Tech No. 8: Let's Make and Share Brushes

[kygirl]

Good brushes can take your art piece from the ordinary to the sublime, and they are surprisingly easy to make. This week's tutorial (http://www.photoshopbrushes.com/tutorials/photo.htm) is from PhotoshopBrushes.com.

If you want to share your brushes with other DAQ members, drop me a PM. I'll send you my e-mail, and I'll gather the brushes together for everyone who participates. Please make sure that any brushes you want to share are copyright free.

Note: Because we're working in many different versions of Photoshop and Elements, your program may vary from the one in the tutorial. If you run into a wall, just post and we'll work through it together.

[Kazadoodle]

I used to make brushes all the time in Photoshop, I don't do it so much anymore as I find the 2500 or 2000 px very limiting for a lot of things. I have been playing around with brushes in Illustrator though, that's fun. You can convert PS brushes into Illustrator vectors, and that does make them more flexible. Some work better than others.

[kygirl]

Karin, I'm ashamed to say that I've had Illustrator on my computer for several months now, and have yet to turn it on. Part of the reason is that life is been so busy, but the other part is that the program just looks so darn intimidating. I know I'll love it when I start using it; I'm just dreading the learning curve.

[Kazadoodle]

Donna, I was exactly the same. I had Illustrator with every package and used to open it, find that things that looked the same in PS didn't work the same and closed it. But in the end, I stuck with it. There is still so much I have to learn.

I recommend playing with simple shapes and the brushes first, that's so much fun, you'll soon be wanting t do more.

[indybev]

I shall try to complete this post without swearing, using swear symbols, or emasculating the creators of PSE. If they would just give a site map that tells me where they hid all the menus, life would be simpler. I make my brush. I define my brush. I see my brush. I CANNOT FIND THE MENU THAT SAYS SAVE THE BRUSH. Where is it, please? I am going now to run the vacuum. I know how to do that.

[Diginellie]

Bev I started out with PSE2 about 5 years ago. I quickly realised that this programme was not intuitive so I bought a book. It was a very expensive book - like about $80.00 AUD and at the time I felt that it was a bit of a luxury but it was the best $ I ever spent. I started making brushes right then. I now use PSE4 and I have bought 2 books for this programme. I also use PSPX and I have a book for this too. I also use a Wacom Tablet and I paid for a course at DSP with Lori Davis for this. All of this has paid off for me with lowered stress levels and lots more enjoyment. I have come to realise that money spent learning your programme is even more important than buying kits and elements in the beginning. In fact when you know what you are doing you don't even have to buy so much stuff and I have realised that I don't even need Full Blown PS to achieve what I want. All I need is to know how to properly use what I already have. :)

[indybev]

Ah, my dear Helen, you are so right. I am the world's most impatient person. I have 4 books, and lack the patience to start as a rank beginner and go through the steps. I admire your quiet, determined and patient approach to learning. Please send me a bottle of that!

[Nevermore]

as a permanent student when I started off. I began with Paint Shop Pro and took at least ten classes (not kidding. I don't think that there is another program on the planet that I learned so in depth.) Bev will guess the ending of this story: as soon as I finished all the advanced classes I could take, I switched to Photoshop because the good Lord knows I wouldn't want to get myself into a place where I was comfortable. Took me a lot longer to learn Photoshop because I did not take formal classes in it. I bought the CS Manual (some 900 or so pages) and went from page one to the end. I have never stopped learning this program. Every new version has something to it (and there have been 3 upgrades since CS). When it started to look like maybe I was getting to know my way around, I changed my operating system. I have no idea what I will change next. I like to surprise myself that way.

[indybev]

Bev is smiling affectionately.

[Diginellie]

Kim you are such a masochist but we won't go there :) I read somewhere once that one of the inventors of PS said that even he does not really know everything about PS. I think it is almost alive and has a mind of its own, sometimes I swear things are there one day which weren't the day before but that's why I love it. I especially love the way you have to engage both sides of the brain to make digital art - its like juggling and its good for you.