How to add new brushes to Photoshop

If you’re a professional or otherwise serious Photoshop artist, adding brushes expands your creative arsenal. You’ve got a few options, split between importing them or making your own.

How to add new brushes to Photoshop

Importing brushes

This is the best option for most people, since it can take some experimentation to make a custom brush work well.

To import brushes:

• Select the Brush tool in the lefthand toolbar.
• Open the Brushes panel, accessed via one of the icons to the immediate right of the canvas. Hover over them to identify the correct button.
• Open the “hamburger” menu in the panel’s top-right corner.
• Within that menu, click Import Brushes if you’ve already downloaded ABR files, or Get More Brushes if you want to browse a curated selection.
• However you decide to download an ABR file, double-click on it on your desktop while Photoshop is running. The brush will appear in the Brushes panel.

Creating a brush from an image

When you come across part of an image you think would be useful as a brush, all you need to do is select that area using any selection tool, then go to Edit > Define Brush Preset.

Note that you can’t change the hardness of sampled brushes. You can however adjust edge sharpness by manipulating the Feather value when painting.

Creating a brush from scratch

This requires extra work, but if you want a fully custom yet general-purpose brush, here’s what to do:

• Select the Brush tool in the lefthand toolbar.
• Open the Brush Settings panel, accessed via one of the icons to the immediate right of the canvas. Hover over them to identify the correct button.
• Choose a brush tip shape, or click on Brush Presets to go with a preset.
• Customize your brush using the categories under Brush Tip Shape.
• If you’re good with a particular category, click the lock icon next to it to prevent accidental edits.
• When you’re done, open the “hamburger” menu in the panel’s top-right corner and click New Brush Preset.
• In the same menu, click Save Brushes to keep your brush permanently as part of a new set.

Read more: How to add fonts to Photoshop