Technically, this is making a vector shape and not a "true vector." True vectors you can zoom in on the fly and not get a pixelly looking image. (This concept is used in works created by programs like Adobe Illustrator). In Photoshop, this is called a vector mask. For the most part, nobody really cares which program you use, but some suicidial extremists (and the uneducated) will say that Photoshop does not produce vectors. They are wrong.
My original publishing of this vector tutorial was host to a huge amount of outright attacks about how I was misleading people and saying that I was not a true vector artist. Tons of people really insulted me and made me feel like I should not have bothered writing this tutorial. So, don't be a nit-picky jerk; it's very discouraging. If you're one of these people who think Photoshop can't do a vector, then I invite you to check out the informative deviation by lucky13: "Vector Art - The Myth Revealed."
Now, I will note one more thing. I called Adobe myself on this subject because I got into a heated debate with another artist. Can Photoshop produce true vectors? Well, first we need to know what vectors truly are. In a simple form, vectors are graphics that operate by mathematical equations. That is the technical definition of a vector. I am using a raster program (Photoshop), which is a program that does not use mathematical formulas to calculate an image, but rather just fills pixel data by implementation of the user (i.e. a picture). Now, since I am using a raster program, this must mean that I am not creating a vector, right? This is incorrect. Adobe Photoshop has the basic formulas to create vector paths. (That's why they are resizable to any percentage.) One also will note that fonts in many programs use point based formulas to calculate size. However, these are vector formulas, but Photoshop can not read a complex vector formula, thus vectors imported from the .AI file type must be rasterized. So, the next time you say that Photoshop can't do vectors because it doesn't use formulas, you need to rethink your hypothesis.
Honestly, I like Photoshop better than the alternatives, so just deal with it. Illustrator has my number one pet peeve: crashing when I'm trying to save (which, of course, corrupts the file). It drives me nuts. So, I stick with Photoshop. I was thinking about making a very basic, entry level Illustrator tutorial, but I felt that with the basics in Photoshop, one can learn Illustrator in about 10 minutes on their own. Of course, that red bounding box Illustrator used to show a theoretical canvas size was the hardest thing to deal with. If you want a detailed description of the differences from Photoshop Vectors (less high-level features, all of which I don't need) and Illustrator Vectors (the stuff you see in magazines) and lots of bonus information, I suggest you check out the former-DeviantART staff member, Voodoo-Prophet, and his news post that explains everything in-depth.
This tutorial that I have made is based off of a person and a drawing. Yet, with a bit of creativity, you can make giant dancing carrots, cars, and AH4 Apaches. With that said, let's get started with the basics.
figure 1: Vectored vs Actual Picture
The above image should clear up the "I don't understand the difference between vector and pictures" question. In case your wondering, that's the happy carrot man and was adopted as my DeviantID on July 15, 2003 and revised on September 4, 2005. For a technical explanation of a vector, it's actually pretty simple -- just confusing to hear: a rotatable group of points on a bendable axis. Think of it this way: it's connect the dots with a bendable line in between each dot. These dots make "shapes" or a group of pixels that fill in an area. To make these "shapes," you use the "Pen" tool. In case you don't know where that is, I have made an image for you below. (It's the red circled tool.) Please note this is only and ONLY the pen tool. There are other "vector-like" ways to create a vector, but that isn't an actual vector -- it just looks like a vector. This "other way" is basically what I call the cheater's way out; it uses the NON-VECTOR lasso tools and should not be considered a vector at all.
That tutorial can be found on google with the search of "vector tutorial." Investigate this other way if you'd like, but it's not the right way. But neither is Photoshop in general. However, with Photoshop it still IS a true vector, so enjoy:
reference 1: Tool Set
Here's what you can do with the pen tool. Look below for an example:
figure 2: making a basic vector
See, that's not so bad is it? Well, here's that rotatable stuff I was talking about:
figure 3: making an arc
That isn't the easiest thing to show how to do with a GIF image, so make do. Try it out yourself, you'll get the swing of things pretty easily. If you don't like doing these curves, don't worry. I don't use those either. See here for my technique, or just read on and you'll get to it. Generally, it starts off a bit confusing, but I will go into more detail later about how to obtain that "LemonTea-styled" vector. To put it simple, all you do is make shapes and layer them over each other.
I will also note that there are alternate ways to make lines by using vector paths. While I personally don't use this method, it's a very effective tool. If you are interested in seeing how to do it this way, I suggest you view MononcQc's tutorial, which is in both English and French.
So, enough with the boring stuff, let's get started!
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