Open your saved artwork my_ecard.psd from your last lesson. We will continue to add in more graphical elements to our ecard. To open file, select File>Open... and browse for your file.

Now we are going to introduce you to the "Custom Shape" tool. You can draw custom shapes by using shapes from the custom shape pop-up palette. Press "u" to select this tool.

On the option bar at the top, click on the "Shape" drop down arrow to open the custom shape pop-up palette. Choose a shape to your liking, make sure "Fill pixels" on the option bar is selected.

Create a new layer and name it "shape1". You can click and drag or used together with "Shift" key pressed to constrain the height and width. Create as many shapes as you like, play around with different colors and size. Remember to give each shape a new layer so you can move them around.

You can also switch to the "Ellipse" tool to draw some circles.

When you are happy with the results, merge all the shapes layer together. Save your file.

Now to further personalise your ecard, we are going to add some text onto it. Select the "Type" tool, on the option bar select the font type. Choose any font type you like and set your preferred size.

Click to start typing. A type layer will automatically be created for you.

For this example, we create a new layer "bg" below the type layer. Draw a rectangular white box with the rectangular marquee tool and position it behind the text.

After you are done typing, we are going to add some effects to the type. Double click on the type layer to open the "Layer Style" dialog box. You can play around with the different layer effects but for this example we used the "Gradient Overlay".

Click on the check box next to "Gradient Overlay" and used the setting as shown below. The gradient overlay creates a gradual blend of green from left to right. Next click on the "Drop Shadow" to create a shadow effect beneath the text.

Add more text with layer style! Choose a different font type and size. Double click on the new type layer to open the layer style dialog and click on "Stroke" check box. The stroke effect outlines the object on the current layer using color, a gradient, or a pattern fill. For our example, we create a green color outline.

The above example is just there to help you get started. You are free to use any font type with a combination of layer style to style your text.

Before we move on to the next lesson, lets take a quick look at the "Pen" tool. The pen tool allows you to draw with great precision. Create a new layer and name it "fringe". Make sure "Paths" is selected on the pen option bar.

Click on the edge of the hair to create a "Anchor" (square) point. Move the pen tool slightly above the left eye and click to create another anchor point but this time hold and drag to pull out its "Handles". These handles are called "Bezier" handles, it is represented by a straight line with 2 handles on both ends. The bezier handles are used to form curved lines.

To control the curve, hold down the "Ctrl" key and click on one of the handle points to drag. Notice the cursor changes to a "Direct Select" tool. The handles move together when you drag anyone of them.

You can also move the handles individually by holding down the "Alt" key and click on one of the handle point. The cursor will change to a "Convert Point" tool. Drag the handle to control the curve.

Make another click on the edge of the hair and drag out the handles. Tweak the handles to achieve the curve as shown below.

To close the path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor point. A small circle appears next to the Pen tool pointer when it is positioned correctly. Click on it to close the path.

Now we are going to fill the path created by the pen tool with a foreground color. We choose brown #593618 to match the hair color. Open the "Window>Paths" palette, on the path palette click on the "Fill path with foreground color" icon. Alternatively, you can do a "Right Mouse Click" on the "Work Path" layer in the Paths palette. Select "Fill Path..." to open the Fill Path dialog, click OK.

After you have fill the fringe with the foreground color, press "Delete" to clear the path.

Merge these layers face, hair, mouth, eyes, ear and fringe and name it as face. Move the face layer to the left with the "Move" tool as shown below. You can also select the move tool by pressing "v". Save your file.

Wow, you are good! Take a rest, drink some water and eat some chips and when you are all ready, lets dive into our final lesson.

Click here to download the font type used in this example