How To Make An Arrow In Photoshop

As the name suggests, Photoshop is an image editor used especially to manipulate photos. Hence, many people use it for this exact reason.

However, there’s more to Photoshop than just editing photos. You can create different kinds of shapes of various sizes, including arrows. Arrows are particularly useful when you want to highlight a section of the image or need to include an arrow as a part of the image.

So, without further ado, let’s dive right into the article to learn more about making an arrow in Photoshop.

How to Make an Arrow in Photoshop

A huge resource of tools is available to help you make an arrow in Photoshop. Even though some of the tools are not intended for creating the arrow specifically, you can modify them for your specific use. Hence, there are endless possibilities.

In this article, we have covered the most common ways to make an arrow. Furthermore, you can learn how to customize it according to your preferences.

Creating an Arrow

Even though it is possible to make an arrow even with a rectangle tool or polygon tool, it is a little complex process. So, here are some of the most common ways to create an arrow.

Using the Custom Shape Tool

Photoshop already contains arrows that you can use without making one. To use an arrow, follow the above steps.

Press the Shift + U key to toggle the Drawing and type tools and select the Custom Shape Tool.
Now, below the Menu bar, look for the Shape field and click to expand the dropdown next to it.
If the arrows are displayed in the dropdown, choose one of them according to preference. Otherwise, move to the next step.
Click on the little gear icon next to the expanded dropdown dialog box.
Then, select the Arrows option. If prompted with “Replace current shapes with the shapes from Arrows?”, click on OK.
Now, you can see all the arrows that Photoshop provides. Choose the preferred one from the list to make an arrow in the canvas.

Note: Use Command/Cmd + U on Mac to toggle the Drawing and Type tools.

Using the Line Tool

You can use another tool called “Line tool” to create an arrow in Photoshop. For this,

First, select the line tool from the Toolbar.
Next, draw a line on the canvas.
Then, click on the little gear icon below the menu bar.
Now, under Arrowheads, check the Start checkbox to add the arrow at the beginning of the line and likewise for End. Similarly, check both the Start and End checkboxes to add the arrows on both sides of the line.
Set the Width, Length, and Concavity of the arrowhead according to your preference.

Using the Brush Tool

Another technique to make an arrow in Photoshop is to use the Brush Tool.

To access it, you either click on the little brush icon on the Tools panel or press the B key.

Furthermore, you can use the Shift key to generate a straight line automatically from one point to another. So, use the key in combination with the brush tool to create an arrow easily.

Using the Custom CSH Files

You can download a collection of arrows over the Internet and use one of them in Photoshop. However, the arrows file must be in CSH file format. You can use them as follows:

Choose the Custom Shape Tool from the Toolbar on the left side of the canvas.
Then, click the dropdown next to the Shape field.
Now, click the little gear icon in the top right corner of the dropdown and select the Load shapes option.
Next, browse to the location where you have saved the CSH file downloaded from the Internet.
Open the CSH file, and now you can use the arrows from the file.

Customizing Arrows in Photoshop

While making an arrow in Photoshop, you can customize its different properties such as width, height, stroke, and many more. You can find all of the settings below the Menu bar.

Width and Height: To change the width and height of the arrow, you just have to set the values in the Width and Height box. You can access them next to the ‘W:’ and ‘H:’ fields.
Stroke: You can change different stroke settings such as color, gradient, patterns, etc. Furthermore, you can even choose not to specify a color if you wish.
Fill: You can fill different colors inside the arrow using the Fill property. For instance, if you want a red arrow, you choose the solid color in the Fill and set it to red. Furthermore, you can get creative with the arrow by inserting gradients and patterns.

Saving Arrows for Later in Photoshop

Once you make an arrow on Photoshop, you can use it whenever you want later. For this,

After making the arrow, navigate to Edit > Define Custom Shapes.
Name the shape whatever you wish and click on OK.
Now, to access the arrow, select the Custom Shape Tool.
Next, look for the Shape field below the Menu bar and click to expand the dropdown next to it to find your saved arrow.

How to Create a Curved Arrow in Photoshop

You can create a curved arrow by using the transform tool in Photoshop. Here’s how you do it.

Make an arrow and press the shortcut key Ctrl + T on Windows and Command + T on Mac.
Now, click on the icon that Switches between free transform and warp modes.
Next, in the top left corner next to the Warp field, select the Arc option.
Finally, customize the curved arrow according to your preference.

Why Am I Not Finding the Line Tool in the Toolbar Pane?

If you have customized your workspace, tools like the Line tool might not be in their usual place and hence are missing from the Toolbar. For this, you can reset the workspace settings to default. Here’s how you can do it.