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This is a simple tutorial on the basics of using and changing brush backs or brush sets in Adobe Photoshop. Aimed at beginners, this tutorial is probably common knowledge to many Photoshop users but I feel so many people are missing out on the true power and potential of the paint brush tool in Photoshop.

I used Photoshop for almost a year and felt quite comfortable with most of the features and felt I had an adequate working knowledge of the program. It was not until I read some online tutorial (which featured a brush pack) that I discovered the real potential behind this brushes in Photoshop. Brushes can be change and manipulated in so many ways as well as featuring the ability to load up preset brush packs (which are readily downloadable on the internet for free in many places.) which are mind blowing in their content compared to the standard supplied brush sets. The tutorial Itself will consist of simple step on how to change your brush packs from their default settings and how to revert back (I thought this would be a good idea since It can be quite confusing if you just want the original brushes back). I will also run through briefly at the end where you put your new brush packs that you acquire and how to make them active in Photoshop so that you can use them. After This you will find a list of resources where you can download and sample new brush packs from the internet and begin uncovering the new power of Photoshop brushes.

Changing Bush Packs In Photoshop

Ok So you want to change your brush pack. Start up Photoshop and open a new blank document.

Step 1: Click on the Paint Brush tool in Photoshop on the toolbar. (see Image A)

Step 2: Click the small downwards pointing arrow next to your brush to open the brush menu allowing you to choose different brushes from that set and change their basic settings (hardness and size). This is also the place where you will access your brush packs from.

Step 3: Click the small arrow which points right just next to the box which lists the size of the brush illustrated on Image B. This opens this list of your current loaded brush packs and from here you can select which pack you want to load.

Step 4: Simple click the pack the you want to load up I chose the Stars brush pack which is not a default set for Photoshop and so you probably will not have this one try Special Effect Brushes that’s a fun pack.

Step 5: When you select your chosen brush pack you will be faced with a dialog box that prompts: Replace current brushes with the brushes from [brushpackname], and the options ok, cancel, Append. This just confirms you want to apply the new brushes and it is very easy to switch back so feel safe to click ok.

Step 6: Thats It your new brushes are installed all you need to do is select a brush preset from the new set and your ready to begin youing them. (While most new brush packs meant for regular painting some are designed for one click patterns please check the brush with a single click first before painting with it to see which type it is both have a different effect, experiment and enjoy.)

Getting back to basics!

Getting back those basic brushes that we all know and love couldn’t be any easier. Using the same technique as to change brushes open your brush window, click the right pointing small arrow and select Basic Brushes. This will return your brush pack back to their default setting (note: you will have to select a brush from that back to activate the brushes otherwise your last selected brush will remain). See below Image E for how to change back to basic brush pack.

Ok I get the idea where can I download more brushes?

There’s tons of cool sites out there that offer brush packs to download so googling brush pack should bring up quite a few results but here’s some of the sites that offer brush packs what you can check out first:

1. Deviant Art - Offer a great extensive range of cool brush packs submitted by users definitely recommended for people wanting some funky brush packs.
2. In Obscuro - Nela Dunato’s personal showcase of brush packs some excellent work there.
3. Flock - Flock is a breakthrough in digital resources. Flock is one file, containing over 300 files inside. Flock contains 153 Fonts, that self install, 158 brush packs for Photoshop 7 and up, self install, and over 50 additional packs for Photoshop 7 and up. This is the one file that every digital, graphic, and web designer needs. And best of all it’s free.

If you offer a selection of brush packs to download please feel free to leave a link to your site in the comments section below and ones I really like will be added to this list later.

So I have downloaded these brush packs now what do I do?

Most brush packs are hosted as .zip files (for those of you unfamiliar with this format it is an achieve that can be opened with several programs winzip being the most commonly used we however suggest 7-zip a great free ware program that will do the job.) once unzipped you are left with a file that ends with .abr extension, this is the brush pack file and provided you have Photoshop installed it should look like Image F (CS2 anyways any lower versions the image may differ). this file then needs to be copied into the correct directory in your Photoshop program files. for CS2 users that should be located at: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\Presets\Brushes (Providing C: is your main drive) for Photo Shop 7 Users I believe the address is: C:Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop/Presets/Brushes (however I don’t have that version so cannot confirm this) just add that address to the address bar in your folder window and paste the .abr file. Once this is complete you will need to close and re-start Photoshop (if you have it running otherwise just open it) for the brushes to be found by Photoshop and they are then ready to add using the technique listed above.

I hope this basic tutorial has been of help to some of you and comment / feedback are always welcome.

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As technology continues to expand art projects for children will have to change, and soon children’s arts and crafts will include the use of things like Photoshop and children’s versions of such art programs. Parents would do well to learn these programs so kids art programs won’t baffle them.

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