28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls

February 25, 2007 | Posted in Illustrator |

This is a brush set meant for making your own custom swoosh, swirl and curl designs. I have a tutorial on exactly how that process works that you can read here. This isn’t the only way to make swooshes, but it should help you get started, to say the least. I’m continually fascinated as to how confusing vector swoosh creation can be to most people. Along with this brush library, and a quick tutorial read, you should be well on your way to start making your own swooshes in 100% vector format, relatively easily.

The reason I created this brush set is so that (hopefully) it will make it easier for you to try and understand swoosh making and get inspired to set up your own unique brushes to produce some beautiful swooshes and curls on your own. Practice makes perfect in most cases, but these should help you along your way.

28 Free Illustrator Swoosh Brushes

The possibilities are endless, but here are a few examples of these brushes when applied to a simple spiral path:

28 Free Illustrator Swoosh Brushes

Update: Brush Set saved with Tint Colorization Method to solve issues with changing the color of your strokes and fills.

Includes: - AI Brush Library (1)

Update: Vector source file for earlier Illustrator versions, and SVG Format for Inkscape users.

Includes: - AI (1) SVG (1)

Installation:

1. Unzip the file.

2. Copy the file into your Adobe Illustrator/Presets/Brushes folder:

3. Restart Illustrator if you already had it open.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 25th, 2007 at 8:04 pm and is filed under Illustrator. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

113 Responses to “28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls”

Chance Feb 25, 07 at 9:07 pm

Very cool- I can’t wait to play with them. Thanks again!
Nick Feb 25, 07 at 9:12 pm

very generous, man! thanks!
TheViejo Feb 25, 07 at 11:45 pm

Very, Very cool. Many thanks!
xtase Feb 26, 07 at 3:35 am

Thank you very much

I’m going to enjoy this!
hytrek Feb 26, 07 at 3:49 am

I LOVE YOU … THANKS FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS
Aaron Feb 26, 07 at 4:11 am

Thanks man. lots of great freebies on this site, and this is one im certainly gonna download.

Cheers!
Jen Feb 26, 07 at 6:44 am

Your site is fantastic! Thanks for all the tips, and these great brushes.
Tim Feb 26, 07 at 8:17 am

Thanks a lot!
gautch Feb 26, 07 at 10:14 am

Whoaa.. This is a gold mine!
Is this a hint tward you working on a Paisly pattern?
Great work on these! Thanks again!
-Gautch
Lawton Chiles Graphic Design Minute: Design Training, Links and Resources You Need » BittBox Has Done It Again- For Photoshop CS3 and CS2 and Illustrator CS2- 28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls Feb 26, 07 at 11:08 am

[...] 28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls | BittBox Sharing Is Good. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
testMonkey Feb 26, 07 at 11:45 am

I worry - you do have a job, right?
AuntieMame Feb 26, 07 at 1:09 pm

the tutorial was great and the brushes look wonderful! only problem is that I use AI 10 and can’t open the brushes. :-(
lawton chiles Feb 26, 07 at 2:05 pm

Sorry Bittbox. I didn’t know that posting about your work and including a picture from your site would interfere with your bandwith. I will not do it again.

Sorry again.

I didn’t mean to mess with your site.

Lawton
nate Feb 26, 07 at 2:10 pm

oh very cool! Thanks man. I was struggling on how to futher add onto the original tutorial you had about the swirls. I was unsure of other paths i could take with this tip. seeing you provided here will definately get my gears rolling. thanks!!!
lawton chiles Feb 26, 07 at 2:24 pm

I have taken off the photos of your work. Please, again accept my apologies.

Thanks again for your fantastic work and tutorials. I was just trying to show my audience these.

Thanks

Lawton
Nabeel Feb 26, 07 at 5:13 pm

oh comonnnnnnnnn .. why did it have to go offline when I wanted to download?
put it back up man .. comonnn

Can anyone of the people who have already downloaded it put it up? Would that be ok?
Nabeel Hater Feb 26, 07 at 6:01 pm

Nabeel, you are dumb cocksucker.
Blogoculars Feb 26, 07 at 6:52 pm

Good stuff! Do you make all these resources yourself?

Andy
bittBox Feb 26, 07 at 6:58 pm

@Blogoculars

Yes, I make everything from scratch. And I’ve only begun.
This blog is only 2 months old!
More to come on a regular basis.

Cheers,

~BittBox
PressD 2.1 » 28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls Feb 26, 07 at 7:24 pm

[...] read more | digg story [...]
Chad Feb 26, 07 at 11:05 pm

Sweet - thanks for the hook-up!

Gonna put these to use in some myspace layout designs….

Woo.
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Rez Feb 27, 07 at 7:39 am

Maybe I’m just dumb. I love these, I’ve created some great things but I can’t seem to get the stroke to be any other color than black. Expanding the shape doesn’t give me the desired results either.
Melisa Y Feb 27, 07 at 1:15 pm

wicked
thank you for sharing

cheers
xocea » Web Design News: February 2007 Feb 27, 07 at 4:28 pm

[...] 28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls [...]
Travis Feb 27, 07 at 5:14 pm

Thanks very much for the brushes, they look wonderful!
Nick Feb 27, 07 at 7:33 pm

@Rez

The easiest way that I know of to change the color of shapes created with brush strokes is to make the shape, apply the brush, then object > expand appearance. Select only the outline that is created (not the original path) and then click a color and it should change.
wednightlinks at Daily.Phirebrush Feb 28, 07 at 12:27 am

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Verktyg f?r webb-design at Teknobabbel Feb 28, 07 at 4:40 am

[...] 28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls [...]
Liz Feb 28, 07 at 8:29 am

While attempting to make my own brush, I think I solved the color problem. After you select New Art Brush and the Art Brush Options window pops up, you must go down to where it says Colorization Method and select Tints.

I had the same problem with not being able to change the color from black and I think this solves it.
Liz Feb 28, 07 at 8:33 am

I meant to add that since these brushes are already created, the only way I could figure out how to change their color (actually my boyfriend told me) was by going to the Brushes palette and clicking the button at the bottom with the picture of a brush and slider that says “Options of Selected Object” when you hover over it and select Colorization Method “Tints.” Unfortunately, you’d have to do this every time you wanted to adjust a brush stroke color, even if you’re making a new stroke with the same brush since they were created without the Tints Colorization Method. Or at least that’s what I understand.
BittBox Feb 28, 07 at 5:29 pm

I’ve updated the file to solve all of your color issues. Re-download and you should have no more problems.

~BittBox
Ed Feb 28, 07 at 6:19 pm

Hi I was wanting to download the Illustrator Brushes but it seems that the link does not work anymore. It would be great if you could fix this as I really like the look of these brushes.

Thanks.
Reza Feb 28, 07 at 9:19 pm

I wonder if you could release the strokes in svg format so we Inkscape users can also use them?
links for 2007-03-01 at Mea Culpa Feb 28, 07 at 9:30 pm

[...] Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls Great brushes if you use illustrator. (tags: brushes) [...]
bernhard Mar 1, 07 at 10:31 am

Ah, crud, no worky in Illustrator 10. Well, seems like I’ll have no make my own.
BittBox Mar 1, 07 at 11:47 am

@Reza

As far as I know, there is no way to save the brush library in SVG format. Check back, one thing I can do is post the source file in SVG format. Give me a little time to get home later and dig it up.

This will also work for anyone who uses Illustrator 10 or older.

~BittBox
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Amiyu Mar 2, 07 at 1:18 am

Thanks man! Great job!
Reza Mar 2, 07 at 10:46 am

Thanks for SVGs. They’re awesome.

I use the Pattern Along Path Effect in Inkscape. I have been using it to make my own swirls. I suppose I could make these “brushes” myself, but yours are so nice and I’m too lazy. :)

Thanks a bunch.
claudya Mar 5, 07 at 6:48 am

Thanks for this set of brushes. They?re so nice!!! Great job.
Internet Brain » 28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls Mar 6, 07 at 9:48 am

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Lonnie Mar 9, 07 at 12:04 pm

Hey there! I was very excited to download these brushes, but it doesn’t work for me. We have CS2, and the brushes don’t show up in illustrator when placed in the brushes folder. Also, when I go to “other libraries” the file doesn’t even show up. Furthermore, when I try to open up the .ai file by itself, it’s completely blank.

Am I doing something wrong? Help? Thank you!
BittBox Mar 9, 07 at 12:34 pm

@Lonnie

Did you restart Illustrator? These brushes were made in CS, and I’m not sure why you would be having trouble using them in CS2. Anyone else having CS2 issues?

Also, the AI file isn’t a regular AI, it’s a brush library, so you won’t be able to “Open” it and edit it from Illustrator itself. (tht’s why the file doesn’t show up, like you said.

~BittBox
Lonnie Mar 9, 07 at 12:38 pm

Yeah, I put it in the brushes folder before illustrator was open, and tried restarting it. And as I said, in the brushes window, I tried opening “other libraries” but the bittbox file wasn’t even showing up.
claudya Mar 12, 07 at 2:54 pm

Hi Bittbox:

I downloaded your brushes to test them in Inkscape, but i don?t kown what folder i have to save them… Would you give some help please… Hugs.
BittBox Mar 12, 07 at 4:03 pm

@Claudya,

I don’t use inkScape, so I honestly can’t tell you. Anyone else?

~BittBox
some guy Mar 15, 07 at 9:03 am

thanks for perpetuating the worst dotcom logo cliche ever.
BittBox Mar 15, 07 at 4:11 pm

I’m sorry, I don’t think I mentioned the word “logo” at all, these are for drawing.
Leialoha Mar 27, 07 at 12:43 pm

Mahalo for sharing this with everyone!
I can’t wait to try it out. :)

- Leialoha
Ian Fernandez Apr 5, 07 at 11:51 am

GREAT COLLECTION, Thanks
?zge alp Apr 6, 07 at 2:11 am

Thanks for your sharing brushes:))
?zge.
vita Apr 7, 07 at 9:52 am

Thank you so much :)
Aias Cienfuegos Apr 7, 07 at 11:47 pm

thank you so much. i love your skills and generosity.
Mikura Apr 12, 07 at 8:22 pm

Thanks a lot.
Naasson Apr 14, 07 at 3:41 am

I was very excited to finally find a site that shows how to make those swirls in Illustrator! I’ve been looking for about a month, and up until then I actually did find files for Photoshop brushes, but unfortunately I only have the Elements version, so I was glad to finally find your site and all for free! I truly appreciate what you’re doing here and look forward to more! This will help me tremendously in customizing my artwork. Thanks again! =)
Kung May 8, 07 at 10:35 am

You are great!!! Great with the work and your heart. Thank you so much!!!
I use CS2, it work properly. Sorry I have no my own website to credit for you, But I do add your web to my favorites Website.
taryn May 8, 07 at 10:36 am

Awesome brushes, they gave me a lot of neat ideas I can’t wait to try. Thanks so much for sharing!
Dave May 17, 07 at 10:28 am

great stuff… thanks for putting us all on the right track…I’d been scratching my head about how to be productive with the grunge / swirl / swoosh / style images for a while (is this definitively called the Grunge style???? Kurt will be turning in his grave!! it’s become VERY mainstream here in Spain in the last couple of months)….I’d tried using a 30 year old set of “french curves” I had from the pre computer era with the tablet…(close!) … trial and error hand drawing (mindbending) …. and now this!!!

I use Freehand on a PC and I managed to import the AI file no problem…. converted the images into brushes one by one, from then on my workrate has gone up 1000%.
I owe you one!! Thanks!!
Sergio Jun 1, 07 at 8:53 am

Good work! Thanks for this information!
The Swirly One Jun 1, 07 at 9:53 am

This is all amazing stuff! Thanks Bittbox, you’re very generous! Your tutorials are amazing as well! I was trying to find a helpful tutorial, and your site was the first one that showed up, and it was perfect! Thanks.

I have one question though, I’ve tried making intricate swirls or flourishes in Illustrator using the pen tool, however I dont always get the perfect curves, even if I adjust the anchor points and their angles afterwards. Maybe I’m going about this the wrong way…any suggestions? Please and thank you!
maddama Jun 3, 07 at 11:20 am

you’re such a doll to post those :] any user restrictions tho? I’d like to use them in my piccies if that’s alright with you
» Brushes for illustrator Jun 11, 07 at 2:47 pm

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BittBox Jun 21, 07 at 3:52 pm

maddama,

Liscence and usage for BittBox Freebies
Apink Jun 26, 07 at 11:34 am

This is awesome, Great work . Thank you so much!!! bittbox
Crazy Talk Jul 7, 07 at 1:19 pm

Thanks very much for sharing your brushes.I will try and make some of my own
and put them up here for all to use.

Once again many thanks.
ryuneo Jul 10, 07 at 10:30 am

Awesome, thanks!
philldo Jul 11, 07 at 10:52 am

Nice brushes. I jsut gotta hook up my Wacom Tablet and we are good to go. Keep up the great post!
Stray Aug 5, 07 at 1:11 am

thank’s, it’s very cool ^^;
paisleyblue Aug 7, 07 at 1:47 pm

thank you so much for all that you are doing on this website. I have been drooling over this type of illustration for months trying to figure out how to do it. This post alone has taught me a valuable lesson about brushes and how useful they are. Thank you again!
kaz Aug 11, 07 at 12:13 pm

awsome! arigatou! thanks a lot!
Ginny-N Aug 19, 07 at 12:10 pm

Thanks, thanks, thanks a lot ^^!

I used them here -> http://ginny-n.deviantart.com/art/Lost-Star-Technologies-Logo-62730614
desri DEDE Aug 27, 07 at 9:09 pm

thank you ,thank you very much,, thank’s for your brush
lexi Sep 3, 07 at 10:53 am

you are great you saved my soul tonight! big THANKS
Maysam Sep 5, 07 at 12:22 pm

THANKS.

Thank YOu very very muck
Juzzt Sep 30, 07 at 12:58 pm

pretty work, the tutorial of how to made swirls solves me a lot of problems, thanks man
Dusan Tomic Oct 5, 07 at 1:58 am

Nice…
Ryszard Oct 15, 07 at 9:06 am

WOW, THANK U; REALLY THANK U, ILLUSTRATOR IS MY FAVORITE TOY…
Natalie Oct 17, 07 at 9:21 am

You have made my life a lot easier. Thank You!!!
zafar ahmed Oct 28, 07 at 2:52 am

that’s a fantastic brushes over here,
AK Nov 20, 07 at 9:03 am

WOW U BRUSHES CREM DE LA CREMP MAN!
Technology Blog Dec 4, 07 at 11:35 pm

nice one…
Osman Dec 16, 07 at 12:58 pm

Thank you very much for this brushes … I just learn to use Illustrator and this is really nice set for me…
best regards from Croatia….
lebahempat Jan 11, 08 at 9:59 am

Great stuff as always…
Ileenabit Jan 11, 08 at 3:37 pm

Just downloaded the file and am going to try them
out immediately. I was looking to get some design
ideas and I think this will help tremendously. Thanks
so much.
kittycat Jan 13, 08 at 11:21 am

thank you for these, new to this program, and this is a wonderful start.
amon Jan 30, 08 at 12:20 am

thank you much. came across your tutorial on the web. you helped me a lot… thanks again
MerLo Feb 3, 08 at 11:01 am

I love the swirl brushes I’m seeing people using…. but I have Microsoft Digital 9, is there anything that works with that?
andres Feb 16, 08 at 1:04 pm

i love u fuck me
rajesh Feb 17, 08 at 11:03 am

very very useful ! you dont see such tut so often. THANKS !
Gwen Mar 3, 08 at 2:03 pm

Thanks for the very nice tut and brushes that you published, i have a learn a lot in very short time now!
28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls | BittBox | ooglewindowblinds.com Mar 25, 08 at 4:48 am

[...] 28 Free Illustrator Brushes for making Swooshes and Swirls | BittBox Bitbox has a nice collection of 28 free Illustrator brushes. From Bucket to Binary, how they scan in a Corvette for a Gran Turismo video game. … [...]
cindylou Mar 26, 08 at 11:30 am

Thanks for the brushes, I really can use them, already have!
Bar-Hen ISRAEL Mar 27, 08 at 12:19 pm

Thank you so much!!!
The brushes are so great saved me tons of work !!!
Robin Apr 10, 08 at 6:23 pm

Hey, thanks. This got me started on a whole new path to making my own brushes and swirls. Once you know the basic shapes that generally will and won’t work, the possibilities are really endless. Making your own is very easy!
Robin Apr 10, 08 at 6:28 pm

Also, once you have made a cool shape with your brushes, try “Flatten Transparency” and apply yet another brush to it. Sometimes you can get some surprising effects, especially when you experiment with stroke size.
bartholomew Apr 25, 08 at 1:16 pm

so i dont have illustrator, i have corel, which normally isnt a problem. i can use abrviewer to change illustrator brushes into pngs, and then turn them into brushes in photo paint, but how can i use these? please help!! thanks!
Finky Dink Apr 28, 08 at 8:52 am

Awesome … very helpful. Thank you so much!
okulöncesi May 7, 08 at 5:13 pm

thanks - good work
okulöncesi
Abhijit V. Chaore May 31, 08 at 4:11 am

Thanks Bitbox. Thank you very much…!!!
The One Jul 16, 08 at 2:50 am

Very Kind of you , Thanks.
Crystal Jul 18, 08 at 8:12 am

Thank you for sharing. This is great!
Gangadeen Jul 28, 08 at 7:02 am

two thumbs up! exellent job!
Arisha Aug 13, 08 at 1:42 pm

nice brushes, thanx =)
Jayesh Sep 5, 08 at 4:04 am

thankings !!!
Used them to make a futuristic fish !!
Funnal Oct 7, 08 at 10:07 am

Thanks a lot, I am excited to put them to use
Ravi Bhardwaj Oct 10, 08 at 7:42 am

Thanks a lot, I am new user illustrator i excited to
THAiDESIGnBLOG » Blog Archive » ?????? 45 Brushes Set ?????? Adobe Illustrator Oct 26, 08 at 2:12 pm

[...] 28 Free Illustrator Brushes for Making Swooshes and Swirls [...]
chris Nov 3, 08 at 8:12 am

i love you all