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Using a diagonal line while editing your images is essential as it helps guide the viewer into the depth and details of the picture. Whether you wish to create a solid pattern, apply a background style, or create a shape, knowing how to make Diagonal Lines in Photoshop is helpful.
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How to Make Diagonal Lines in Photoshop
Using lines such as a diagonal stroke in Photoshop cannot be overemphasized as it helps to bring out the hidden qualities of your image without even trying hard. You can create a diagonal line using several techniques that are super easy to apply.

No doubt, Photoshop is a versatile software that provides a long list of different tools that you can use to make diagonal drawings hassle-free. Throughout this article, we’ve discussed several tools and techniques that you can use to create a straight diagonal stroke.
Creating a Diagonal Line With the Brush Tool
Just like the standard paintbrush, the brush tool enables you to make paintings on layers. This tool can craft a perfectly straight diagonal stroke on your images. Follow the below-mentioned steps to draw a smooth diagonal line using this tool:
- Open Photoshop on your computer
- Head straight to the tool panel located on the left side of the Photoshop window
- From the tool Panel, search for the brush tool and click on it
- Then, navigate to the Photoshop window and left-click once on the starting point of the line, which displays a dot on that point
- Now adjust your cursor to the finishing point of the line, the point you want your line to end
- Doing this displays your diagonal stroke immediately
Note: You can easily click on the B key to instantly select the brush tool.
Also, you can use the shift key to create a more accurate diagonal line without the stress of finding the brush tool.
When you simply press down on the shift key and mark the desired endpoint and starting point for your diagonal line, this helps create a perfectly straight line without any hassle.
Creating a Diagonal Line by Rotating a Straight
You can undoubtedly use either of the above steps to achieve your goal of making a straight diagonal stroke. However, there’s another method of doing this which is more straightforward. Using the steps below, you can easily make a straight diagonal rule with zero hassle.
- Open Photoshop on your computer
- On the windows displayed, navigate to the lower right corner of the layer panel.
- Select the option titled “New Layers” to open a new Photoshop Layer
- Proceed to draw a straight line first by selecting the brush tool
- Then click on a point where you want the line to start
- Next, hold down the shift key and select the desired end point of the straight line
- Change the anchor point to the beginning point of the line
- Then, rotate the line to a suitable diagonal angle

Creating a Diagonal Line With the Marquee and Paint Bucket Tool
Undoubtedly, Photoshop has a wide range of tools that can achieve the same effect using the most suitable technique. The Marquee tool is highly efficient for making straight lines positioned diagonally.
- Open Photoshop on your computer
- From the home screen, go to the File menu at the top of the screen
- Select the option titled “New” to create a new document
- Set the dimension to a five by 5 pixel and the background to “Transparent”
- Navigate to the toolbar on the left-hand side of the screen and select the “Rectangular Marquee Tool”
- Next, go to the tool menu at the top of the screen and adjust the dimension of the tool depending on the size of the line
- Then navigate to the upper left corner of the canvas, which displays a dashed square
- Next, go to the toolbar and pick the Paint Bucket Tool under the Gradient Tool
- After this, go to the region that you highlighted using the Marquee tool and fill the square box that was displayed
- Right-click and drag Marquee square to the bottom and right
- Fill in the new area with the Paint Bucket Tool.
- Repeat this step until a five-square box is displayed
- Continue this process until you have five diagonal straight lines.
- Next, click on the CTRL+D key(windows) or CMD+D key(Mac) to unselect the last square to avoid making only a pattern of the square, not the diagonal stroke itself.
- After doing this, navigate to the toolbar at the top of the screen and select the option “Edit.”
- Then, select the “Define Pattern” option and give a relevant name to the line pattern.
Note: To create the five square patterns easily, you can click on the first square box, hold down the ALT key(Windows) or OPT key (Mac), and then drag it to create an exact copy of the square. Continue this process to have five different squares.
How to Make a 45-Degree Diagonal Line in Photoshop
Whether you’re creating a guide for your viewer or adding a new style or design element to an image, a 45-degree diagonal tool will go a long way in helping you achieve this. With that in mind, knowing how to create this line is essential, and we’ve discussed that below:
Creating a Diagonal Line With the Line Tool
The Line tool is another feature in Photoshop that is highly functional for creating various lines, including a slant diagonal stroke like the 45-degree line. Using the line tool, you can easily make several parallel lines depending on your intended design.
- Open Photoshop on your computer
- From the window displayed, click and hold down on the rectangle tool, which displays a pop-up menu
- Once the menu pops up, click on the “Line Tool”
- Set the line to stroke and adjust the weight fo fit the range of 50-60
- With the line tool selected, click on the desired starting point of the line(preferably at the top left corner of the screen)
- Next, drag the tool right and downwards to the desired endpoint of the line( the downright corner of the window is ideal)
- Doing this creates a diagonal line at a 45-degree angle
- You can repeat this step to create multiple parallel 45-degree lines

What Are the Benefits of Creating a Diagonal Line in Photoshop
Making a pattern is always handy, whether using it as a design background or adding a bit of style to a shape. You can do either of these things with a pattern. One of the most prevalent patterns is a diagonal line pattern.
The diagonal stroke pattern is super helpful while editing images because it helps to align the view of your viewer, leading them straight to the tiny details in most images. It helps to align the depth in a picture while making the background elements pop out.
Related Questions
Below, we’ve answered some other questions that you might have on how you can easily make diagonal lies in photoshop:
How Do You Make a Diagonal Striped Line in Photoshop?
To make a diagonal striped line in Photoshop, select an area filled with stripes. Then, go to the Edit menu and select the “Fill” option. Choose Pattern from the drop-down menu, and select the warning stripe pattern. Then press OK.
Conclusion
Using a diagonal line while editing images is super important and cannot be swept under the rug. There are several tools and techniques for creating a smooth diagonal stroke, and they can be easily applied. You can never go wrong spending your time mastering this technique.