Of course, this may raise the question of why, if we can make selections with the Pen Tool, is it not grouped in with the other selection tools (the Rectangular Marquee Tool, the Elliptical Marquee Tool, the Lasso Tool, etc.) at the top of the Tools palette? Why is it down there with those other tools which are clearly not selection tools?
That’s an excellent question, and there just happens to be an equally excellent answer to go with it, which we’ll get to in a moment.
Why Is It Called The “Pen” Tool?
One of the first stumbling blocks to learning how to use the Pen Tool, as with many other things in Photoshop, is its name, since after all, if there’s one thing that everyone who’s ever tried to use it knows, this thing is not a pen. At least, not the sort of pen you’d normally think of when you hear the word "pen". Try writing your name with it in the same way you might sign your name on a piece of paper with a pen and you’ll probably end up with a twisted, tangled mess and things looping all over each other (of course, I suppose that could very well be how you sign your name).