Creating a design from a line...

Those who know me know that I love to play with Photoshop and see what I can create using that program.

I create designs by drawing one or several lines then combining them in Photoshop to create a circular design. You don't even have to draw your own lines you can take shapes that others have created for Photoshop and use them.

Here are eleven different designs I created using either one or two lines. No, the lines do not have to be straight. Matter of fact the designs look better if the lines are not straight. Not that you can't create any of the designs by using just straight lines. I usually prefer using curved lines that I have drawn or as I stated using Shapes from those created for Photoshop.

In Photoshop you create a New window, I use either a 30 inch or 50 inch square to work within where I create the different lines then combine them to form the circles.

After creating the window I copy and paste or add from the Shapes menu a shape to it. See example 1.

Next I duplicate the design or shape, go to Edit pull down the menu and use Transform and in the sub menu use Flip Vertical. This gives you a second shape of the original shape. I pull them apart until they are in touch just at the edge of the shape. Then go back to Edit-Transform-Flip Horizontal. This gives me an upside down version of the original.

Then I go to Layers-Merge Visible, then I duplicate that layer and go to Edit-Transform-Rotate 90 CW (which rotates the duplicate image 90 degrees Clock Wise). I merge the layers.

I next duplicate this layer and go to Edit-Transform-Flip Horizontal which gives the example that can be the final result or you can go to the next level.

By duplicating again and then going to Edit-Free Transform you get a tool bar at the top of the Photoshop frame, in the box circled in red I type 45, which rotates the duplicate layer 45 degrees, then hit enter to finalize the rotation.

You now have the final example which I then merge the layers so I can copy and paste into a new window for saving as a Jpg as the format that the multiple layers is saved by Photoshop in PSD format which is an Adobe format.

I hope this gives you some ideas in how to create designs by using lines and shapes. You can create them in Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro or some other graphics program. The steps may be a little different from program to program but this should give you helpful hints in how to create some of your own designs.