the numbers you type in the Width and Height text boxes.
From Center
Draws an ellipse from the center of where you begin drawing (usually an ellipse is drawn from the upper-left corner).
Simplify
Converts the shape drawn into a raster graphic. Once converted to raster form, shrinking or expanding the shape may result in jagged edges and pixelated appearance.
Drag in your image to draw the ellipse.
Draw a multisided shape
Select
the Polygon tool 
or the
Star tool 
.
or the
Star tool .
Note
Press Alt/Option and click a shape tool to cycle through all the available tools.
(Optional) In the Tool Options bar, you can set the following
options:
Smooth Corners
Renders a polygon with smooth corners.
Indent Sides By
Specifies the depth of the star’s indentations. This option is available for the Star tool only.
Smooth Indents
Renders a star-shaped polygon with smooth indents. This option is available for the Star tool only.
Simplify
Converts the shape drawn into a raster graphic. Once converted to raster form, shrinking or expanding the shape may result in jagged edges and pixelated appearance.
In the Sides box, specify the number of sides for the
polygon.
Drag within your image to draw the polygon.
Draw a line or arrow
Select the Line tool 
.
.
(Optional) In the Tool Options bar, you can set the following
options:
Arrow head
Renders a line with arrowheads. To specify the end that the arrows are rendered on, choose from Select At the Start, At the End, or At Both Ends.
Arrowheads Width and Length
Specify the proportions of the arrowhead as a percentage of the line width (10% to 1000% for Width, and 10% to 5000% for Length).
Concavity
Defines the amount of curvature on the widest part of the arrowhead, where the arrowhead meets the line. Enter a value for the concavity of the arrowhead (from ‑50% to +50%).
Simplify
Converts the shape drawn into a raster graphic. Once converted to raster form, shrinking or expanding the shape may result in jagged edges and pixelated appearance.
In the Width box, specify the width of the line in pixels.
Drag within your image to draw the line.
Draw a custom shape
The Custom Shape tool provides many different shape options for you to draw. When you select the custom shape tool, you can access these shapes in the options bar.
Select the Custom Shape tool 
.
.
In the options bar, select a shape from the Custom Shape
picker pop-up. Click the arrow at the top right of the panel to
list the shapes you can choose from and how to display them.
(Optional) In the Tool Options bar, you can set the following
options:
Unconstrained
Lets you set the width and height of a rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, or custom shape by dragging.
Defined Proportions
Draws a custom shape based on the proportions with which it was created.
Defined Size
Draws a custom shape based on the size at which it was created.
Fixed Size
Draws a custom shape as a fixed shape based on the values you enter in the Width and Height text boxes.
From Center
Draws a custom shape from the center.
Simplify
Converts the shape drawn into a raster graphic. Once converted to raster form, shrinking or expanding the shape may result in jagged edges and pixelated appearance.
Drag within your image to draw the shape.
Create multiple shapes in the same layer
Select a shape layer in the
Layers panel (Expert mode) or create a new shape layer.
If you want to create a different type of shape, select
a different shape tool.
Select a shape area option to determine how shapes should
overlap, and then drag within the image to draw new shapes:
Add
Adds an additional shape to the existing shape. The combined shape will cover the entire area of the shapes you drew using the Add option.
Subtract
Removes the area where shapes overlap. The rest of the shapes’ areas are preserved.
Intersect
Shows only the area where shapes intersect. The other areas will be removed.
Exclude
Removes the overlapping areas in the new and existing shapes.
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