How to Type on a Path in Photoshop

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

Did you know that you can type along a path in Photoshop? This means your text doesn't have to follow a neat horizontal line—it can be curved however you want! If you'd like to be able to do that, in this very short tutorial I'll show you how to type on a path in Photoshop.

What You'll Learn in This Type on a Path Photoshop Tutorial

How to type along a path in Photoshop
How to type in a circle in Photoshop
How to change the position of text on a path

What You'll Need

You can use your own assets for this tutorial, but if you want to achieve the same effect as me, here are the files you will need:

1. How to Type on a Path in Photoshop

Step 1

Open the parrot image, or create a New File. Take the Curvature Pen Tool (P) and draw your path. This tool makes it very easy to draw a path—just click and drag without worrying about any handles.

Step 2

Now, take the Type Tool (T) and place the cursor over the beginning of the curve. Once the cursor's appearance changes, click to turn the path into a text area.

Step 3

All you need to do now is to type your text! Adjust its size to fill the whole length of the path.

2. How to Type in a Circle in Photoshop

Step 1

If you want to write text around a circle, you don't have to draw the path manually—you can just take the Ellipse Tool (U) and set its Mode to Path.

Step 2

Then you can draw a circular path by holding Shift.

Step 3

Once you have the path, you can use the same method as before to turn it into a text area.

Step 4

What if you want to put the text inside the circle, not outside it? Take the Direct Selection Tool (A) and put it over the text. Once the cursor's appearance changes, click and drag the text down.

Step 5

You can use the same tool to change the position of the text on the path—the right arrow cursor shows the beginning of the text area, and the left arrow cursor indicates the end of it.