The Professional Photoshop Book - Volume 7 2015

Photoshop has a large array of customisable default

brushes and also allows you to import brushes

you’ve downloaded and create your own from

scratch. This provides infinite painting and rendering

possibilities so you can finish a piece in any artistic

style. Brushes can mimic chalk or oil paint for rough

overlays or clouds and mist for an atmospheric

effect. Several tools, such as perspective guides and

grids, also come in brush form.

Before exploring Photoshop brushes and their

settings, make sure you have a compatible pen tablet

installed and configured to your version of Photoshop.

You will have to add Photoshop to the application list

in Settings for any pen pressure controls to work.

Once installed, create a new file in Photoshop, go to

Window>Brush Presets and a new window will open

up with a Brush & Brush Preset tab. At the top right

corner of the brush preset tab is a tiny list icon, which

opens more options. Clicking this reveals all the

brush families of Photoshop and allows you to load

recently installed brushes, adjust the icon display size

and type, and save a new brush preset. For the

following examples, choose Natural Brushes, and

select Charcoal 59 Pixels. Remember, if you are

unfamiliar with the brush titles, simply click the right

icon to expand options and select Text Only for your

icon type.

Now click the Brush tab and then Brush Tip Shape.

In this panel are your basic adjustments, which are

fairly self-explanatory. Size, Angle, and Roundness

can be controlled numerically or by adjusting the

slider, pivot points, or arrow on the sample circle.

Hardness controls the edge softness, but note that on

some brushes Hardness is disabled. Spacing controls

the distance between each painted stroke. If you find

your brushes lagging, your Spacing may be too low!

About 10-20 percent is a good amount.

Next is the Shape Dynamics panel, where you can

adjust pressure sensitive settings for Size, Angle, and

Roundness. Brush Projection, when checked, detects

your pen’s tilt and rotation. Note that this feature is

already detected in some brushes and may be

disabled. Setting the Control Dynamics button to Pen

Pressure is the most effective for digital painting. The

PHOTOSHOP’S BRUSHES

AND HOW TO USE THEM

USE YOUR PEN TABLET IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE

BRUSH PANEL FOR AN EFFECTIVE WORKFLOW

HARD MECHANICAL

The first and most essential brush on the list is the

Hard Mechanical brush, which is excellent for hard

lines of varying width and opacity. This brush can

be used to sketch in your outlines or for drawing

your signature when your piece is complete.

SOFT MECHANICAL

Just like the first brush, but with Hardness set to

0%. The Soft Mechanical Brush can be used to

paint in values and provide soft, gradient-like

tones, which include skies, atmosphere, or haze.

DRY BRUSH 

60PX

This brush gives a foggy effect much like the

basic Soft Mechanical, but with greater texture

and grain. Paint in Overlay or Hard Light mode to

get a vintage, streaky look.

ROUND BRISTLE

The Round Bristle comes close to mimicking a dry

acrylic brush, and is great for painting in rough

colours to prime your piece. Use it set with a

medium Minimum Transfer and Diameter for

effective blending.

WET MEDIA BRUSHES

The Rough Ink brush has jagged edges with a

dual brush texture – great for painting rough

ground or foliage. Turn off Shape Dynamics, but

keep Transfer on for a more textured look.

PENCILTHICK

OR THIN

This brush is similar to the Hard Mechanical, but has

more width variance, which is great for depicting

uneven lines such as cracks in the wall. Paint in

Color Dodge mode for a cool lightning effect.

DEFAULT

PHOTOSHOP BRUSHES

SIX ESSENTIAL PHOTOSHOP BRUSHES FOR

CREATING LINE ART, ADDING VALUE, AND

DETAILING YOUR SCENE

Hard Elliptical:Mechanical elliptical brush A Hard

combined with the Leasily blocks in tree shapesasso tool

Pencilled details: A Pencil

brush paints tiny details such as small branches or blades of

grass protruding from rocks

Soft Brush blending: A basic

Soft Mechanical brush drawn in Overlay or Color Dodge

mode can emphasise highlights and colour contrast

96 The Professional Photoshop Book

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