How to Customize Photoshop Brushes

By LaurenMarie

  1. Posted January 21, 2008 at 12:29 pm | Permalink

    This was a great round up on brushes, Lauren. Can’t wait to learn more about them. I have a Wacom tablet and a pen, but never had a chance to use it that much (it still feels a bit awkward using it, I guess I need to practice with it more), I’m sure I’ll be using it more often now. Do you feel as comfortable when drawing on your tablet with the pen, as you are when drawing with a regular drawing tools (pencils, brushes, pen…)?

  2. Posted January 21, 2008 at 2:46 pm | Permalink

    Vivien (ib),
    I have both a Graphire3 4x5 (they don’t make it anymore) and an Intuos3 6x8 and I would say I much prefer the Intuos both for it’s larger size and the way it feels. It’s much more solid than the cheaper Graphire. It is not the same as using a regular pen and paper though. I don’t think it’d use it for drawing because there is too much detail, but I find it quite nice for painting. And it is a must have for masking. You can’t get that kind of control with a mouse, particularly because of the Other Dynamics feature. I got used to my Graphire (the first one I bought) pretty quickly, but yes, it is awkward and definitely not the same as traditional media. Hmm, perhaps I need to turn this into a post!

  3. Posted January 21, 2008 at 3:00 pm | Permalink

    Hmm, perhaps I need to turn this into a post!

    Now, that’s a great idea! Why don’t you do that? ;-) Mine is Graphire, bought it a few years ago.

  4. Posted January 21, 2008 at 3:52 pm | Permalink

    @Lauren
    This was a cool post. I know you have stressed the awesomeness of photoshop brushes before. I went looking for some news ones when I did my blog redesign, and found a plethora of really cool and useful new brushes.

    On another note I have been wanting to try out, and get a tablet of my own. The only things holding me back, are my still developing drawing/painting skills, price, and size of the tablets. So it would be awesome if you would write up a post about tablets, and then we could all chat about them.

  5. Jacob C.
    Posted January 21, 2008 at 3:58 pm | Permalink

    I’ve always seen the brush tools there, but have never really taken the time to get to know them. I some of the looks that you showcased. I really like the color dynamics.

    As for a post on graphic tablets, I completely agree! I have been debating on whether to invest in a tablet for quite a while now. There are so many times when I could really use one, but since they’re not exactly cheap I’m kind of hesitant.

  6. Posted January 22, 2008 at 9:52 am | Permalink

    Dylan,
    Which brushes did you find that you liked? There are so many out there, especially on deviantArt, that it’s almost impossible to wade through them all! I like the idea of chatting about the tablets. And anything I miss in my article, you all can ask in the comments. Post next week, ok?

    Jacob C.,
    Clarify something for me? You are Jacob Cass, yes? I feel silly asking, but there are different emails and IPs from the commenters Jacob, Jacob C. and Jacob Cass. I think you are just using a different computer, but I want to make sure I’m talking to the same person!

    There are so many tools in Photoshop! I wonder if the developers even know everything that’s possible! Pleased you’ve learned something new about the brushes. More tomorrow, too!

    All,
    I will definitely write up a review for the Wacom tablets I have! Like I’ve mentioned to Vivien, they don’t sell the Graphire3 anymore, which was the first tablet I bought (and still have at home). I use the Intuos3 at work and I love it! More to come on these two and the best sizes next week!

  7. Jacob Carter
    Posted January 22, 2008 at 10:00 am | Permalink

    Lauren,

    Not exactly Jacob Cass. Haha. Sorry for the confusion!

  8. Posted January 22, 2008 at 10:39 am | Permalink

    Jacob Carter,
    Ah, very good *blush* Thanks for clarifying :D And since I never really welcomed you, welcome to Creative Curio and thanks for being a part of our community! I’m glad you keep coming back and talking with us!

  9. Posted January 22, 2008 at 11:32 am | Permalink

    @Lauren
    I only ended up using one brush for my site design which was the background rays of light on the dark blue color. I’m not sure what it’s called, but looking back now in my delicious tags I found the sites through your post. Awesome. I also have used some tree brushes for logo design. Pretty much anything you need there is a photoshop brush for it.

  10. Posted January 22, 2008 at 12:15 pm | Permalink

    Dylan,
    Sounds (and looks) like it was the Rising Sun brushes from Brusheezy.

  11. Posted January 22, 2008 at 6:32 pm | Permalink

    I actually got really confused when I saw that post from Jacob because it is exactly what I was going to write as well regarding the graphics tablet. Maybe I have a 2nd life in my sleep ;)
    I was looking at the Intuos3 for my Bday and Christmas presents (those days are just 2days apart) however never confirmed on it so still don’t have one - still debating :s

  12. Posted January 22, 2008 at 8:00 pm | Permalink

    Good post!

    I don’t have PS to experiment with brushes like this. It’s still good to learn a bit about it and it’s good to see there’s benefit in spending money on software! :P

  13. Posted January 23, 2008 at 2:15 am | Permalink

    Great article.
    Another fine place to download PhotoShop brushes is deviantart.I once made some brushes out of type, so that I could paint type onto a paper-style background. In fact, that you can make a brush from just about anything, opens up lots of possibilities. Sometimes I use the brushes as a way of storing frequently used artwork—saves digging around for the file :)

  14. Posted January 23, 2008 at 6:48 am | Permalink

    Sometimes I use the brushes as a way of storing frequently used artwork—saves digging around for the file

    Haha thats pretty cool. I guess it would be easier to do it like that. Do you have links to downloads for your type brushes. Those sound very interesting. I really like designs that use type for design rather than just for content.

  15. Posted January 23, 2008 at 7:59 am | Permalink

    Jacob Cass,
    Haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one confused by you two ;) And I guess I’ll have to start using your last names. I would definitely recommend the Intuos3 based on my experience, but then there’s the new Bamboo out that I haven’t tried. Like I said, I’ll be writing on it in a bit.

    Kristarella,
    GIMP doesn’t have these features? Can you customize brushes at all??

    Johno,
    Yes, deviantArt has a ton of brushes! There are so many though (and I think some are duplicates or mirrors). Brushes out of type!! That’s an awesome idea! Did you like the the result of those?

    Dylan,
    John does have a unique way of storing his files, no? I’ve not heard of doing that before. Interesting concept.

    I really like designs that use type for design rather than just for content

    Me too! And I sure hope you’re subscribed to John’s blog, ilovetypography! Too much type goodness over there ;)

  16. Posted January 23, 2008 at 2:58 pm | Permalink

    Actually GIMP has several of the features, I’d just never used them, nor really noticed they were there. I’m going to have to play with them!

    The test brush is a great idea, will think about playing with that one.
    I guess you could make textures or patterns out of text too.

  17. Posted January 23, 2008 at 3:42 pm | Permalink

    kristarella,
    Perhaps you’ll have to write an article about customizing those GIMP brushes ;)

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