Photoshop CS6 Stroke Function detailed

This article mainly explores the similarities and differences between the enhanced shape stroke features and traditional layer style strokes in Photoshop CS6. By contrast we can see the difference more clearly, more importantly, deepen our understanding of the tools, we can better play creativity and improve efficiency.

In PS CS6, there are two ways to give a shape layer a stroke effect-by adding a layer style, which is an ancient feature since the PS 6.0 era, not the current CS6 (CS6 version number is 13), or the new Shape tool option. At first glance, the two are similar, but careful study reveals that they are significantly different.

Higher stroke quality

When you use a layer style to make a stroke effect, if a large number is used, the stroke tends to become a segment curve (except for the inner stroke). However, by using vector strokes we can get the perfect result. I guess that's because the vector stroke is from the original vector shape layer data, and the stroke of the layer style is a bitmap mask for that shape. The two are completely different techniques, so we can figure it out.

Figure 01

So, when the stroke value is smaller, is the difference between the two? Practice shows that the difference at this time is subtle. (like the following GIF icon)

Figure 02