How to add multiple strokes to shapes in Photoshop tutorial

Learn how to add multiple / double / triple strokes to Photoshop custom shapes to give an edge to your layer designs in CC 2018 2017 2015 etc

Add multiple strokes to photoshop shapes

How to add multiple strokes to shapes in Photoshop tutorial

Select shape tool for the multiple strokes in Photoshop
Create a shape using the layer option
Go to the layer menu in Photoshop
Layer style
Stroke
Set color and size etc for stroke
Click '+' to add another stroke to shape and repeat multiple times
Set color and size etc for stroke and OK

There are a number of ways to approach this - the new '+' approach is probably best via the styles dialog

Video tutorial about the subject by graphicxtras.com (youtube)

Use all vectors such as ellipses and rectangles etc as well : You can create a vector layer via the CSH tool or by using the rectangle or ellipse etc. You can also add the multiple strokes / edges to the Photoshop artwork.

The key thing is that it is a layer and the layer can have layer effects applied and key to that is the stroke feature.

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Layer styles : With the latest release of Photoshop, you can now add more strokes to Photoshop shapes in most cases via the new '+' feature found in the layer styles panel (weirdly the bevel and patterns do not have the + option) Still, this does require some setup. Say select a circle and then go to the layer menu and then layer styles. Depends on the order of the added style and also the position which can be outside or inside or center.

For simplicity, set the first is in red to outside at 16px. Click the '+' next to the field and this will create another and to see the result, simply set the value to a little more than the 16px otherwise you just won't see it. So set the second entry to 24px say and a different color such as black and you will now see two edges to the artwork - this can be repeated with the outside options so you can click '+' and then added another say with a value of 50px. Again, the result can end up fairly coarse in PS.

The key thing is the order as well as the size for addition of the the multiple Photoshop strokes. You have to get the order right or you just won't see the result of the additional entries in the layer styles.

Smart object approach : Now, go to the layer menu and smart objects and convert the artwork to smart object. You can now go back to the layer menu and layer effects and add an additional / multiple strokes to the Photoshop shape new object.

This process can now be repeated, simply by converting the path again into a smart object (though clearly there are limits as you will see PS get slower and slower processing all these additional smart objects). The only problem with this is the coarseness of the applied vector once you add too many or too large a size.

The image on the right shows a vector circle and there is a slight coarseness already to the artwork - this is definitely multiplied if you have a more complex artwork.

Duplication approach : resize For some objects such as circles, there is an easier option to add multiple strokes to Photoshop shapes - simply duplicate the original path and then re-size and re-size (reducing the size and changing the layer style for each of the layers or perhaps add the setting via the properties for the vector).

You can then just use the group option in the layer menu to group the objects together.

Perhaps not such as elegant solution and definitely does not work well for all paths.

Illustrator approach : shapeburst You can also use Illustrator and create the design with the edges in that application and then select the artwork and copy that back to PS. The results are generally much better than any of the PS work.

You can also fake the whole thing by using the layer menu and layer styles. Set a large size and position and fill type to gradient and the style to "shapeburst". You can create gradients with many color stops such as white stop, black stop, white stop, black stop, white stop etc.

Keywords : How to add multiple strokes to shapes in Photoshop tutorial

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