Photoshop – Paw Print on Heart

I feel very inadequate when it comes to using Photoshop. It has such a steep learning curve and I don’t use it much.

I took an online class but it was all about editing photos, and I wanted to learn how to use it for web design. Before taking the web design class, you need two Photoshop classes under your belt. Ugh!

So when I do need to create something, I’m really stretching myself.

I needed to create a logo for a client who wanted a paw print on top of a heart. Sounds easy enough, but where to find the clipart or what program to use? Do I use clipart or create it myself?

A few hours later and lots of searching on the internet, I finally stumbled onto a Photoshop tutorial on making a heart. Lo and behold, Photoshop had the heart and the paw print.

And then it was about a five minute job, or would have been had I not fiddled with it so much.

Step by Step

1. Open Photoshop, New,  72 dpi for the web (300 dpi for print) and whatever size you need – I chose 400×400 (just a wild guess) – and a transparent background.
2. Change the foreground color to red, select Custom Shape Tool and choose one of two heart shapes available.
3. Click on the canvas, holding until the heart is the width and height you want, let go.
4. Add a new layer, change foreground to black, select Custom Shape Tool and choose the paw print shape.
5. Click on the canvas, over the heart, holding until the paw print is the width and height you want.
6. To rotate the paw print, click on the Edit/Transform/Rotate, grab a corner and rotate the layer to the angle that you want.
7. Commit it, save it as .psd and Save for Web using the best optimization.