Adding color for path

Question

Hi,
I'm using Adobe Photoshop CS 5.
While doing a cutout using the Pen tool, I'm finding it difficult to follow the path, as the path line is too thin, does CS 5 gives any option of adding color to the path so that we can track as we use the Pen tool.
Thanks

Answer 1

Whenever I have to manually trace vector paths on top of something using the pen tool I'll often work on a dummy image converted to grayscale and then to a duotone.
The idea behind this is making the blacks in the guide image not black at all. I'll make a grayscale scan of something like hand drawn letters or something else I sketched. I go to Image>Mode>Duotone. I'll choose "Custom" on the preset menu and "Monotone" for the number of inks. Just click on the ink color and choose some sort of medium, colored value. I like to trace paths over an earthy orange color. Name the ink color some kind of nonsense like "pookie" or whatever. It doesn't matter.
Your pen tool paths will show up very easily over this kind of artwork.
Duotone images typically must be saved in Photoshop format. If you want to work on the image elsewhere, you can simply convert it to RGB or CMYK by going to the Image>Mode flyout menu. Then you can save the dummy image as a TIFF or JPEG. Or you can even paste it as a layer to show/hide in your primary Photoshop layout. This recipe may sound a little complicated but it's really very easy.