Spirals are a common motif in design, and Photoshop provides several options for creating them. One way is to use the Rectangle Tool to draw a spiral shape, and then use the Warp command to distort it into a spiral.
To create a spiral using the Rectangle Tool:
- Select the Rectangle Tool from the Tools palette.
- Position the cursor at the point where you want the spiral to start, and drag out a rectangle. As you drag, hold down the Shift key to constrain the proportions of the rectangle.
- With the rectangle still selected, choose Edit > Transform > Warp.
- In the Warp dialog box, select Arch from the Preset drop-down menu.
- Drag one of the corner handles of the rectangular shape to distort it into a spiral shape.
- When you’re happy with the result, click the Commit button in the Warp dialog box, or press Enter or Return.
To create a spiral using Photoshop’s default shapes:
- Select the Custom Shape Tool from the Tools palette.
- In the Options bar, select Spiral from the Shape drop-down menu.
- If Spiral isn’t visible, click the triangle next to the Shape drop-down menu and select All from the resulting menu.
- Position your cursor at the point where you want to start drawing your spiral, and drag it outwards until you achieve your desired size and shape.
PRO TIP: Spirals are a very popular graphic effect, but they can be tricky to create in Photoshop. This tutorial will show you one way to create a spiral effect, but there are many other ways to do it. Be sure to experiment and find the method that works best for you.
