How to use Photoshop Brush Tool:
- Select File > New ( if you want to create something new) or File > Open ( if you want to paint on the existing file).
- Choose Foreground Color.
- Select “Brush Tool” from the toolbar or press B on the keyboard.
- Now, choose any brush style from the brush preset given in the tool options bar or choose Windows > Brush.
- If you right click on the arrow given in the brush preset palette, a list of options will appear. These options include: New Brush, Rename Brush, Delete Brush etc.
- You can also create your own brush by selecting Edit > Define Brush. When you select this, a dialogue box will appear where you can define your brush name. Press Ok. This will create a brush of selected area of an open file.
- There are many options given in the tool options bar ( i.e. brush size, mode, opacity and flow) , using which you can change the settings of the selected brush.
- If you want to use your brush as an Airbrush then choose Airbrush from the tool options bar. Using Airbrush you can apply gradual tones to an image.
- Now, click and drag your mouse on the file to create your own freeform strokes.
Note: Photoshop has two types of brushes i.e. Standard Round Brushes and Sampled Brushes. Sampled Brushes is used to create hard edges. When you select Sampled Brush then Hardness option is disable in the Brush Preset Picker dialog box.
How to use Photoshop Pencil Tool:
- Select File > New or File > Open as required by you.
- Choose foreground color.
- Select “Pencil tool” from the toolbar. If not visible, then click on the small arrow given on the brush tool. This will open a popup from which you can select pencil tool.
- You can adjust various options i.e. Brush, Mode, Opacity, Auto Erase of pencil tool given in the tool options bar.
- Select a brush from the brush brush pop up palette
- Click and drag on the file where you want to create hard-edged lines.
Some Shortcuts:
- To decrease the brush size press [ and to increase the brush size press ].
Helpful Website Designing Photoshop Brush Tool and Pencil Tool
- If you want to use Pencil and Brush Tool in some restricted area then just select some area using any selection tool and then draw soft or hard-edged lines (strokes) inside that particular area. By mistake if you drag your cursor outside your selection then these lines will not appear.
- You can draw straight lines by clicking once where you want your line should begin, and then Shift + Click at the end point (end of line).
When you select brush tool, related tool options appear in the Tool Options bar. These options are described below:
- Brush: You can select any brush and can also change the brush size using this option. When you click on the brush option given on the tool options bar, a Brush Preset Picker will get appear with all the available brushes (by default) and newly created brushes. Using Master Diameter option given in this palette, you can change your brush size by simply dragging the slider or by entering the value. You can access more options of brush by clicking on the Brushes palette option given on the right side of the tool options bar. If this palette is not visible then choose Windows > Brush. When you select any brush from the Brush Preset Picker (left side) then its related options will get appear in the Brushes palette (right side).
- Mode: There are various options of mode (i.e. normal, darken, multiply, etc.). Mode controls how image pixels are affected. By default Normal is selected.
- Opacity: This option affects transparency of your brush. If you make it 1% then it becomes transparent and you will barely be able to see it.
- Flow: Flow and Opacity are related. This determines how fast paint is applied. Higher setting produces dark strokes.
Pencil Tool options given in the Tool Options Bar:
Pencil Tool has same options as of Brush tool except Flow and Airbrush option (these are not available). Only one additional option is available in this:
- Auto Erase: This paints the background color over areas containing the foreground color.
