Step 9: Select The Pen Tool

This is the part of the tutorial where you'll need to know how to use the Pen Tool in Photoshop. The reason we'll be using the Pen Tool is because we need to be able to draw selections around individual puzzle pieces and the pieces have a lot of curves to them. You could try selecting the pieces with something like the Lasso Tool or the Polygonal Lasso Tool, but you'll most likely find that your results look sloppy and jagged, whereas the Pen Tool was designed specifically for drawing curves and will give you much better looking results.

If you're already comfortable using the Pen Tool, the rest of this tutorial will be easy, since the Pen really is a very simple tool to use once you get a feel for how it works. If terms like "paths", "anchor points" and "direction handles" are new to you or you're not quite sure you understand them, be sure to check out our complete Making Selections With The Pen Tool tutorial in our Photoshop Basics section where you'll find everything you need to know.

First, before we can use the Pen Tool, we need to select it, so either grab it from the Tools palette or simply press the letter P on your keyboard:

Step 10: Select The "Paths" Option In The Options Bar

With the Pen Tool selected, look up in the Options Bar at the top of the screen and make sure the Paths option is selected, since we need to draw a path with the Pen, not a vector shape or pixel-based shape:

Step 11: Draw A Path Around One Of The Puzzle Pieces

Use the Pen Tool to draw a path around one of the puzzle pieces. We're going to cut this piece out of the puzzle and have it appear to be floating just above the puzzle, ready to be snapped into place. It doesn't really matter which piece you choose. I'll choose a piece above the boy's right eye (his right, our left). Make your way around the piece adding anchor points and dragging direction handles until you've successfully drawn a path around the entire shape. You can zoom in on the piece if needed by pressing Ctrl+spacebar (Win) / Command+spacebar (Mac) to temporarily access the Zoom Tool, then clicking on the piece a few times to zoom in on it. A path can be a bit hard to see in a screenshot, so I've circled the piece that I've outlined:

Step 12: Convert The Path Into A Selection

Once you've finished drawing your path around the first puzzle piece, press Ctrl+Enter (Win) / Command+Return (Mac) on your keyboard to convert the path into a shape. You'll see your solid path outline turn into a selection outline:

Step 13: Cut The Selection Onto Its Own Layer

We're going to cut the selected puzzle piece out of the "Puzzle" layer and place it onto its own layer, leaving an empty hole in the "Puzzle" layer in its place. Make sure you still have the "Puzzle" layer selected in the Layers palette, then go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen, choose New, and then choose Layer via Cut:

This cuts the piece out of the "Puzzle" layer and places it on its own layer above the "Puzzle" layer, which we can see in the Layers palette. The piece is now on the top layer, which Photoshop has once again named "Layer 1". I'm going to rename this layer "First puzzle piece":

Step 14: Move And Rotate The Puzzle Piece With Free Transform

We're going to make this puzzle piece look like it's about to be snapped into place. Press Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) on your keyboard to bring up Photoshop's Free Transform box and handles around the puzzle piece, then click anywhere outside of the Free Transform box and drag your mouse to rotate the piece. Once you've rotated it, click anywhere inside the Free Transform box and drag your mouse to move the piece away from its original location. Remember that we want it to be obvious that this piece belongs in this spot, so don't move it too far or rotate it too much.

You'll notice as you move the piece that the spot there the piece was sitting a moment ago now appears to be filled with black. That's because we've cut a hole in the "Puzzle" layer and the black from the "Background color" layer below it is showing through:

Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you're done to accept the transformation and exit out of the Free Transform command.

Step 15: Add A Drop Shadow

To give the puzzle piece more of a 3D appearance so it looks like it's floating above the puzzle, let's add a drop shadow. Click on the Layer Style icon at the bottom of the Layers palette, then select Drop Shadow from the list:

This brings up the Layer Style dialog box set to the Drop Shadow options in the middle column. Lower the Opacity of your drop shadow to around 60% so it's not quite so intense. Uncheck the Use Global Light option and set the Angle of the shadow to 120°. Increase the Distance to around 16 px, then increase the Size to around 16 px as well. As usual, you may need to make adjustments to these settings for your image:

Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Layer Style dialog box. Here's my image after applying the drop shadow to the puzzle piece: