There may be occasions when one of the preset brush types just will not achieve the effect that you are looking for. When this happens, you have two options: you can customize a preset brush or create your own custom brush from scratch.

 

To customize a preset brush, fist select the brush tool from the toolbox, and then click the Brushes palette tab from the palette well (the palette well is at the right end of the options bar). (If this is unavailable, choose Window->Brushes from the menu bar.) You can also use the F5 key to display the brushes palette.

 

 

 

 

To customize an existing brush preset, select the Brush Presets option from the top left of the brush palette. The next step is to choose a brush from the scrolling list of presets on the right.

 

 

When you have made your choice, you can begin to customize the brush by clicking on the attribute that you want to change from the panel of options at the left of the palette.

 

As an example, we will choose the Brush Tip Shape attribute.

 

When you click Brush Tip Shape, the following options will appear in the right of the palette.

 

 

You can configure the angle and roundness of your brush tip by mouse dragging the circle and cross hairs graphic.

 

If you drag the circle around its circumference by dragging the arrow head, you will change the angle of the brush. If you collapse the circles diameter by dragging the circles edge inward, you will change the roundness of the brush. You can enter specific values for roundness and angle in the fields provided if you wish.

 

You will also notice the slider switch for hardness and spacing near the bottom. Increasing the spacing value will create a variable size gap between the colour spots left by your stroke. (Instead of one smooth stroke, you will get a series of dots.)

 

The adjustments made to roundness and angle qualities are most noticeable when they are made in combination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you click on each brush attribute on the left of the brushes palette, (i.e. Shape dynamics, scattering, texture, etc), a set of slider switches, drop lists, and other options will appear on the right side of the palette to allow you to tweak the attribute.

 

If you clear the checkbox next to an attribute on the left of the palette, any controls or options associated with that attribute will be shut of (greyed out).

 

Practice painting strokes on a blank canvas as you alter the various brush attributes. Some of the effects are quite subtle so try to use a large brush size to make tem more noticeable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you finish customizing the preset brush, you can store it as a new preset by clicking the Create new Brush icon at the lower right of the brushes palette.

 

 

This will display the following dialog box.

 

 

Try to choose a unique name that has some meaning or significance to the style of brush so you can recognize it.

 

After you enter a name, click the OK button to create your customized preset. The customized brush will be appended to the end of the list of brush presets in the brushes palette.