Photoshop – 5 Recommended Brushes
Brushes are a key method of applying effects to an object in Adobe Photoshop. They may be used to add colour, remove colour, replace elements of an image with other areas or simply painting onto sections of an image. Brushes are an import ingredient in your Photoshop life. To master this section the user must first learn the basic brush tool, the others will then become easier to learn as they all adopt the same principle.
1- Brush tool
The basic brush is one of the simplest to use but still the most important. Once the user has mastered this brush the remaining becomes much easier to learn. The user can paint onto an object controlling the opacity, flow and mode of the brush depending on the effect which is required. Photoshop prevents the user from painting onto a type layer. In-order to paint onto a text layer the layer must first be rasterized.
The original brush tool can also be used for masking information. Painting with a black brush will hide image information, painting with a white brush will reveal image information. The process is preferable to the eraser tool. Editing is non destructive, allowing information to be re-edited or deleted if not required.
2- Clone Tool
Used to replace elements of an image with other section from the original image or another. The user will define a source point by using the Alt key. They will paint over the desired area to remove unwanted elements. For best practice clone onto a new blank layer. Ensure sample all layers has been selected in the options bar. To avoid a patchy effect apply the effect in a dabbing motion.
3- Eraser Tool
The most destructive brush tool. Used to permanently remove information from the image. The information can also be gradually removed by reducing the opacity of the brush in the brush options palette.
4- History Brush Tool
Used to paint pre-defined history states onto an image. For example apply levels to an image, record the effect using the ‘create snap shot’ tool. Repeat the process for all other applied colour effects such as hue saturation or levels. To apply the effect select the source for the history brush and paint the effect onto the image were required.
5 – Colour Effect Brush Tools
Includes blur and sharpen tools. The effect is applied using the same principle as the basic brush. Blur tool is used to blur pixel edges ideal for areas of high aliasing. The sharpen tool will sharpen pixel edges.
Used to create basic to complex effects. While using the brush tool the user tends to alter less frequently the hardness of the brush edge. What we do tend to alter is the brush diameter. This can be quickly edited by using the left bracket key to reduce, and the right bracket key to increase size. This principle can be applied regardless of the brush tool being used.
Photoshop – The Best Photo Editing Software
Adobe Photoshop might actually be one of the best photo-editing software out there. It virtually covers all necessary features any digital artist would need to make great images. It also helps photographers improve the quality of their work taken by their cameras, so that they could either post them online or print out enhanced copies of your photographs, may they be wedding photography or children photography.
There is generally no hard and fast rule in learning how to use Photoshop, especially if you are one who is not accustomed to such kind of software. Although it is the best photo-editing software available, learning how to use this particular software is not only very dynamic but can be fun as well.
Explore. The #1 rule in trying to learn Adobe Photoshop is to engage freely in hands-on experience with the software. No amount of instructional books you read can ever amount to a few hours of playing with the software even if you don’t exactly know how. Try to play with any random image just to be familiar with what each of the basic features do and to what extent are such features capable of. The main reason why this is the #1 rule is that it is fun to do, especially if you’ve got lots of pictures at hand. Just don’t go around saving your work over the original images, you might not want to end up wrecking your image archives.
Search and learn. When you learn a bit about the basics, there are certain things that Photoshop is capable of that you might not know about yet, and the only way to discover what these things are is to find them on the internet or hear them from Photoshop experts. One of these would be “cloning” or “image layering”. These are things that can be done through Photoshop but usually require more than basic steps or usually require the combination of various basic features of the software. The best way to know how these things are done is to read about them or find them on the internet. There are lots of YouTube entries that demonstrate how some techniques are done in Photoshop, and they are all free for your consumption. You don’t have to pay for expert classes anymore because more often than not it’s the people who have more experience that matters.
Also, never forget that in order for you to be able to easily use Photoshop, you have to at least know the basic computer functions. Even the best photo-editing software cannot teach you how to use your computer better. Since Adobe software is Microsoft compatible, knowledge of the basic commands such as cut and paste or determining file sizes will definitely be applicable to your photo-editing activities.
Soon enough you will be producing much better output in your home photography business. Enjoy!