Photoshop Brushes

If you want to try your hand at some original artwork, and you have a good understanding of the color tools and the painting tools, try using some of the great brush types available in Photoshop.

Create a new blank image - about 500 pixels wide and high. Choose an interesting foreground color. Then choose the Brush tool in the toolbox.

When the brush tool is selected, notice the Options bar at the top of the screen. Click on the downward pointing triangle in the second box in from the left on the Options bar - the Brush box. Scroll down to see the selection of brush types. As you near the bottom of the list, you will see many painting-specific brushes, including chalk, charcoal, pastel and more. If you hold your mouse over a brush number, a Tool Tip will appear that shows the name of the brush.

You can also load specific brush sets. When you click on the Brush box, and the brush menu appears, click on the right-pointing triangle at the top right of the Brush menu. Notice that you can choose specific brush sets, including calligraphic brushes, drop shadow brushes, and more.

Choose a brush and begin to paint on your image. You can increase or decrease the size of your brush in the Brush menu.

Be sure to experiment on separate layers so you can delete experiments you don't like. And don't forget to experiment with Opacity of the layers so you can blend colors and create special effects.