Workshop
Q&A
Q1: | Can I make a custom brush that's not round? |
A1: | Sure. You can even make part of your image into a custom brush. Use the Rectangular Marquee to select a portion of an image. (You can use the Pencil tool to draw a particular brush shape if you want.) With the selection active, choose Edit |
Q2: | Real airbrushes can spray a very light mist of color. How can I duplicate this effect? |
A2: | On the Options bar, set the Flow very low. A large brush and a Flow setting of 10 or less will give you the effect you want. |
Q3: | How do I make my brush strokes look like a watercolor? |
A3: | Easy. Just click the Wet Edges check box. If you'd rather use "oil paint," leave the check box unchecked. |
Quiz
1: | Are there other brush sets? If so, where?
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2: | What happens if you hold the Airbrush in one spot?
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Quiz Answers
A1: | b. Actually, answer a is only partly wrong. You can make your own brushes and brush sets, and you can use the ones Adobe provides. |
A2: | b. Just like with a can of spray paint, if you hold the Airbrush in one spot, the paint piles up. |
Exercises
Here, you'll get some more practice with the Airbrush, Brush, and Eraser tools. Follow along with these steps:
1. | Start by opening a new document. Make the page at least 6 inches square so that you have room to work. |
2. | Click the Brush in the toolbox. Set your opacity to 100%, choose a medium-sized, hard-edged brush, and draw a star. |
3. | Click the check box to turn on Wet Edges and draw another star. |
4. | Choose a soft-edged brush and draw another star. |
5. | Now turn off Wet Edges and draw another star with the soft-edged brush. Your result should look something like Figure 7.18.Figure 7.18. Four kinds of brush strokes.![]() |
Okay, it's not great art, but you have four distinctly different brush looks. | |
6. | Scroll to the top of the History palette and click the blank page labeled New. This returns to your freshly opened page, minus stars. (It's a quick way to erase everything.) |
7. | Press B to activate the Brush, then click the Airbrush button on the Options bar. Set the Flow to 100%, and draw a star. |
8. | Set the Flow to 50%, by typing the number 5, and draw another star. (You can change Brush Opacity settings by typing a number, too.) |
9. | Change brushes. If you have been using a soft-edged brush with the Airbrush, try a hard one, or vice versa. Draw more stars with different brushes and pressure settings. |
10. | Press E to bring up the Eraser. Set the Eraser mode to Brush and the Opacity to 50%. (Type the number 5.) TRy to erase one of your stars. Don't click the mouse more than once while you're erasing. |
11. | Change the Opacity to 100%, and erase another star. |
12. | Experiment with different settings until you are comfortable with these tools. |