Photoshop Contour Instructions (PS 6)

When you buy Photoshop and install it on your computer, it installs some extra sets of contours, brushes, etc. To fully utilize PS out of the box, you should be aware of these sets, and know how to load them into Photoshop where you can actually use them!

This page is dedicated in particular to the process of loading the extra set of contours (file name: "contours.shc"), but you should keep in mind that other brushes, gradients, etc. may be loaded into Photoshop using the same process. Contours are the shapes that determine the look of a bevel or emboss (and its gloss).

 

Now let's take a look at the simple steps that will get you on your way with the contours you already have on your computer!

STEP 1:

     Open Photoshop, go to the "Edit" menu and choose "Preset Manager".

 

STEP 2:

     From the Preset Manager pulldown menu, choose "Contours".

 

STEP 3:

    Click the arrow to the right of the pulldown menu and choose "contours.shc".

 

STEP 4:

     When the dialog box appears, press "OK" (this adds the extra contours and also keeps the original contours).

Complete these simple steps and you're ready to go with the complete set of PS contours! If you ever want to return to the way things were, you can always choose "Reset Contours" from the menu in step 3 -- but once you realize how many more effects you can achieve with these contours, I think you'll want to keep them around for a long time!

kjs :-)