Adobe Photoshop is the best graphics and photo-editing software with a wide range of artist-supplied content, including brushes. Adobe brushes are preset that help you control the stroke and shape of lines when using the brush tool.
It allows you to add custom hand-drawn designs to images, digital paintings, and custom designs. Given its ease of use and versatility, you can effortlessly create an element. This makes a brush an essential resource for new and experienced designers to add depth, texture, patterns, and lighting to their projects.
Adobe Photoshop comes with a few basic brushes, but you're free to install your own. Therefore, if you would want more than the basic preset brushes, let's show you how you can find and install Photoshop brushes.
Download Photoshop Brushes
To install Photoshop brushes, you'll first be required to find and download Photoshop brushes. Photoshop brushes come in the ABR file format. There are different sources online to find Photoshop brushes either for sale or for free. You should ensure that you download them from reliable and trustworthy sources, including:
After successfully downloading brushes, you can now install them on Photoshop. If you downloaded brushes in a zip format, you should first extract them before installing them. Ensure that the archived file contains .abr files. This is because Adobe Photoshop only accepts brushes with the .abr extension. .
How you'll install them depends on your Photoshop version. There are different ways you can install Photoshop brushes. Read on to understand how to install and start using new brushes on Adobe Photoshop.
Quick installation by Import
To quickly install new Photoshop brushes:
Step 1: Open Photoshop.
Step 2: Locate the .abr brush file on your computer.
Step 3: You can then click and drag the brushes into the open Photoshop window.
Photoshop will automatically identify the brush tool preset and add it to the Brush tool panel.
Manual installation of Photoshop Brushes
You can also take the following steps to install Photoshop brushes:
Step 1: Launch the Photoshop application. You can either create a new file or open an existing one.
Step 2: Look for the Brushes Window in the top-right corner. If it is not visible, you can click on the Window menu and choose Brushes.
Step 3: Click on the Settings icon on the fly-out menu in the top right corner.
Step 4: Select Import Brushes.
Step 5: In the Load file section window, select the ABR file of the brush or brush pack.
Step 6: Then click on Load to import third-party brushes.
After successfully importing the brushes, they'll be automatically added to your preset menu. You'll find them every time you select the Brush Tool.
Install Photoshop from the Edit Menu
Alternatively, you can also install Photoshop brushes from the Edit menu by taking the following steps:
Step 1: On the open Photoshop window, click on Edit at the top-left corner
Step 2: Select Presets.
Step 3: Click on Preset Manager.
Step 4: Select Brushes from the drop-down menu.
Step 5: You can then add brushes using the Load button.
How to Install Multiple Brushes
Rather than installing a single Photoshop brush, you can save time by installing multiple brushes. This involves moving or copying the. ABR files to the Brushes folder in the directory where you installed your Photoshop application. After downloading the brush file or brush pack, you can take the following steps to install tons of new brushes or brush packs:
Step 1: Ensure that you close the Photoshop app.
Step 2: Navigate to the Photoshop folder. If you're using Windows, this folder is normally found in the: C:\Program Files/Adobe folder, while on Mac, you'll find it in Applications.
Step 3: Click on Presets then Brushes to open the brushes folder.
Step 4: You can then click and drag the new brushes into this folder. You can choose to copy or move them into this folder.
The next time you launch Adobe Photoshop, the app will load the new brushes.
How to Use a Photoshop Brush
After installing brushes on your Adobe Photoshop, you can now use them in your projects. Using brushes in Photoshop is a simple process. All you have to do is:
Step 1: Open the Brush panel from the Window menu.
Step 2: Click on Brushes.
Step 3: Select a brush style and apply it to the canvas.
Step 4: In the Brush Settings (which opens automatically when you open the Brush panel), you can adjust the brush's size, shape, mode, opacity, and flow.
Step 5: After adjusting the brush accordingly, all you have to do is start clicking. You can use single clicks for a single placement of the brush stroke or hold the mouse button down and drag your cursor to create great effects.
Conclusion
There are many options available at your disposal for Photoshop brushes. Through any of the above methods, you can now install new brushes containing new patterns, shapes, outlines, and other additional features.
After learning how to install them, you can now build a large brush library and take advantage of the different Photoshop Brushes' capabilities to make wonderful artwork.