The first thing we need for this tutorial is a couple of pictures to create the texture that we will be using in our brush. In this instance, I have chosen to use two photographs of my dog and cat, shown below.
The next step is to completely desaturate the two pictures. With both images on one layer, we can achieve this simply by going to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.
We now need to place each picture in a different layer. Select the top layer and change the properties of the layer to Difference
By doing this, we will have both layers combined in one to create a new and interesting texture, as shown below.
Now let’s flatten the image (Layer > Flatten Image) and search for some original shapes within the texture to use for our new brush. The illustration below shows a unique shape, which I’ve circled in red. We will need to select it with our Lasso tool (Feather = 20%), and then cut and paste it onto a new document (CTRL + C + N + V).
You will see that the new document that we just created is a potential custom brush. Now, let’s duplicate the layer where our brush is (CTRL + J) and rotate it by 90 degrees (CTRL + T) at any angle. We need to change the properties of this new layer, once again to Difference, and then repeat this step two or three times until we manage to create a textured border.
Our new brush is now almost done; we just need to tell Photoshop to start using this new image as a brush from now on. So, go to Edit > Define Brush, and voila! We have just created a new custom brush. We can now go ahead and change the settings in order to make it even better.
Go to the Brush tab and try out the following settings:
Brush Tip Shape—Spacing 22%
Shape Dynamics—Size Jitter 0% and select Pen Pressure; Angle Jitter 100% and select Pen Pressure.
Scattering—Scatter 104% and select Pen Pressure; Count 7, Count Jitter 50% and select Pen Pressure.
Texture—Select a random texture and change the mode to Hard Mix.
Other Dynamics—Opacity Jitter 0% and select Pen Pressure; Smoothing > On.
And that’s it—pretty easy, don’t you think? Here are a couple of examples of this new brush at work.You now have the skills to create your own custom brushes for your projects, so get creative and have some fun with them!
You can
download a custom brush (ABR) file to accompany this tutorial.
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