Got this great tip in my Newsletter from Digitals today and thought I might share it with you. Credit goes to Cilenia Curtis a designer at Digitals for such a great tip. I know this was one needed to know as a newbie.
Tip(s) of the Week
Q: What are brushes?
A: Think of brushes like a stamp. You can use your brush to stamp/click on your digital canvas.
Q: How do I load my brushes?
A: After you unzip your file, double click the ABR brush file and they will appear in your Brush Panel at the bottom.
If this doesn't work:
1. Select the Brush Tool in your toolbar (B) for the shortcut
2. Select the tiny arrow at the top of your Brushes Panel and then select LOAD BRUSHES
3. Browse to your ABR file brush file and click LOAD
4. The new brushes will appear at the bottom of your Brush Panel.
Q: I download a brush kit and it has both ABR files and PNG files, what is the difference?
A: ABR files are the actual brushes used in Adobe Photoshop and PSE. By
using the ABR files and loading into your brush panel as outlined
above, you can stamp the brush with color that is in your foreground
color box. You can also change the brush settings in the Brush Panel to
rotate, space, scatter, etc.
The PNG files are often given also
for non-Photoshop users who can not use the abr files. You can simply
drag them into your layout pages and use just like any other element.
They retain their original transparent quality and you can recolor them
also easily. Also if the ABR file was created in a newer version of
Photoshop and you don't have that version, you may not be able to use
the ABR files.
Q: How do I change the color of my brush or png stamp?
A: There are several ways. But most of them will not retain the texture
and transparency of the original file. Here is how I do it.
If
you are using the ABR file, your stamped brush will be the foreground
color. Simply pick the color you want for your foreground and brushwork
before you stamp your brush.
If you are using a png file, or already have the brushwork stamped on your canvas here is my tried and true way.
1. Select the color you want your brushwork to be for your foreground color.
2. Type Shift F5 to access your Fill Tool, and you will get a little
pop up options box. Or, EDIT>FILL from your menu bar.
3. In this box make sure Preserve Transparency is checked in the box.
4. Click OK
NOTE: if you study the Fill options box you have some additional fill options you can play with.
* Contents: You can use the pull down to select your background
color, Color (which will open your Color Picker Box), and even pattern.
Then of course your black, white or 50% gray.
* Blending: Mode: All the normal layer blending modes are here to choose from and you can also adjust the opacity too.
To learn how all of these additional options work with your Fill command, I advise as I always do... PLAY! :D
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