Photoshop Manual: Brush Tool

The first of our Photoshop-for-beginners tutorials deals with the Brush tool which is one of the most essential tools in the toolbox.

Firstly, we will need to check that the cursor gives us the most convenient symbol when we use the brushes.

In the top menu bar, on a PC go to Edit, while on a Mac go to Photoshop;
then drop down to Preferences.
In some earlier versions of Photoshop on Mac, Preferences are under Edit.
In the small menu that appears, go to Cursors.
Under Painting Cursors click on Normal Brush Tip.
So the path is:-
Preferences > Cursors > Painting Cursors > Normal Brush Tip.
Under Other Cursors click Standard. The cursor will now adjust in size according to the size of brush chosen. The other settings have their uses but not right now.
Go to File > New.
Create a new file with:
Width 600 pixels;
Height 500 pixels;
Resolution 300 pixels/inch;
with a white Background, as shown. Click OK.
Save this file in a convenient location and call it Sample 1.

Select the Brush Tool by clicking on the Brush icon on the main toolbox.
Click on the very small black and white squares in the toolbox to set the large squares on the default of black and white with the black on top. The top colour is for the foreground and the lower colour is for the background.
A Brush will always use the uppermost colour.

To open the Brushes palette, go to Window > Brushes.
Click on number 19 on the top row and draw the word FUN.
Change the brush by selecting number 27 on the second row.
Draw the word FUN on the background again.
The first brush was set to maximum hardness, while the second brush is set at maximum softness.
To clear off what you have written in order to make a fresh start, click on File in the top menu bar a drop down to Revert (File > Revert). The image goes back to the previously saved version.
In the top options bar, click on the black dot next to the word Brush to bring up the dialogue box relevant to this brush.
Adjust the size of the brush by dragging the Master Diameter slider.
Adjust the hardness of the brush by dragging the Hardness slider.
Draw some doodles and try different brush sizes with different amounts of hardness.
To go back to a white page again, click on File in the top menu bar a drop down to Revert (File > Revert).

Photoshop Manual