How to Draw Arrows in Photoshop with 3 Simple Tools

Overview of Tools in Photoshop

To master Photoshop , the first thing you need to learn about the built-in tools inside it. With so many tools available, Photoshop is really confusing and difficult for beginners. In this article, we will learn about the most commonly used basic tools and are grouped by Photoshop in the left toolbar (Toolbox or Tools panel) to draw arrows in Photoshop.h

On the main working page of Photoshop, the toolbar is located on the left side of the screen with a 1-line or 2-line bar depending on the user's settings.

- Move and Selection: Group with the ability to select objects and move.

- Crop and Slice: A group that specializes in cutting shapes to create objects.

- Measurement tools: Group of application tools for measuring color, size, position.

- Retouching and Painting: This is the painting and editing group.

- Drawing and Type: A group of tools related to text and drawings (square, circle, star, etc.).

- Navigation tools: You can navigate or move the view with this group of tools.

Because the toolbar area is limited and their functions in photoshop are almost the same. For that reason, the selection bar only shows some representative tools and hides many similar tools. To see and select hidden tools, first click and hold the mouse on the tool with the arrow symbol in the lower right corner, the selection bar will display a sub-panel with hidden tools. Click to select the tool.

- Move tool (V)

- Rectangular Marquee Tool (M)

- Lasso tool (L)

- Quick Selection Tool ( W )

- Crop Tool ( C )

- Eyedropper Tool ( I )

- Spot Healing Brush Tool ( J )

- Brush Tool ( B )

- Clone Stamp Tool (S)

- History Brush Tool ( Y )

- Eraser Tool ( E )

- Gradient Tool (G)

- Blur Tool

- Dodge tool (O)

- Pen Tool ( P )

- Horizontal Type Tool ( T )

- Path Selection Tool ( A )

- Rectangle Tool ( U )

- Hand Tool ( H )

- Zoom tool (Z)

How to Draw Arrows in Photoshop with 3 Simple and Effective Tools

After having a basic understanding of the tools in Photoshop. Apply the knowledge you have just acquired to draw a simple arrow. Here we will guide you to draw arrows in Photoshop using the 3 most commonly used tools.

Draw arrows with the Line tool

Step 1: Select the Line Tool in the selection bar on the left side of the main working screen.

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Step 2: Open the Line Tool panel by clicking the gear icon in the horizontal selection bar.

CheckBox Star and End: select the direction of the arrow at the beginning or end of the drawn line.

Width: Width of the arrowhead shape.

Length: Length of the arrowhead shape.

Concavity: The curvature of the arrowhead.

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Step 3: Use the mouse to draw a line to create an arrow. Depending on whether you choose CheckBox Start or End , the direction of the arrow will be different. 

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If you select both  Star  and  End  , you will draw a double-headed arrow.

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To change the curvature of the arrow, you adjust the Concavity parameter. You can clearly see the difference between arrows (1) and (2) in the image below. Arrow number (1) has its Concavity adjusted to 30% instead of the default 0% (2).

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Draw arrows with Shape settings

This is an additional toolkit that will give you more options for drawing arrows in Photoshop. Just download it and start using it.

Step 1: From the main working page interface, select Edit > Preset > Preset Manager to display the Preset Manager window .

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Step 2: From the newly displayed window, in the ComboBox Preset Type position, select Custom Shape .

Step 3: Click the Load button and select the .CSH file you need to load.

Step 4: Click Done to complete the installation process.

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Step 5 : Now you can use the Custom Shape Tool that you just installed by opening the hidden tool in the Line Tool group and selecting Custom Shape Tool .

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Draw arrows with the Brush tool

With the Brush tool, you have two ways to draw arrows in photoshop.

Method 1: You use the regular Brush tool to draw the arrow shape yourself with the parameters of the stroke, size and color that can be changed. However, mastering the manual Brush is very difficult, it requires experience and quite high skills. For beginners, drawing arrows with a manual Brush often will not bring the expected results.

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Method 2: If method 1 is not the right choice for you, you can download and use available arrow brushes with many styles and colors for you to choose from.

Downloading is also extremely simple and easy. Similar to Preset for Shape, you just need to change Preset Type to Brushes then select Done to have a list of arrow Brushes to use.

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In addition, if you need a configuration to work smoothly with Photoshop, you can refer to the following minimum configuration for Photoshop design: 

Configuration for Designer: HHPC GAMING - INTEL CORE i3 10100 | RAM 16G | GTX 1050Ti 

- MAINBOARD: GIGABYTE H410M-H
- CPU: INTEL CORE i3 10100 up to 4.3G | 4 CORE | 8 THREAD
- DISSET: JONSBO CR-1000 RGB
- RAM: COLORFUL BATTLE AX 16GB BUS 3000 DDR4 (1x16GB)
- VGA: NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5
- SSD: GIGABYTE SSD 240G SATA III
- HDD: YOUR OPTIONS ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS 
- SOURCE: COOLERMASTER PC700 700W
- CASE: JETEK KAMADO (NO FANS)

So you have learned 3 arrow drawing tools  in Photoshop . Now, with the tools you have just learned, you can freely design anything you want. Continue to follow  TipsMake  for more interesting lessons about Photoshop!

Isabella Humphrey

Update 17 January 2025