The best brush settings for painting in Photoshop. How to use the paint brush tool in Photoshop? element - Pressure controls size

By delving deeper into Photoshop, each user gradually discovers new facets and possibilities that were not available before. This also applies to some seemingly banal tools. However, after some time it becomes clear that everything is not as simple as it might seem at first. One such tool is a brush. Initially, it seems that this tool is very primitive, and its capabilities and scope are quite limited. In fact, this is not so. In this article we will figure out how to paint with a brush in Photoshop and take a fresh look at its use. Let's get started. Go!

We are considering one of essential tools editor

If you need to change the brush size, you don't have to go to the menu to do this. Use the square brackets keys (“[” and “]”) on your keyboard. The increase or decrease step is 5 pixels. To change the hardness level in 25% increments, use the indicated keys while holding Shift.

Now let's look at the brushes panel. By clicking on the corresponding icon, you will be taken to a window with many settings, but don’t be scared. Everything is not as scary as it might seem at first glance. By clicking on the “Brush Sets” button, you can view the entire library of tools in this group. Next comes “Fingerprint Form...”. This section specifies the diameter. Using this function you can set the number of pixels of the brush. The advantage of this method is that it does not allow other settings to have any effect on the set value. The rounded arrow icon allows you to restore the default setting.

The program provides a wide range of drawing options

As you already understood, in the “flip X” and “flip Y” items the print is displayed along one and the other projection. The “Angle” parameter allows you to adjust the angle of the tool, and in the “Shape” item you can change the shape within a circle. In the hardness and spacing settings, the pressing force and distance between prints are adjusted accordingly.

The next section is “Shape Dynamics”. Here you can adjust the angle, shape and size variations, as well as the minimum diameter and shape. All this correlates with the parameters of the previous section. The higher you set the value, the more arbitrary the settings will be.

You can determine any characteristics of a smear

In the “Dispersion” item you set the number and location of prints. Next comes the “Texture” section. There, accordingly, you can set the desired texture for the brush. Please note that if you have the “Texture each print” option checked, then the texture will be applied separately to each print. To achieve the opposite effect, uncheck the box. The depth value affects the contrast between the texture and the brush.

The next item is “Double brush”, here you can set up a print made from two brushes. In the “Color Dynamics” section, you can set two colors - the main and background, and the program will independently select the necessary shades when drawing.

  • Add noise;
  • Blur the edges (watercolor effect);
  • Get the spray effect;
  • Smooth the edges of the brush;
  • Protect the texture so you don’t have to change the preset one every time.

Adjusting the opacity value is a very commonly used technique to make strokes more or less noticeable. By clicking the "Press Controls Opacity" button, you can achieve interesting effect However, this only works for tablet owners. This feature allows you to change the opacity depending on how hard you press on the screen.

Shows access to texture selection and push function buttons

By adjusting the pressure, you can get a pencil effect. The more, the richer and harsher, the less, the lighter and softer.

The Press Controls Size feature is also designed for touch screens, like the one discussed above. Only in this case, the harder you press on the screen, the larger the brush mark will be, and vice versa.

Some users encounter problems when working with brushes. If you don't know why exactly a brush doesn't work in Photoshop, then it's most likely due to the blend mode. Change this setting and you will be able to fully use this tool again. The problem may also arise due to the layer mask. A white brush will not paint on a white mask. Be sure to consider all these factors.

Now you will know how to use a brush in Photoshop. Once you understand all the intricacies of the parameters, you will be able to more effectively use this tool to solve a variety of problems. Write in the comments whether this article was useful to you, and share your experience of using brushes in Photoshop with other users.

Greetings my dear readers, or rather readers of my blog. I would like to ask you a question right away: can you draw? I mean really drawing on the level. I personally don’t, to be honest. Well, I'm not an artist. But as a child, I really loved drawing scribbles on paper with a brush, and I only got straight A’s in drawing.

So what am I getting at? Of course, to the drawing tools in our favorite graphic editor. We will learn how to use brushes again, but this time digital ones. Simply put, you will learn how to use brushes in Photoshop and feel like artists. And it doesn’t matter what version of the program you have. The work remains the same

So let's turn everything off unnecessary information in our heads and let's get started.


So, are you ready to start drawing? Then go ahead.

Hold down the left mouse button on the picture, and without releasing it, start dragging. You will see how you get a blue stripe. Great. Here we go, here we go as usual classic drawing with a brush. But is that all? Of course not.

Brush options


Brush properties

Let's go to the "Brush" properties and look at what it is "opacity". Click on it and set it to, for example, 40%. Try drawing something. Do you see? Your drawing has become like a ghost, i.e. translucent. In some cases, this is a very convenient and useful thing.

The “Press” parameter speaks for itself. Select the classic brush shape (circle) and do not forget to return the opacity to 100 . Now change the pressure first to 60% and draw something, then on 30% and draw again. Notice the difference? The difference is obvious.

Here's the end result interesting picture we succeeded.

Note. If you don’t like your strokes and want to undo several actions, then you need to remove some of the last actions using “History”.

Saving a brush template

If you have chosen a brush, size and other settings, and you like it so much that you want to save it, then you can easily do this.

At the top, where the brush properties are, there is a down arrow. Click on it and you will see preset templates. All you need to do is click on the template creation icon and select a name. This way, if you suddenly want to use this brush again, you don’t have to look for the brush itself again and set the size and transparency. You need to open the templates window and select what you created.

Direct brush painting

Ah ah ah. I almost forgot a very important drawing trick. After all, we are all human? And draw straight line It's very difficult to do by hand. But in Photoshop everything is simplified. You just need to hold down the left mouse button so that the first stroke appears, and then hold down the key Shift. And then continue to draw the line with the shift key held down and don’t be afraid that your hand will tremble. The line will be straight.

Drawing example (Tree on grass)

Especially for this lesson, I made a short video on how to quickly draw a simple landscape. At the same time, you can consolidate your work with the Brush tool. I’ll say right away that I’m not an artist or a designer, so don’t blame me.

I’ll repeat once again that I’m not an artist-designer, so you don’t have to criticize my drawing. Although...why not? You can tease me, I allow it))).

Well, our lesson today has come to an end. Hope it was helpful to you. But if you still have any misunderstandings, I’m always in touch.

Additionally, you can view this video course on photoshop, in which everything is told from start to finish in video tutorial format! I highly recommend it, the course is really high quality and worthwhile. Each lesson is told in detail and looks at one go.

By the way, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog updates and you will be the first to know about the latest articles and news. I promise I won't spam!!! I wish you to swim in Photoshop like a fish in water, so study, train, and we will see you in the next lessons. Bye bye!

Best regards, Dmitry Kostin.

In the previous three lessons we talked about processing ready-made images. In this and the next four articles we will talk about the means of creating your own drawings from scratch - drawing tools, of which there are plenty in Photoshop.

Today I will talk about the group's tools. There are four of them in total.

  • Brush. Simulates painting with a real brush. You can change its size, color, shape.
  • Pencil. Perhaps the most understandable instrument of the group, because a pencil real life I'm sure everyone used it. If the contours of lines drawn with a brush are blurred, then pencil lines have clearly defined edges.
  • Changing colors. Recolors already drawn objects. Thanks to it, you can easily change the color of an element already in the picture.
  • Mix brush. New tool, which also imitates a brush, but with it you can mix colors on the canvas and on the brush itself, set the paint humidity, etc.

Now let's take a closer look. Create a new Photoshop document with a white background and experiment with the tools: drawing is useful, fun and won't hurt anyone. To display the tools, click the icon twice with the left mouse button or once with the right mouse button.

Brush

If you have ever painted with a brush (and you have, after all, painted), then you don’t need to explain the meaning of the tool. After activating it, you will be able to draw by dragging the pointer across the canvas while holding down the mouse button.

Take a look at the Options Bar: all the brush settings, like any other tool, are there.

Clicking the icon will access the brush settings. Here you can choose a brush from a ready-made set or create your own template. You can set the shape, size, rigidity and angle of the tool.

But you can fully enjoy the settings by executing the Window -> Brush command from the main Photoshop menu.

On the left side of the window there are checkbox tabs that allow you to configure, enable and disable certain brush properties.

  • Brush imprint shape. The tab open by default contains the parameters we have already discussed.
  • Dynamics of shape. Using the elements of this tab, you can configure how the properties of the brush will change directly during the drawing process.
  • Drawing. The dispersion slider allows you to change the density and width created lines. The counter sets the number of scattered elements - than more value, the “thicker” the brush paints. The oscillations of the counter allow the elements to be sprayed unevenly. If you check the Both axes checkbox, the paint will also be sprayed horizontally.

  • Texture. Here you can select the design pattern and customize it. In particular, set the brightness, contrast and depth of colors.

  • You can add another brush to the main brush, the settings of which are set on this tab.

  • Color change settings over time: Color tone, saturation, brightness, purity.

  • Allows you to set dynamic changes in saturation and transparency.

  • The settings determine how the virtual hand holds the hand. In particular, you can set the appropriate tilt angle, rotation and pressure.

  • Noise. This is a checkbox that will add noise to the brush mark.
  • Adds color to the edges of the brush mark, creating a watercolor effect. The tool does not have a settings window.

  • Overlay. Placing a checkbox creates the effect of spray paint splashing from a can. The longer you hold the mouse button down, the stronger the effect.
  • Smoothing. By default, the checkbox is selected. Remove it if you want the outlines of the lines you draw to become clearer and sharper.
  • Texture protection. Check this box if you want the texture specified in the default settings of the selected brush to not replace the one you set.

These settings should be enough literally “for all occasions.” Experiment to understand their practical application.

Pencil

By choosing this tool, you can create sharp, clear, fine lines as if you were drawing regular pencil. The tool parameters are the same as the brush parameters, even the settings window will be the same (Window -> Brush).

In the options panel, in addition to the icon that opens the template set window, there are several more elements.

Color replacement

The tool allows you to recolor already created objects, and the abundance of settings makes it possible to do this with the highest quality possible, while preserving textures. You can change the values ​​either in the options bar or in the window, which can be opened using the main menu command of the program Image -> Correction -> Replace color.

Mix brush

This tool differs from the already discussed regular brush in that it allows you to mix the color of the brush with the color already in the picture, achieving a more subtle processing of the image. The settings are almost identical to the parameters of a regular brush, and we have already talked about it.

This lesson is over, and I suggest you move on to the next one, from the next one you will learn how to very quickly create even geometric shapes.

In today's tutorial we will create a realistic brush using layer styles, a clipping mask and other Photoshop tools.

Lesson materials:

Step 1. Create a new document with a size of 2400x2175 px. Draw a simple brush sketch.

Step 2. In this step I created two rectangles that will help me draw the stubble.

Step 3. Before we start drawing, let's create new group"Bristle". In the group, create a new layer “Bristles” and apply several layer styles to it.

Step 4. Duplicate (CTRL+J) this empty layer 5 times. Since we need to paint a lot of bristles, we will do this on five separate layers. If we draw everything on one layer, all the strokes will get mixed up and ruin the entire effect we created using layer styles. Activate the bottom layer in the group and use a small brush to draw lines.

Step 5. We continue to draw the bristles on the remaining four layers, adjusting their length and thickness. If necessary, you can add more layers.

Step 6. Once you're done, you'll notice a lot of unpainted gaps that you need to get rid of. Create a new "Black Background" layer under the "Stubble" group and paint with dark gray (#1B1919) to fill in the gaps.

Step 7 Next we need to add paint to the bristles. To do this, create a new layer “Interior Paint” under the “Bristles” group. Then we use Brush Tool ( Brush (B) to add a drop of paint to the tip of the brush.

Step 8 Now let's activate Smudge Tool(Finger) (R) (100%) and draw across the paint in the directions indicated by the arrows.

Step 9 Now we can add paint above the bristles. Create a new "Exterior Paint" group above the "Bristles" group, use the Brush (B) to paint a drop of paint of the same color. Then we use Smudge Tool(Finger) (R) and the technique described above to spread the paint onto the bristles.

Step 10 Apply layer styles to the paint. Eraser(E) 1 px in size and erase the lines on the paint. This will add realism.

Step 11 Now we need to combine the layer effects with the layer itself. To do this, right-click on the “Paint” layer effects and select Create Layers(Create layers) (after this they will be located on separate layers). Then select the necessary layers and press CTRL+E.

Step 12 We use Dodge(brightener) and Burn(Dimmer) (O) to add shadows and highlights. We work with tools in the direction of the bristles.

Step 14 We use Dodge ( Clarifier) ​​and Burn(Dimmer) (O) to add shadows and highlights to the stripe. When finished, merge this layer with the “Paint” layer.

Step 15 Now we will give the paint a "wet" effect. To begin, create a new layer “Light 1” and transform it into a clipping mask using the keyboard shortcut CTRL+ALT+G or by clicking between the layers while holding ALT.

Step 16 Now paint the highlights with white color as shown below. Then set the Opacity of the layer to 11%.

Step 17 Go to layer styles and adjust the parameter Blend If: Underlying Layer

Step 18 Let's do the same manipulations with dark color. Create a new “Shadow” layer and transform it into a clipping mask. Use a dark red color to highlight the shaded areas.

Step 19 Set the Opacity of the layer to 72% and open the layer styles to adjust the parameter Blend If(Apply if).

Step 20. We continue to use this technique to add highlights and adjust them using Blend If(Overlay if) to create a wet effect.

Step 21 Now that the bristles and paint are finished, we can start creating the rest of the brush. We hide all layers with bristles and paint. Then create a new group “Handle”. Within the group we create two new groups “Metal” and “Holder”.

Step 22 In the “Metal” group, create a new layer “Metal Ring”. Using the sketch, we create the basic shape of the metal part of the brush on which the bristles are attached.

Step 23 Create a new layer "Chamfer" and draw several narrow stripes on the ring. You can use Pen Tool (Feather) (P) or Brush Tool(Brush) (B).

Step 24 Load the selection of the “Chamfer” layer (hold CTRL and click on the layer thumbnail). Go to the “Metal Ring” layer and press CTRL+X to delete the selected area. We also cut out two holes for the rivets.

Step 25 Applying Layer Styles Layer - Layer Style(Layer - Layer Styles) for the "Metal Ring".

Then apply layer styles to the "Chamfer" layer.

We get this result.

The image should now look like this.

Step 27 Now, to make the next step simple, combine the “Rivet” and “Chamfer” layers. Then merge the "Metal Ring" layer with its layer styles, just like we did in step 11.

Step 28 Create a new layer “Reflection” above the ring layer and transform it into a clipping mask. We use dark color to draw lines to create a reflective effect.

Step 29 Create another layer “Highlights 1” and transform it into a clipping mask. Using light color, draw highlights. Then using Burn Tool(Dimmer) (O) darken them a little with the tool Blur Tool(Blur) (R) makes the edges softer.

Step 30. Create a new layer "Highlights 2" and transform it into a clipping mask. We use the technique from the previous step to add new, blurrier highlights. For convenience, you can temporarily hide the “Highlights 1” layer.

We get this result.

Step 31 Now we use the same method and add highlights and reflections to the rims of the ring. Once done, add some more shadows and highlights as shown below.

Step 32 Create a new layer “Holder” inside the group of the same name. Draw a basic shape and fill it with black. Applying a filter Filter - Noise - Add Noise(Filter - Noise - Add Noise) (10%).

Step 33 Before we continue, let's rotate and transform the Handle group using Free Transform (CTRL+T). For convenience, make the sketch layer and the “Bristles” group visible again.

Step 34 Now let's start texturing the handle. Create a new layer above the "Holder" layer and convert it to a clipping mask, then use a soft brush to paint the holder with white color as shown below. Reduce the Opacity of the layer to 3%.

Step 35. Create a new clipping layer and draw narrow stripes white on the holder. Reduce Opacity(Opacity) up to 23%. Open layer styles and adjust the parameter Blend If(Apply if).

Adobe Photoshop provides very wide opportunities for working with photography and images. You can change the photo beyond recognition, correct flaws and shortcomings, or draw something new. You don't have to be an artist and create paintings. Drawing skills will be useful when processing photographs and collages.

In this article we will look at the main tools Adobe Drawing Photoshop and show you how to learn how to draw in Photoshop.

In the photo editor you can draw with brushes, pencils, draw straight lines or build geometric shapes.

Of the variety of drawing tools, the most useful are the following:

  • Brush Tool. The size, density and shape of the brush can be changed.

Right-click on the tool icon "Brush" and select a brush or pencil to paint with.

    Mixer Brush Tool/Mix Brush Tool. This brush allows you to mix colors and works almost like a real painting tool.

    Custom Shape Tool/Tool « Free figure» . By right-clicking on it, a group of drawing tools will open geometric shapes and forms. At the same time, the library can be expanded and supplemented with your own forms.

  • Rectangle Tool
  • Rounded Rectangle Tool
  • Ellipse Tool/Ellipse Tool
  • Polygon Tool
  • Line Tool
  • Custom Shape Tool
  • Eraser Tool/Eraser Tool removes parts of the image.

At the top of the Photoshop window is the settings menu for the selected tool.

Let's look at the tool parameters Brush Tool/"Brush".

The main brush parameters are shown in this screenshot. So, you can change the brush size, its hardness and shape (you can create your own brushes and download sets from the Internet), density and fill level.

Hard brush

Try experimenting with brush settings and painting on a white background with brushes different shapes, density and size, change colors and type of tool.

Let's now figure out how to draw a simple picture in Photoshop.

It is better to draw separately from the background, on transparent layers, placing each logical element of the picture on a separate layer.

Click on the color selection icon and set the active color. Let it be a shade of yellow. After this we select Paint Bucket Tool and click on any fragment of the empty white layer. The paint will flood the entire canvas.

Let's create a new transparent layer using the command Layer → New → Layer. After this, a transparent layer will appear in the layers panel. The transparent layer works like tracing paper: we don’t see it, but we can see what’s drawn on it. You can turn off the visibility of the layer using the eye icon, or change the size and shape by moving the tracing paper along with the image.

Select a different color and click on the tool "Brush" and let's try to draw!

Just move your mouse with the left key pressed across the canvas.

Of course, it is better to use for drawing Graphics tablet. When working with it, the size and density of the brush will depend on the degree of pressure on the pen, and using the tablet you can more accurately control the brush.

Adobe Photoshop has a workspace designed for artists. It differs from the space for photographers in the arrangement of panels and tools. You can access it using the menu Window → Workspace → Painting.

Here the brushes are arranged in a list and there is quick access to the color palette.

  • decreasing brush size: [
  • increasing brush size: ]
  • reducing brush hardness: {
  • increasing brush hardness: }
  • switch to previous brush: ,
  • switch to the next brush: .
  • switch to the first brush: <
  • switch to the last brush: >
  • swap colors: X
  • default color setting (black/white): D

By changing brush types and their settings, you can control the appearance of the brush and adjust the size and density of strokes. And this will allow you to achieve realistic effects when drawing.