Photoshop ® : Grid Custom Shapes

Grid / Table Custom Shapes for Photoshop and Elements etc, CSH, PC MAC OS X

Thumbnial gallery of Grid shapes (Set 62)

Thumbnail gallery of Grid shapes (Set 127)

Thumbnail gallery of Grid shapes (Set 13)

Each of the grid sets are unique

Each of the grid sets contains unique designs only found in that grid shapes set. So pack 62, 127 etc all include totally different grid / table custom shapes designs as well as numbers of grid designs. You can combine the grid designs within a single set to create a near infinite number of grid designs. The first set is not better or worse than the subsequent sets in the grids series - just a totally different set of designs based on a similar theme.

Opening grid shapes in Photoshop

The grid custom shapes are all in CSH format. The grid sets all include many different shapes within a single CSH file (the set might contain multiple CSH files). Load the shapes via the custom shapes palette load / replace command - that is the best option though it is also possible to load the grid shapes via the file open command (though this feature varies from version to version and OS).

Using the grid custom shape as Photoshop smart object tutorial

1) Select the custom shape tool and select the custom shape in the shapes palette (Photoshop). Once selected, go to the top menu and select the shape layers button. The shape will now be applied as a layer and not as a fill or selection (this is the default mode)

2) Set the color for the shape via the top menu 'color:' icon.

3) The grid shape is now displayed as a layer and displayed with the red color. It is a normal vector shape. The vector shape cannot have effects etc applied, to apply effects you need to rasterize or turn into a smart object

4) To turn the grid shape layer into a smart object, go to the layer menu and smart objects command 'convert to smart object'. The grid design is now turned into a smart object. This means the object can be scaled etc without any degradation in the design. You can now also apply smart filters or adjustment layers etc to the grid design

5) Go to the filter menu and select one of the 'smart filters'. The smart filters are the filters included with Photoshop, most 3D party plugins are not smart filters so cannot be used

6) Once applied, the layer palette shows the grid design with the smart object icon displayed, and the smart filter applied. You can now modify the smart filter settings at any point (such as change directions or change the filter as well as apply additional filters). The smart object can be merged or turned into a raster object at some point (to apply other filters or warp and distort etc)

Combine grid custom shapes to create 1000s of designs in Photoshop - tutorial

The above shape shows the grid shape / overlay shape (from pack 102) applied once

The above design shows the shape re-applied over and over using different colors as well as different positions of apply - use the shapes to create millions of unique designs

Effects can also be applied to the design. The designs can also be inter weaved with effects (such as blurs). The end result can also be further modified by the adjustment menu and black and white etc, hue adjustment etc

Photoshop Grid Shapes as paths

The grid / table designs can be created as standard path. The path can be converted into a selection via the paths palette. The selection can then be transformed, filled, used as a selection for effects etc

Fills and Photoshop shapes tutorial

The motifs can be used simply to fill a region with a design. The fill region can be applied to a layer and then layer effects such as drop shadows can be applied to the fill shape. The fill shape grids can also have effects applied via the filters menu. The grid fill shapes can be applied in an unconstrained manner or you can apply the grid designs at a 'clicked' location and with a precise width and height.

Apply different colors to different parts of the grid shape in Photoshop

Access the grid shapes (Set 127) via the file open command and then select the shapes tool. Apply the grid design in blue.

Now select the rectangular marquee tool and apply across certain parts of the shape and then use the image menu and adjustment command and hue command to shift the hue / saturation etc

The hue setting can be set to a particular value or you can use the slider. Sadly there is no repeat image adjustment but a quick way around that is to create an action and then apply that with each of the selections. The selections are applied in different parts of the grid shape to create an abstract grid colored shape design.

Use grid shapes with Photoshop CS4 / CS5 - also creative suite CS5.5 and CS6

The grid / table artworks work fine in Photoshop CS4 and with the new filter features / layer effects combinations, even more amazing designs can be created with the forms. With CS5, the grids can also be converted into smart objects for even more uses.

The grid designs can also be exported and used in the other parts of the Adobe Creative Suite and used in the development of interfaces for Android and Apple Ipad applications.

Custom shape grid fills

The custom shapes can be colored as a fill, as well as via a layer style - you can also create the grid shapes as a path which in turn can be converted to a selection which can be filled with photos and other designs

Above, the grid is applied via the custom shape tool as a path (select the 2nd option in the shape tools options along the top bar of Photoshop). The paths palette is found via the window menu. Right side menu of the paths and convert to a selection (make selection command). If you want to add a picture into this selection, select an image and copy the image. In the document with the grid path / selection, use the edit menu and paste command and select the paste into option - this pastes the image into the current selection. The result is a grid filled an image (in this case, a poser model) as below.

You can also (as below) use the layer menu and layer style command to add a shadow, gradient etc to create a 3D effect with the grid (this uses and fills the above image layer with a gradient and shadow)

Additional examples of grid custom shapes

example from the pack 62 - 16 different grid shapes from the pack 62 set. The designs are in black

examples from pack 62

examples from pack 127

examples from pack 13 - many different grid custom shapes for use in Photoshop. The designs are all vectors for any size. You can also combine the grids in countless ways

Free grid shapes sampler / demo

Follow us on Twitter

Follow graphicxtras on google+

Follow graphicxtras on facebook

Date modified: April 30th, 2012

Creating plugins and presets since 1995. Privacy - no details sent to third parties. After buying the grid custom shapes, you receive the download link to the stunning grid designs - the shapes are all in a zip file which also contains bonus material and a thumbnail gallery of the grid shapes along with documentation. All the custom shapes are unique items - the grids are not duplicated in any of the other sets. The grids are for commercial use, royalty-free.

Andrew Buckle