1. Open new document (500x500 pixels) and create a new layer.
2. Click and hold on the picture of the shape tool in your tool bar, you'll notice there are 6 different shapes to select from, but we will only be using the one labeled "ellipse tool" for now. i'm sure you've used this tool before, but probably not how we are going to use it today.
3. Very Important!: in the menu bar at the top of the screen, make sure that the "paths" option is highlighted (NOT the "shape layers" option).
4. Hold shift and drag a decent sized circle in the center of the canvas (holding shift ensures a perfectly round circle).
5. Now select two similar colors, making sure that one is noticeable darker than the other as i have done. set the lighter of the two colors as your foreground color.
6. Select Windows>Paths from the top of your screen and you should see a path labeled "Work Path" in your window that appears. right click "Work Path" and select Fill Path... then, make sure the "Use: Foreground Color" option is selected and click OK. the circle you drew should be filled with the lighter color.
7. Next select your brush tool and select the air brush at size 100. make sure the darker of the two colors is now selected as your foreground color.
8. With your Work Path selected, click the picture of the dotted circle at the bottom of your paths window. this will create a selection in the shape of your path, ensuring that nothing will appear outside of the selection when we shade it in the next step.
9. Here's where things get tricky. using the size 100 air brush, trace the right side of the selection as shown below. notice how little of the brush actually touches the selection.
If it doesn't look good the first time, undo and repeat it a few times, it takes practice. when you are satisfied, press ctrl+D to deselect and you should see something like this.
10. Now select an even darker color than the one you did the shading with. also, change your brush size to a size 5 round brush as shown below (NOT the air brush).
11. Once again right click on "Work Path" in the paths window and select Stroke Path... make sure the "Tool: Brush" option is selected and click OK. you now have a cartoonish looking stroke around your path
12. Now i will introduce the pen tool. this tool is used to make paths that are more complex than the basic geometric shapes (circle, square, etc.) such as the eyes for example. but first, click the "Create New Path" button next to the trash can in your paths window.
13. Mess around with the tool for a while and you'll begin to see how it works. if you look closely, you'll see that each time you click, you create a new segment that begins where the old segment left off. when you click and hold the pen tool, you create a guide line that will determine how sharp or smooth the resulting curve will be. the longer you drag this line, the smoother the resulting curve.
14. Once you get the hang of it, try making a path that somewhat resembles an eye.
15. Be sure to create a new layer. choose white as your foreground color. notice in the paths window that there is a series of buttons at the bottom that will fill, stroke, or make a selection out of your path. clicking the fill button is a quick shortcut that will fill the path with whatever foreground color you have selected.
16. Go back to the same color that you outlined the circle with before (the darkest of the three colors) and select the stroke path button, conveniently located next to the fill path button. notice the stroke remains the same as long as you don't change the brush size.
17. Now you can add some eyeballs, duplicate the layer, flip it horizontally and place it in the right spot. use the same techniques you just learned to create a mouth.
18. After that i just created a new layer for the rays. i only clicked with the pen tool rather than dragged, this created points rather than curves. just keep doing the path, fill, stroke process and add as many little details as you like. here's what i got:
