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I know you can create a rounded-corner rectangle; but, how do you create a triangle with rounded corners in Photoshop?

I am actually interested in making it from scratch, not basing it on a custom shape that is available in Photoshop. Thanks.

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  • both answers below are good. Note that the alpha channel mask method has a minor issue with scaling and a lack of absolute control. The vector method can be scaled to any size without any loss in quality, and has finer control of the corner radius.
    – horatio
    Commented Jul 7, 2011 at 14:01
  • I usually switch to Inkscape to do stuff like this. You could also use Illustrator/CorelDraw/your preferred vector graphics editor. Not that using Photoshop is wrong or foolhardy, I just prefer a dedicated vector graphics editors for these things.
    – thomasrutter
    Commented May 2, 2013 at 2:26
  • 1. Create it in Illustrator. 2. Paste as smart object in PS. You can tinker with the corner radius anytime this way ;)
    – Salman
    Commented Oct 11, 2013 at 7:07

6 Answers 6

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There are several ways to do this. You can use the pen tool draw it yourself.

My answer is based on the way I've been doing it over the years.

step 1

Draw a triangle in a new layer. hit cmd+a(select all) then cmd+c(copy)

step 2

switch to the Channels tab and create a new channel. It will be named "Alpha 1" by default. now paste the triangle you copied from before. Note the triangle will be white. The white area in the channel will become your select mask later.

step 3

now give the entire channel layer a Gaussian blur. note: the blur value here won't translate exactly to the pixel border radius you want. you'll just have to play with it a bit. I'm using 10px blur in my example.

step 4

After you're done blurring, hit cmd+L(level). In the level menu, adjust input values. use the value I picked in my screenshot. The idea is to get the triangle "sharp" again. Doing so will create the circular tips on each end.

step 5

Now go back to the Layers tab, hide the triangle layer you drew from before. start a new layer, then to go "Select" -> "Load Selection." In the popup, for "Source" choose "Alpha 1"

Now you'll have the rounded cornered triangle outline selected, you then can fill it to whatever color you like.

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  • 1
    +1 Nice technique. To fine tune the edge after the Levels adjustment, Filter > Other > Minimize (or Maximize) works well without introducing aliasing.
    – Alan Gilbertson
    Commented Jul 7, 2011 at 21:40
  • This one is best for accuracy, chances are if you mess with the pen tool you aren't gonna get the corner radius perfect, but this way is all 'generated' by the software so it's accurate!
    – Dan Hanly
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 11:50
  • @Jin: Thank you very much! Apparently, depending on the values you choose in the Levels menu, the size of the triangle will vary.
    – moey
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 11:57
  • @Alan: I couldn't find the 'Other > ...' filter in my Photoshop (CS4 Extended on a Mac). Is that a non-standard filter?
    – moey
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 11:59
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    @SikuSikuCom the downside of this method is how sharp the shape end up being, is done manually still. So you have to eyeball it. Also it's not scalable since it's not vector. However one good thing about this method is that it applies to other polygon shapes too. e.g. a Hexagon with rounded corners.
    – Jin
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 13:02
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there are some very easy steps to make such triangle with round corner with the help of pen tool, and its from scratch too

  • First of all create your triangle with pen tool.

  • add additional anchor point at the bottom corner right and left both side according to attached screen shot.

  • after that press A / or select (path selection tool)and move it slightly to the right side you can bend it according your desired round shape, apply the same thing at the top corner there you have to add only one anchor point and do the same as you did in bottom.

    turn on the grid (Ctrl/Cmd-,) it will help you for placing anchor points for exact round corner/radius for both side, you can increase/decrease your radius just by dragging anchor points.

check this SS....

(left click and view big image in new window).... rounded triangle

Hope this will help...

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  • 3
    This works best if you turn on the grid (Ctrl/Cmd-,) and place the initial anchor points at grid intersections, otherwise it's hard to make the corner radius identical at each vertex.
    – Alan Gilbertson
    Commented Jul 7, 2011 at 21:36
  • @Jack: Thanks for the step-by-step instruction. Maybe I am a bit too perfectionist, but how would we ensure that the roundness is exactly the same across the three corners? I can sort of make the bottom two identical; the issue is for the top one.
    – moey
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 11:44
  • with the help of grid you can make all similar rounds its easy give it a try
    – Jack
    Commented Jul 8, 2011 at 11:57
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  1. Create a triangle shape of the desired size

  2. Place circle shapes of the desired radius in the corners of the triangle, so that they align with the edges but not intersect.

  3. Combine shapes.

  4. Done. :)

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    Don't forget to trim the points on the triangle. Otherwise your combine will just produce the original triangle...
    – Farray
    Commented Jul 7, 2011 at 15:37
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I have an easier one...

  • Select the "Personalized shape".
  • Load "Symbols" from the 'form' menu.
  • Select the inverted triangle (it has rounded edges).
  • Done

You can rotate or flip it however you want. You can't change the radious, tho.

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1

Create a rectangle with smooth borders (I use 3px) and then delete one corner with the pen tool. Adjust it to make it look the way you want.

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Create a triangle with the pen tool. Using effects, put an outside stroke on it, making it as large as you need for how rounded you want your corners. Now you will need to smooth any points in your stroke by following the next steps.

Right click on your triangle layer and choose Convert to Smart Object. Holding Ctrl, click on the thumbnail of your triangle in the Layers panel to select it. Go to Select in main menu and choose Modify, then in dropdown choose Contract. Contract by 3px. Go back to Select in the main menu and again choose Modify, this time choosing Smooth, and enter 10px. Hit the mask button at the bottom of your Layers panel. Go back to your layer and right click, choosing again to Convert to Smart Object.

Depending on the size of your triangle, you might have to change how many px you contract and smooth when making your selection.

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