The Amazing Power of the Brush Tool in Photoshop

From painting beautiful visual effects to making perfect cutouts of a subject, the Brush Tool can do it all. Learn how to create and load custom Photoshop brushes to add realistic rain, snow, and smoke effects to any photo.
You’ll even learn how to paint in natural hair detail when placing a subject into a new background. Best of all, our entire library of over 35 Photoshop brushes is included in this tutorial!

The Magic of Photoshop Brushes
The Brush Tool might be the most flexible tool in Photoshop. Learn how to create and use custom brushes to paint stunning effects into any image or perform difficult tasks like cutting someone out of their background.

Create a Brush for Anything
Even though we include over 35 custom brushes free with this tutorial, you will also learn how to create your own using any shape or image. Whether you need to create a brush to match the hair of a particular person or you want to make your own unique effects, we show you everything you need to know.

The Brush Settings Panel
We take you through every checkbox, drop-down, and menu, so you can get the absolute most out of any brush. Add randomness and optimize settings, whether you’re using a pressure-sensitive tablet or a mouse.

Amazing Effects
Turn a light rain into a downpour. Transform a night sky into a star-filled landscape. Most tools in Photoshop only let you change parts of a photo that are already there. We show you how to make realistic elements from scratch and literally paint them into any image.

Star Brush
We all don’t have the gear for great astrophotography–but anyone can make beautiful, bright night sky with Photoshop! Our custom star brush will give you the power to paint with stars and fill up any dark sky.

Cloud Brush
Clear skies can be great for your tan, but maybe not so much for your photos. Learn how to create natural looking clouds using a custom brush made from a picture of a real cloud. Quickly add visual interest to any sky or landscape image.

Smoke Brush
Paint in realistic smoke with unbelievable texture and definition with custom brushes in Photoshop. Whether you’re turning a photo into a dynamic action scene or you just need to add a little mood to a room, our smoke brush will make it possible.

Grunge Brushes
Sometimes all an image needs is a little bit of texture. If you’re going for a gritty, grunge look or a washed out vintage style, we have brushes that will make it easier than ever.

Create Mood & Atmosphere
Rain. Snow. Smoke. Fog. Enhance any environment, add visual interest, and turn an ordinary photo into an extraordinary one by adding photo-realistic effects with the Brush Tool.

Lighting Effects
Add light rays and improve exposure by brightening areas of a photo using environmental textures. Add a morning mist to a sunrise photo while bringing back some of the detail lost in the shadows of a photo.

Brushes for Hair
Whether your subject has short curly hair, long flowing locks, or just some stubble on their chin, we walk you through the process of creating custom brushes unique to their hair texture and style.

Cut-Out Subjects
Replacing backgrounds is one of the most common uses of Photoshop. But what do you do when your subject has long flowing hair in front of a complicated environment? Learn how to cut-out a subject using the Pen Tool and paint in new hair using custom brushes in Photoshop.

Get Creative!
Sometimes a good brush can help you work outside of the box. Try our custom watercolor brush to give your images a hand painted look or come up with a brush idea that’s all your own! There’s no limit to how you can use brushes for drawing, painting, or just simply adding realistic effects to your photos.

Import & Install Brushes
We include 37 exclusive brushes for you to download and use forever! Learn how to import, install, and start using brushes you’ve downloaded. We even show you some great sources to find new brushes for a wide variety of applications.

Everything About the Brush Tool
Learn how to get the most out of using a pressure sensitive tablet or a mouse, see how to combine the power of the Pen Tool and the Brush Tool, and master all of the most useful keyboard shortcuts that will have you working faster and more efficiently in Photoshop.