I think a great set of brushes isn’t just a matter of throwing a bunch of brushes that kinda look similar together in a set, but rather create a set where each brush complements each other—this way if one of the brushes doesn’t work for what you’re trying to achieve, another brush in the set might since they’re created from the same source.

Start With A Photo

First of all we’ll need a high-resolution image. I find it works best with a photo of a texture rather than something like a landscape or portrait, for obvious reasons.

For the purpose of this tutorial I’ve used one of my own photos taken with a Nikon D90.

Your image should be as big as possible – this one is 4288×2848. It is also included in the download link at the bottom of the tutorial.

Optimizing The Image

Next we’ll need to optimize the image a little bit before we start cutting it up and creating our brushes.

The goal here is to raise the shadows slightly and adjust the contrast if needed. So, let’s open up our image in Photoshop:

You can of course adjust the shadows and highlights, levels and curve settings according to the image you’re using.

Select Areas To Create Brush From (5 to 10)

Then we can slice up this image into a number of areas. I’ve decided to cut it into 10 rectangles.

An easy way to split your image up into 10 parts is to use the Slice Tool

Using the Slice Tool simply drag over the whole image to select it all. Then click on ‘Divide’ at the top. It’ll open up a dialog window asking you how you want to slice your image.

Since I want to have 10 rectangles I put the following:

Hitting OK will divide our original image into 10 almost equally sized rectangles.

Then you can ‘Save for Web & Devices’. You should be familiar with the window that opens next. You probably won’t need to change anything there so you can just click ‘Save’.

Then save this on your desktop or somewhere that’s easy to find on your computer.

You’ll end up with 10 images. Now we can use those to create our set of Photoshop brushes.

Those images are still big enough to create some very interesting brushes and they’re still quite hi-res. Of course having a very big original image helps there.

We could definitely have created more than just 10, but for the purpose of this tutorial it’ll do just fine.

All 10 Images

Now you can close the original ‘texture.jpg’ document. Create a brand new document and make it 2500×2500 and select Grayscale as the color mode.

Then you’ll need to import your first rectangle texture. Simply place it in the center of your new document.

Now you may want to cut out a part of your image – I like to keep just an interesting portion, in the case of this first brush I cut out the bottom of it to focus more on the top part which has more details. You could also use the Lasso tool to select a portion of the image you’d like to keep.

Higher Exposure

Since we’ve already optimized our image earlier we can jump right into the ‘Exposure’ settings. Photoshop will take into account that we’re working on grayscale and by increasing the exposure we basically make the lighter parts of our image white instead of light grey.

In the case of the first texture image I went with 1.5 Exposure with 0.8 Gamma correction.

And here’s the result:

Less Square

You could simply leave at that and repeat the process for every other texture image, but I think this brush would benefit from not being a rectangle – it’d be nice to make it more rounded.

Let’s grab the Eraser Tool and select the basic Rough Round Bristle brush (or any other brush you might have in there, experimenting never hurt anyone). We’ll erase parts of our texture image with this brush to create more natural and smooth edges.

Creating The Set

Once you’re satisfied with the result it’s time to save your brush. Simply go to Edit -> Define Brush Preset and then name your texture and hit enter.

Then just repeat the whole process for the 9 remaining texture images and you’ll have a set of 10 brushes that are consistent and all fit together.

To export your set go to Edit -> Preset Manager -> Select your 10 brushes -> Save Set.

Download The Final Result

I hope you liked this tutorial! Of course feel free to experiment with other techniques, some things might work better for you. Experimenting with various source images will obviously get you different results.

You can download the set of 10 Photoshop brushes right here →

Preview:

Resources used:

• Texture 1
• Texture 2
• Texture 3
• Portrait 1
• Portrait 2

Step 1:

Open Photoshop and create a new document, 1700 pixels wide and 1100 pixels tall, with a resolution of 72. I have named my document “Bittbox Surrealist Portrait Tutorial”.

Step 2:

Create three folders, named Adjustment Layers(1), Textures(2), and Portraits(3).

Step 3.:

Drag the “Vintage-Paper” texture from the source folder onto the canvas, resize it to fit, and name the layer “Base Paper”. Place the layer below the three folders. This will act as the base layer for our composition.
Tip*: It will be important that you make sure the layers for this project are “Smart Objects”.

Step 4.:

Drag the “stockvault-boy” image from the source folder onto the canvas and re-size to fit. Place it in the “Portraits” folder. Next, drag the “stockvault-Man-01″ image onto the canvas and set the opacity to 50%. Rotate and move the image so that the man’s right eye is placed and aligned directly with the boy’s right eye underneath. Once you have done this, set the layer’s opacity back to 100%. Now create a layer mask for that layer. Using a large brush, around 400px, 100% opacity and 0% hardness, mask out the left side of the face, from the eye down to the mouth, and around to the other cheek. Don’t worry about detail just yet, we will go back and fine-tune the masking later on. You should now have a composition that looks similar to this:

Step 5. :

Keeping that same brush, add a layer mask to the “stockvault-boy” layer and mask out the nose and upper lip. I also masked out a little more of the facial hair on the man’s face. Our progress should look like this:

Step 6. :

Now we are going to add the last portrait image, which will serve as the mouth for our portrait. Drag the “stockvault-Man-02″ image from the source folder onto your canvas and place the layer under the “man-01″ portrait. Just like before, set the layer’s opacity to 50% and rotate/scale so the mouth area looks like it fits well on the face. Once you have it placed, bring the opacity back to 100%, create a layer mask, and mask out everything except the mouth area. Your progress should look similar to this:

Step 7.:

I think it is time to start adding some texture to this, so take the “Vintage Paper” texture from the source folder, drag it onto the canvas, re-size to fit, and set the Blending Mode to “Multiply”. Make sure that this layer is in the “Textures” folder. While we are working with this layer, go ahead and add a Layer Mask. Using a small, soft brush, mask out the eyeball areas. We are doing this so the eyes can maintain a crisp and vibrant look, helping them stand out in the composition.

Step 8:

The image is looking pretty dark right now, so let’s go ahead and add our first Adjustment Layer. In the “Adjustments” folder, create a new “Levels” adjustment layer. In the input boxes under the Levels Histogram, set the far right value to “235″, and the middle box value to “1.2″.

Step 9:

It is time to add some excitement to our portrait. Drag the “Book-Mesh” texture from the source folder onto your canvas, placing the layer above the “Vintage-Paper” in the “Textures” folder. Set the Blending Mode to “Multiply” and Opacity to 80%. Rotate and scale the image so that the mesh part of the texture fits the cheek. A good reference tip is to rotate the texture so that the edge runs parallel to the nose. Then mask out everything except the mesh on the cheek, using a soft brush again. Make sure to mask out over the eyes and mouth area. As with all of our layer masks, you will be able to back and fine-tune everything towards the end. Your progress should look something like this:

Step 10:

Now it’s time to add our last texture layer. Drag the “Crumbled-Leaves” texture from the source folder onto the canvas and place it between the two existing texture layers. Scale it so it fills the entire canvas, and set the blending mode to “Multiply”. Create a layer mask and using a large, soft brush, mask out everything except the right cheek and nose area. This is a step where you have tons of freedom. It is up to you where you want to have these leaves come through. Because this layer’s opacity is staying at 100%, I have constantly adjusted my brush’s opacity for masking in and out different areas. The main objective here is to give the skin a very flaky and brittle aesthetic. Here is what mine looks like so far:

Step 11:

You may have been wondering how we were going to fix the problem of the mouth being black and white in a color composition. We are going to address that now. Create a new “Hue/Saturation” Adjustment Layer right above the layer. We are going to clip this adjustment layer so it only affects the layer directly below it. To do that, we are going to look in the “Adjustments” panel, and click the third icon from the left the bottom tool bar. Done. Now we are going to set the adjustment attributes. First, check the “Colorize” check-box. Then set the Hue value to 35, the Saturation value to 45, and the Lightness value to -20. I know, it now looks bright orange and un-attractive, but don’t worry, that will be offset by the rest of our adjustment layers.

Step 12:

We are getting close to finished. Let’s make the rest of our adjustment layers. First, create a new “Curves” adjustment layer in the Adjustments folder, and place it below our Levels layer. This adjustment will be up to your judgment, but the basic idea here is to push and darken the blacks, and brighten the rest of the colors. Your image will look over-saturated and blown out after this adjustment. My histogram looks like this:

Below the Curves layer, add a Hue/Saturation layer. Bring the Saturation level to -20, then mask out the area over the eyes, so the eyes can maintain their color. Our last adjustment layer will be a Black & White layer. Create that and place it below the Hue/Saturation layer we just made. Set the opacity to 75%, and mask out mostly everything except the out of focus area on the left of our composition. What I chose to do for this was use the Gradient tool to make the layer mask and then go in with my brush for fine tuning. To use to Gradient tool to start, select the tool and make sure your Foreground Color is set as Black and Background Color as White. Now hold your Shift key and drag from the right side of the canvas all the way to the left side. Now with a solid foundation, you can go in with your soft, low-opacity brush and tweak it as needed.
Now here is our progress:

Step 13:

We are almost done, just a few small things left. The last layer we are going to make is a layer for some white paint over the left eye. Create a blank layer above every other layer and name it “Left-Eye White Paint”, then set the blending mode to “Overlay”. Then simply take a soft brush, around 300px and 30% Opacity, and brush some white paint over the left eye to help brighten that area. This is another step where you have lots of freedom and can use your taste and judgment.

All that is left to do now is to go in and fine-tune image positions and tweak all of your layer masks, particularly the portraits and textures, to make the image blend together as cohesively as possible. Here is my final result, of course it isn’t perfect or anatomically correct sometimes, but these are some quick and dirty ways to have lots of fun creating digital art:

Creating Bokeh using a DSLR

Have a camera? Awesome. Photographing bokeh textures is super easy, all you need is a suitable light source. Here I’ve used a small set of christmas lights, but other things will work too: city skylings at night, streetlights, stars, just have some playing around with it.

I’ll be using an older model Canon Rebel with a stock lens to shoot these. First, I set up the lights in front of a black curtain. It helps if you can isolate the light source as much as possible.

For this image, I used the following settings: zoomed into 55mm, shutter: 1/100 sec, F5.6, manual focus set to blur the image.

By simply reducing the aperture to F9 to you can control the size of the individual bokeh:

And that’s it! Pretty simple, eh? Creating textures with a digital camera is super easy, but you can take it further by experimenting with using different settings in-camera, various light sources, and playing around with the images in photoshop. There are tons of possibilities.

Creating Bokeh in Photoshop:

Don’t have a camera? That’s okay too, it’s possible to replicate the bokeh effect completely in Photoshop, and it’s nearly as easy.

Step one – Create a new document

I’ve created a new document sized 1200px x 800px and set the background color to #000.

Step two – Download the Brushes

We’ll be using this bokeh brush set from DeviantArt. Once downloaded simply import the file into PS.

Step three – Adjust brush settings

Open up the Brushes panel and use the following settings. They’ll help give the image a more natural feel by scattering the size and opacity of the individual bokeh.

Step four – Brush the bokeh

Set the brush tool to 150px and the color to and pick a nice deep blue color. Simple run the brush over the document once or twice to create a set of colored bokeh.

Step five – Add blur

After making the first layer of bokeh, add a little blue using the following settings.

Step six – Brush and blur more layers

Continue adding and blurring new layers of individual bokeh until you get the effect you’re trying to achieve.

Step seven – Final adjustments

Add a gradient: Flatten the image and open up the Layer Styles panel. Add a subtle gradient overlay to the layer using the following settings. This will give the final texture a little more focus and natural feel.

Adjust the levels: use the settings below to help bring out the details.

Add grain: use the Add Grain filter to help replicate the photographic effect.

Unsharp Mask: the last step I’ve taken is to sharpen the entire image significantly. I think it helps brighten up the brighten up the image and bring everything together as a whole.

Step Eight – Finished

That’s it! What do you think of the final image?

Showcase of bokeh images

Here’s just a small selection of the bokeh images that people have made, there are tons of possibilities and these serve as good inspiration. All images belong to the original photographers.

Bokeh by M88G

Pink by proud-oh-faith

bokeh by plastimodelismo_akira

Abstract LED Lights & Bokeh by dsambells

nuit bokeh by fotoarianna

Christmas Bokeh by firepretty

Preview:

We’ll be creating three separate kinds of text styles:

• Creating Letterpress Text
• Overlaying Patterns on Text
• Creating Retro Type using the Stroke Tool

1.) How to create letterpress text.

Letterpress style text has been a staple of web design for a number of years now, and for good reason… it’s slick, stylish, and easy to create.

Step 1

Create a new document sized 485px x 350px and fill it with the color #205175. Add some noise to the background using Filter > Noise > Add Noise using the settings below.

Step 2

Add a white radial gradient to the background before adding your text. Here I’ve use the font Bitstream Serif and the color is #554639.

Step 3

Now it’s time to start styling the text. Open up the Layer Styles window by double clicking on your text layer. Firstly we’ll add a black to white gradient with an opacity of 47% and a the blend mode set to Soft Light.

Step 4

Next we’ll start on the letterpress look by adding an inner shadow. Set the distance to 2px and the size to 4px.

Step 5

To finish off the text we’ll add a light drop shadow that helps complete the letterpress feeling by adding a highlight. Here I’ve used the color #95bcd6, set the distance to 1 pixel, and used an opacity of 78%. And that’s it! See how easy it is to make good looking text?

2.) Overlaying patterns on text.

Overlaying patterns and textures on top of your text can help give some extra visual style to your work and helps to draw the reader in.

Step 1

I’ve created a new document and imported one of these paper textures to use as a background. The font used here is called ChunkFive set to 18pt.

Step 2

Open up the Layer Styles window and select Pattern Overlay. With this tool you can overlay and seamless patterns or textures on top of your text. Here I’ve chosen a seamless wood texture.

Step 3

Next we’ll add a small gradient overlay to the text to help give it a bit more of a three dimensional look. Set the blend mode to overlay and the opacity to 34%.

Step 4

Next we’ll add a drop shadow with a distance of 2px and a size of 2px, with an opacity of 53%.

Step 5

Adding a 1px white inner shadow helps give the text a small highlist and really makes it pop.

Step 6

Lastly we’ll use the Bevel and Emboss tool. I know a lot of designers look down on this particular tool, but I think if it’s used subtly enough it looks pretty good… just don’t overdo it. I’ve set the depth to 1%, the size to 3px, and the shading angle to 90*.

And that completes the wood text! See how easy it is? Hopefully you’re getting the hang of it now.

3.) Creating retro type using the stroke tool.

For the last part of this tut we’ll combine a number of different layer style tools to create text that has a nice retro feel to it.

Step 1

I’ve create a new document, added a simple striped pattern and gradient to the background. The font used here is ABTS Milk and is available through Jay’s FontDeals. The color is #9feef5.

Step 2

Next open up the Layer Styles window and we’ll start off by adding a gradient stroke to the text. Set the size of the stroke to 5px and use a gradient similar to below.

Here is a preview of the gradient that I’ve used:

Step 3

Next we’ll add a subtle gradient to the text. I’ve set the opacity to 70% with a blending mode of screen.

Step 4

Next we’ll use the Inner Glow tool to add a little more detail. I’ve set the color to #eef3ff, the size to 2px, and an opacity of 79%.

Step 5

Use the Bevel and Emboss tool too add a little more depth to the text. I’ve set the size to 2px, depth to 1%, and shading angle to 160*.

Step 6

Lastly we’ll add a heavy drop shadow to help the entire thing “pop” from the background a little bit. Set the distance to 9px, size to 16px, and opacity to 21%.

And that’s it! Now you have a nice looking, basic retro logo that can be made in less than 5 minutes.

Conclusion

This tutorial was intended to touch on just the basics of what you can do with Layer Styles. If you enjoyed it and felt like you learned something new please let me know. I’d love to make some more in depth tutorials about modifying text in Photoshop in the near future.

Resources Used:

• Paper texture from Lost & Taken
• Pixel pattern from Premium Pixels
• Seamless wood texture from Graphic River

Preview of what we’re making:

Step 1

Create a new 500px by 500px Photoshop document with a background will color of #fefeea

Step 2

Using the Rounded Rectangle Tool with a radius of 10px, create the base of the button. The color I’ve used is #c9e886.

Step 3

Double click on the layer in the layers window to bring up the Layer Style pane. First check the Drop Shadow button, set the angle to 90 degrees, the color to #c3c49b, the distance to 2px and the size to 4px.

Step 4

Then we’ll add an inner shadow. Set the color to white, blend mode to normal and distance to 1px.

Step 5

Next we’ll add a subtle gradient to help give the button a hint of depth. I used a grey to white gradient with an opacity of 25%, and set the blend mode to soft light.

Step 6

Now it’s time do add a little bit of texture to the button. Download this set of pixel patterns from Premium Pixels and import them into PS. Once that’s done, go back to the Layer Style pane and select one of the diagonal patterns, set the blend mode to overlay and the opacity to 13%

Step 7

Lastly in the Layer Style window add a 1px stroke with a color of #a9bf79.

Step 8

To finish of the base of the button we’ll add a little bit more texture to it. Open one of these seamless paper textures from Lost & Taken in PS and resize it to 500px. Paste it into your document, create a layer mask for the button and delete the rest of the texture so you’re left with this:

Step 9

Desaturate the texture and in the layer window set the layer to Multiply with an opacity of 57%. You may have to adjust the Levels of the texture depending on which one you use.

Step 10

Next add your text for the button, here I’ve used the font Chalet with a color of #7d7915.

Step 11

Open the Layer Style pane and add a white drop shadow with a distance of 1px and an opacity of 85%. This helps give the text just a hint of depth.

Step 12

Next we’ll make the holes for the hooks. Using the Elipse tool draw a small circle the same color as the background.

Step 13

Add a drop shadow with the color of #d5f590, set the opacity to 53% and the distance to 2px.

Step 14

Add a black inner shadow with a distance of 1px and a size of 1px. Set the opacity to 47%.

Step 15

Add a 1px, white stroke with an opacity of 27%.

Step 16

That wraps up the first hole, duplicate the layer and position it on the opposite side of the button. Right now you have a perfectly good button in it’s own right, but I wanted to take it just a little further.

Step 17

Using the Rectangle Tool create a stripe above the button.

Step 18

Download this premium set of seamless wood textures (there are also free ones out there if you look), and open the .PAT file into Photoshop. In the Layer Styles overlay the pattern on top of the shape.

Step 19

Next we’ll add a grey drop shadow with an opacity of 34%, a distance of 2px, and a size of 4px.

Step 20

Also add a white, 1px inner shadow with an opacity of 41%.

Step 21

Next we’ll add a gradient to once again help with depth. Create a gradient similar to below in the gradient editor.

Step 22

Set it to soft light with an opacity of 67%.

Step 23

Lastly we’ll add a 1px, #926334 stroke with an opacity of 68% and that wraps up our wood bar.

Step 24

Now it’s time to create the hooks that the button hangs on. Using the Elipse tool create a small circle colored #979797 on top of the wood bar.

Step 25

Add a grey drop shadow with a distance of 1px, size of 1px, and opacity of 73%.

Step 26

Next add a white inner shadow with an opacity of 26%. (on step 26 nonetheless).

Step 27

And lastly add a grey to white gradient overlay. Set the blend mode to soft light and the opacity to 35%.

Step 28

Duplicate the shape and position it on the other side.

Step 29

For the next part of the hook, use the rounded rectangle tool with a diameter of 5px to create a long pill form shape.

Step 30

Next, under the layer styles pane, open the gradient editor and create a gradient similar to below.

Step 31

Set the style to radial, check the reverse box, and set the scale to 150%.

Step 32

Next we’ll add a black drop shadow with a distance and size of 2px and an opacity of 32% (on step 32 for what it’s worth, I swear I don’t plan this stuff).

Step 33

Lastly add a white inner shadow with a distance of 1px and size of 3px.

Step 34

Duplicate the shape and position it above the other hole in the button.

Step 35

The last detail we’ll add is a tiny pin that helps complete the hook assembly. Using the elipse tool draw a small circle with a color of #c3c3c3 in the center of the larger grey circle.

Step 36

Next add a #99b467, 1px stroke.

Step 37

Add a grey to white gradient set to soft light with an opacity of 25%.

Step 38

Then add a white inner shadow with a distance of 1px.

Step 39

Lastly add a drop shadow with a color of #b5b889, set the distance to 2px and the size to 4px. Then duplicate the shape and position it on the opposite side.

Complete!

And that wraps up this tutorial, I hope you guys were able to learn little something new. Thanks for reading!

Step 1: Starting Image

A good example would be a paper texture, so let’s start with something like the image below.

Step 2: Secondary Image

My favorite genre of images for this technique would be nebulas. I like to use nebulas because they are very diverse, unique, and colorful. So pick out a nebula image from around the web and lets get started. This won’t take long at all.

Step 3: Invert the secondary image.

Open your starting image in Photoshop an put the secondary image on the layer above it. Then invert the secondary image by hitting Command/Control + I. You should now have something like this:

Step 4: Layer Mode

In the Layers panel, change the layer mode of your secondary (inverted) image to “Linear Burn.” Note: this doesn’t have to be the layer mode you use, sometimes I go with screen, overlay, or soft light for the most part.

Now you should have something like this:

Step 5: Opacity

I would say about 99% of the time, I like to adjust the opacity of the secondary image layer to let a little more of the starting (background) texture shine through.

Result:

And there you have it, a much more interesting texture from 2 simple images, in less than a minute, without using brushes at all. This is one of my favorite, yet simple ways to add a little something extra to mundane textures. I hope you enjoyed the tutorials, and don’t forget to play around with the layer modes. It really depends on the secondary image.

GuideGuide can even find the center of a selection! You can set the number of columns, and gutter width as well. This is one USEFUL plugin, and I wanted to share it with everyone. Thanks to my friend Mike for the tip. :)

Photoshop: How to Make a Subtle Worn Texture from Jay Hilgert on Vimeo.

Link to the “Simply Worn Free Textures »

Photoshop 101: Replace Color from Jay Hilgert on Vimeo.

Tip 1:

Ok, take a look at the screenshot above. Unlike OS X itself, Photoshop will allow you to drag a window up past and underneath the toolbar. Once you let go, the widow is stuck there. The quick fix? Hit the “Tab” key to hide all of your palettes, and then you can grab the window and move it back down. (Below)

Tip 2:

A quick way to get information about your document is in the bottom left of the window. (screenshot below) Click and hold and it will display dimensions, color mode, and resolution without ever having to open a menu.

Start with a cool texture image.

The Setup

If you want to make a large brush, the maximum size is 2500 pixels (height or width, either one) Also, if you are running CS1 or earlier, your max size is probably 1000px. So with that said, you can create your file. Then place your image and get it positioned.

The Secret of Brush Making:

Our next step is to convert our image to black and white. Why? Because when making a brush, Photoshop treats pure white as 100% transparent, and pure black as 100% opaque. This is great because it means we don’t have to do any clipping and the images we use to make brushes can be very complex and still turn out decent.

Convert to Black & White

There are multiple ways to convert to black and white but I like to either add an adjustment layer or simply go to Image > Adjustments > Black and White.

Make your adjustments until you’re happy with your image. (doesn’t have to be perfect)

Additional Adjustments

Next, you have a lot of adjustment options, but I find the tweaking the “Levels” usually gets the job done. (Image > Adjustments > Levels) or CMND/CTRL + L.

Final Step:

Once your happy with your image simply go to the Edit menu and select “Define Brush Preset.”

Name the brush if you want and then click “Ok.”

Done!

Now you have a brand new texture brush in your brushes palette. And you can do things like go from this:

To this in a single click:

It’s not a complicated process, but I’ve found texture brushes to be the most useful in my toolset. Hopefully you can too. Oh, and don’t forget to save your brushes from the brush palette menu or you’ll lose all your hard work!

When trying to edit an indexed color image in Photoshop, certain adjustments are disabled, as you can see below.

The quickest way to tell what you’re dealing with is to glance at the Layers palette. You’ll see right away if it’s an indexed color image.

All you need to do in order to edit your image is simply change the color mode to RGB, and all of the annoying disabled features return.

You can choose a photo or take a photo to start editing.

The app has some simple, but nice features including color effects, crop, rotate, image effects, sketch and more. When your done, you can save or upload directly to your free Photoshop.com account for easy retrieval from any internet connected computer. Furthermore, users can connect to their Photoshop.com account and have access to their entire Photoshop.com library directly from the iPhone.

1. First, you need some kind of “Syncing” service.

I use MobileMe, but there are plenty of options out there for PC users to sync fies between computers. Once you have that, upload your ~Applications/Adobe Photoshop CSX/Presets folder to your file syning service.

2. Create an Alias to Your Presets

I believe, for PC users, the correct term is “Shortcut,” so simply create an Alias or Shortcut to your newly uploaded “Presets” folder.

3. Replace your “Presets” folder/s with the Alias

On both of your machines, either move or delete the existing ~Applications/Adobe Photoshop CSX/Presets folders and replace them with the alias, or shortcut you created.

4. Done!

Now, all you have to do is wait for everything to sync, and your all set. Now that you’ve set this up, if you make changes to your Presets (add or delete Brushes, create new actions, etc.) the changes will be identical on both your machines. No more leaving a Photoshop brush set on a home computer and no more downloading everything twice :) (just to give a couple examples)

1) Amy asks:

How do you save a pattern in Illy, so that you can use again and again in different Illy files? I know how to save a pattern for use in the file I created it in, but I’m looking to be able to pull up a palette of my created patterns in files other than the one the original pattern was created in.

Answer:

In your swatches palette, go to “Save Swatch Library as AI…”

Name your new library, and make sure to save it in your Illustrator CSX > Presets > Swatches folder.

Now, no matter what document you have open, you can load your custom (in this case pattern) swatches by going to Open Swatch Library, and choosing your file from the list.

2) dbslone asks:

How to create a dotted line along a path in either Illy or PS?

Answer:

I already have a tutorial on how to do this is Photoshop, so I’ll show you an easy way to do it in Illustrator.

There is more than one way to do this, but I like to use a pattern brush. First, draw a circle on the artboard, and from the Brushes palette, select “New Brush.”

Select “New Pattern Brush” and hit OK.

You can always come back and change these settings later by double clicking on the brush from the Brushes palette, but for now the only 2 settings you need to worry about are spacing and colorization method. Set the spacing to 50% and the colorization method to “Tints.” (Tins is so you can change the color of the brush later if you need to.) Then click OK.

Now you can apply your new pattern brush to any path and get a nice dotted line. (You may need to adjust your stroke size, depending on how big of a dot you drew) Then you can go back in and adjust the spacing as needed.

3) Kaje asks:

I read your tip about pixelated brushes, but was wondering if there was a quick fix for pixelated fonts? Sometimes I will type in some text and the font, no matter what it is looks pixelated, so I have to go to the drop down and select “reset character”. Am I doing something wrong? It is quite annoying to have to reset each time this happens.

Answer:

I’m not 100% sure if this is your exact problem, but I’m quessing that your antialiasing setting is set to “None.”

To fix this, simply change your antialiasing setting in the Character palette to “Sharp” or “Crisp.” Then save your workspace by going to Window > Workspaces > Save Workspace. This way Photoshop will remember that you changed the setting and you won’t have to change it manually every time.

Your type should now be nice and sharp.

4) malarts asks:

I’ve had a unique Illustrator problem lately…every now and then the “Send To Back” command stops working, under the Object >Arrange menu… Any idea as to why?

Answer:

Actually I have 2 ideas. Maybe one of them can help…

A) The “Send to Back” command only sends an object to the back of whatever layer it’s on. So if you send an object to the back and it’s not on the bottom layer, you’re still gonna have stuff underneath it.

B) An object that’s inside a “Group” only goes to the back of the group.

1) iheartrendering asks:

What is the “make it awesome” keyboard shortcut? I found it once, and it rocked my world. But now it seems to hide from me.

Answer:

Hmmm… not sure about that one one, but have you tried “Make My Logo Bigger Cream?” If you hurry, they’ll throw in some “Whitespace Eliminator” for free.

Rasterize Shape Layer + Layer Effects in Photoshop from Jay Hilgert on Vimeo.

You probably think you’re crazy because you hit “B,” the keyboard shortcut for the Brush tool, and all your brushes still look like crap. This is probably because your not actually selecting the brush tool. The keyboard shortcut for the Pencil tool is also, you guessed it, “B.” When the pencil tool is selected, all the brushes will appear pixelated. Take a look at your tools and make sure you actually have the Brush tool selected. Hold down on the Pencil tool to select the Brush tool.

That’s it! You were just a victim of your own productivity (Evil Twin Keyboard Shortcuts). You can always change the keyboard shortcut for the Pencil tool to prevent future attacks :)

1) SuperLame Asks:

Any good plugins for AI to make choosing fonts more visual, like flash?

Answer:

As far as plugins go, I haven’t been able to find one that does what you want, however, there is one Illustartor quirk to ba aware of. If you choose your fonts from the top toolbar you’ll get a plain list of fonts. But if you choose fonts from the Character palette itself, you get a small visual preview, similar to the way Flash works. And if you have an extra $100, this software might be what you need.

VS.

2) deluzione asks:

How do I convert and illy doc from 72dpi to 300?

Answer:

Good question. This is one of those settings that you would think you should be able to find under “Document Setup,” since it’s a setting you choose every time you create a “new” document. However, our friends at Adobe thought it should be in a different place. You’ll find the “Document Raster Effects Settings” under the “Effects” menu.

Just change your setting to 300dpi, and click OK.

3) GrandmasterB asks:

I’ve tried to use Object > Expand… to make a uniform space around text after creating outline, but it doesn’t seem to work…why?

Answer:

Your on the right track, but that’s not what “Expand” was meant for. The command your looking for is “Offset Path.” We can achieve the results you want in 3 easy steps:

1. Type > Create Outlines.

2. Go to Object > Path > Offset Path.

3. Check the preview box and enter a value for the amount you want to offset. (use a negative number to offset inside instead of outside).

4) katzw asks:

What is the correct way to save custom brushes so that others can download and use them? EPS files don’t seem to work. Thanks :)

Answer:

I assume you mean Illustrator brushes, so I’ll try and answer this as best I can. When you save Illustrator brushes, illustrator outputs an .AI file. It’s not a normal AI file, but a “Brush Library.” All you have to do is place that AI file into …Illustrator CSX > Presets > Brushes, and you’ll be able to load the brushes via the Brushes Palette.

Hope that helps, guys:) Remember, you can send me questions via twitter whenever you want. The more questions, the better!

1. Start with some ink.

Start out by scanning a messy ink splotch (or find one around the web) and open it in Photoshop.

2. Levels

Hit Command/Control + L, or go to Image > Adjustments > Levels, and move the right slider to the left until the whites are pure white. You can tell by looking at the info palette (F8) as you hover over the white areas. While you have the Levels palette open, when you move the mouse around it turns into the eyedropper tool and reads out the values in the info palette. Anyway, get the whites all the way to white and hit ok.

2. Heraldry

Find some heraldry or scan some in from a book, and do the same thing as above. Make sure the whites are pure white by using the Levels palette. If you don’t have a book to scan, you can also use a vector. Just open it in Photoshop and put it on a layer above the ink.

Select your heraldry and copy/paste or drag it to your document.

Put it on a layer above the ink.

Now, change the “Layer Mode” of your heraldry to Multiply. This makes all of the pure white pixels invisible, eliminating the need to clip anything out.

3. New Fill Layer

Add a new layer underneath your two current layers.

Fill it with white by going to Edit > Fill or Shift + F5. You can also hit Shift + Delete.

4. Layer Masks

Select your ink layer, and add a layer mask by clicking on the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the layers palette.

Do the same for the heraldry layer.

5. Start Masking

Ok, now what we are going to do is use the brush tool, and some grungy texture brushes to ‘mask’ parts of both the ink layer and the heraldry layer to make them look like they were blended together a little nore naturally.

You can download and install my grungy texture brushes, or use your own. Now select the brush tool and a grungy brush you wish to use.

Start with the ink layer. Select the “Layer Mask,” not the layer itself and make sure your foreground color is set to black. Go back and forth between the 2 layer masks and keep stamping out parts of the images with your grungy brush/s until you are happy with the results.

As you stamp out parts of both layers with the grungy brushes, you’ll notice the 2 images becoming a little more happily blended together in a nice grungy fashion :)

And Keep going until you’re happy with what you see. That’s it. That is the process I used to create my “Destroyed Heraldry” brushes. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial :)

Creating New Documents Faster from Jay Hilgert on Vimeo.