The winner of the Creating Keepsakes subscription is commenter #4, Anna. Please contact us at info@reneepearson.com to claim your prize.

Hey, RP fans! Deena Wuest from Creating Keepsakes back with another “Wanna Learn How” tutorial! Have you had one of those “wanna learn” moments this last month? I appreciate all the comments and emails I’ve received which are quickly lengthening our How To list! That’s awesome! I’ve had several readers shout, “Hey, I wanna learn how to create brushes!” so today we’re talking digital brushes!

We’ve all seen (and bought) those fabulous brushes in stores and we love their versatility! But did you know you can create your own? It’s easier than you think. Any image can be converted into a brush with a few simple clicks. They can then be stamped individually, used as a paint brush to “draw” on your digital canvas, layered to create backgrounds, frames, accents, titles…you get the idea. The possibilities are endless! Since you can easily alter the color, size, opacity, angle and spacing, brushes not only save time; they are the ultimate in creative flexibility! Warning: Once you start creating your own brushes it’s quite addicting! In a matter of time, you’ll have an entire library of custom-made brushes you can use over and over on your layouts.

Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher

On this layout, from a special issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine, I simply typed the word “adorable” once, created a brush and completed my typography background in a matter of seconds. Can you imagine how long it would take to copy each layer one at a time?

Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher

This layout, also from a special issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine, shows the same principle. However by altering the size and opacity of the brush, you create an entirely different look. Again, versatile! We love that!

So let’s walk through how to create and save your own brushes. For this example, I am using a Creating Keepsakes title I created featuring text and shape. If you’d like, you can download the Photoshop image below and complete the actual steps as you follow along with me. Or you can design an image, open a photo or simply type in a word or sentiment you want to convert to a brush. Remember: Brushes are grayscale, so the portions of your design that are white will be transparent. The portions of your design that are black will appear completely opaque. And the portions of your design that are colored will transform into shades of gray with varying opacities. If you want a crisp brush image, you’ll want the high contrast of black and white.

CREATE IT! Open the photoshop image and select EDIT > DEFINE BRUSH PRESET. Tip: If the DEFINE BRUSH PRESET option is not active (or is greyed out) on the menu, try resizing your image. The maximum image size is 2500 in new versions of Photoshop and less in older versions.
Title your new brush and click OK.
Open a new document and create a new layer. On the Toolbar, select the Brush icon (keyboard shortcut B). Select WINDOW > BRUSH (or press F5) to bring up the Brush Panel. Scroll down to locate your brush, select it, and then use the sliders to adjust the size, angle and spacing.
STAMP IT! In the left toolbar, use the color picker to choose your desired color and simply click on the canvas to stamp the image.
BRUSH IT! You can also use your image as a paint brush to create brush strokes or a border of duplicate images. Simply adjust the SPACING percentage in the Brush Panel. Tip: To create a straight row of images, hold down the SHIFT key, click and drag.
SAVE IT! Be sure to save your new custom brush for future use! On the Toolbar, select the Brush icon (keyboard shortcut B). In the Options Menu Bar, click on the drop down arrow to open the Brush Preset Picker. Click on the top right pop-out arrow and select PRESET MANAGER.
In the Manager, you’ll see the default assorted brushes and the new brush you created. Select the first brush in the assorted set, hold down the SHIFT key, and then select the last brush in the assorted set. Once these brushes are highlighted, click on DELETE. Don’t worry; this will not permanently delete these brushes from your system.
Now the custom brush you created is the only brush in your Present Manager window. Highlight the brush, select SAVE SET and title your new brush set. Your brush is now saved! When you create new brushes, simply save them to this brush set. Soon you’ll have a whole library of custom brushes to use on your projects!

And now you know!
I’ve included a tutorial handout you can download below and print. As I mentioned before, I also included the title I used in my example which you can download here. Use it to walk-through the brush conversion process then feel free to use it on your projects and layouts. This is one of ten titles and journal spots I created as part of a Creating Keepsakes 50K Facebook Fan Giveaway coming soon! Be sure to “Like” us on Facebook to help us reach our goal so we can release these free downloads!

And once again, in my hands I hold a free CK subscription that I would LOVE to give away to one of our dear RP fans! Just leave a comment here and let us know the creative way you’ve used brushes or plan to use them. or if you’ve seen a digital technique that made you say, “Oooh! I wanna learn how to do that!” let us know. One random commenter will walk away with a one-year subscription to Creating Keepsakes magazine! Good luck!

Downloads

How to Create a Brush: Tutorial
Tender Moments: Title Photoshop File

Deena Boese

Deena Boese is a Contributing Writer for Creating Keepsakes magazine and enjoys designing both digital and hybrid projects for each issue. She was first published with Creating Keepsakes in early 2007. Deena has a passion for story-telling and graphic design, and brings these elements into her digital and hybrid scrapbooking.

Website — Facebook — More Posts

Tags: brushes | Wanna Learn How