Tutorial: How to make a scattered flower brush
Program: Photoshop 7 and CS
Skill level: Advanced beginner to intermediate - you'll need to know how to create new layers, how to use the paint bucket tool, the marquee tool, and other common tools.
Notes: This tutorial explains two techniques: how to create a simple flower if you can't draw, and making a scatter brush. If you don't know what a scatter brush is, there are a couple of sets here. Also, there are often several methods that achieve the same end in Photoshop - I've generally just chosen the easiest to explain.
1. Open a new document with a white background. I'm starting with one 100 x 100 pixels.
2. Create a new layer.
3. Using the custom shape tool, draw a small raindrop on the new layer.
4. Duplicate the raindrop layer. Rotate the duplicated layer by 72% (Ctrl T, and set the angle of rotation to 72º).
Now duplicate this layer ('Layer', 'Duplicate Layer'), and repeat the rotation (Shift Ctrl T). Do this two more times, and you will end up with five petals. Arrange them as five petals of a flower. Tip: this will be easier if you magnify the image - Ctrl + to enlarge, Ctrl - to decrease the size.
5. Create a new layer, and with the elliptical marquee tool, draw a small circle in the centre. Tip: the easiest way to make it a perfect circle is to hold down the shift key while using the marquee tool.
6. Bucket fill the circle with black, and deselect.
7. Merge all layers, and you have your finished simple flower. Tip: I never merge my layers in case I want to change something. My preference is to create a new layer, then go to 'Image', 'Apply Image', which provides you with the full image on a new layer.
8. Now use your rectangular marquee tool to select the image. This isn't strictly necessary, but I prefer not to have too much blank space around my brushes - it makes it easier to tell their size from the preview. Tip: I hold down shift to keep the selection square, so the brush preview isn't distorted.
9. Go 'Edit' on your top toolbar, 'Define Brush', chose a name for it, and click on 'OK'.
10. Click on the brush symbol on the tool panel on the left, and select your new brush.
11. Now for the fun part. Go to the brushes presets area, a tab in the top right hand corner of the screen. You'll see a list of options: Shape Dynamics, Scattering, Other Dynamics, Wet Edges, Texture, Air Brush, etc. I'll run you through the settings I'm selecting for this brush, but you'll want to fiddle around with all of these when you try making your own scatter brushes.
First I'm clicking on the boxes by 'Shape Dynamics', 'Scattering' and 'Color Dynamics', as these are the three main properties I want for this brush. You'll notice the preview display below changing as you click each box.
Now I want to alter the actual settings on each of these properties. First of all, I click on the words Shape Dynamics. There are various settings that can be altered. Size jitter alters the variation of size of each swirl in a stroke (set that high and you'll have a large variety of sizes of swirls, set it to 0% and they'll all be the same size). I'm setting size jitter to 73%. You can set it to vary according to pen pressure, fade, etc - I'm setting it to pen pressure. Minimum diameter allows you to specify a minimum size for the brush image, as a percentage of the original. I'm choosing 22%, because I'd like a wide variety of sizes for this brush. Angle jitter controls the amount the image is tilted - 0% means all the images will be upright, 100% means they'll be at all different angles. I'm picking 100% for this brush. Roundness jitter needs to be used with care. It's good for abstract brushes, but an image such as a flower won't look good distorted, so I'm setting it at 0%. (click here for an image of the settings)
You can change Scattering and Color dynamics in the same way - play with the settings until you find something suitable for your brush. For this one, I've set scattering to 858% and ticked the 'Both axis' box. I've set count to 2, and count jitter to 25%. (click here for an image of the settings)
For the Color Dynamics, I've set foreground/background jitter to 100%, as I want it to use both colours equally, hue at 25% to add more variety to the colours, and brightness jitter to 50%. (click here for an image of the settings)
At this stage, you might want to add Texture (you can use patterns within the brush), Wet Edges (which can be very effective), Other Dynamics (which alters opacity and flow) and so on.
As a final touch, click on 'Brush Tip Shape', and play with the spacing option at the bottom. This is fairly self-explanatory - it alters the distance between each image when you drag the brush across the canvas. Try sliding the scale up and down to see what sort of spacing you like. I'm choosing 51% for this brush.
12. Once you've got your settings to your liking, click on the 'Create new brush' symbol at the bottom of the brushes preset palette, and press okay to create it. At this stage, you might want to delete your original brush, which you can do by right clicking on it and choosing 'delete brush'. Tip: it's handy to have a large blank document open so you can try out the brush at various stages and see how you like it.
13. Now all you have to do is save your brush. Tip: it's advisable to do this regularly while making a set of brushes, in case your computer shuts down for any reason.
Go to 'Edit', 'Preset Manager', and click on the brush(es) you've made. Tip: in PS7 you'll need to hold down shift and select each brush you're saving, whereas in PS CS you can just hold down shift, select the first and last brushes, and all the ones in between will be selected. You can tell they're selected as they have a slightly bolder black line around them. Now click on 'save brushes', chose a name for them and press save. Tip: if you're sharing them, it's good to put your name first so people will know whom to credit when using them. It's also good to be descriptive in the name - 'set 3' means nothing, but 'butterflies' will make your set easier to find and recognise. Now click on 'done' and you're finished!
14. The finished brush looks like this (this is one sweep of the brush across the page, with the foreground colour purple and the background colour gold):
Download the brush (plus two extra scatter hearts thrown in for free!)
Skill level: Advanced beginner to intermediate - you'll need to know how to create new layers, how to use the paint bucket tool, the marquee tool, and other common tools.
Notes: This tutorial explains two techniques: how to create a simple flower if you can't draw, and making a scatter brush. If you don't know what a scatter brush is, there are a couple of sets here. Also, there are often several methods that achieve the same end in Photoshop - I've generally just chosen the easiest to explain.
1. Open a new document with a white background. I'm starting with one 100 x 100 pixels.
2. Create a new layer.
3. Using the custom shape tool, draw a small raindrop on the new layer.
4. Duplicate the raindrop layer. Rotate the duplicated layer by 72% (Ctrl T, and set the angle of rotation to 72º).
Now duplicate this layer ('Layer', 'Duplicate Layer'), and repeat the rotation (Shift Ctrl T). Do this two more times, and you will end up with five petals. Arrange them as five petals of a flower. Tip: this will be easier if you magnify the image - Ctrl + to enlarge, Ctrl - to decrease the size.
5. Create a new layer, and with the elliptical marquee tool, draw a small circle in the centre. Tip: the easiest way to make it a perfect circle is to hold down the shift key while using the marquee tool.
6. Bucket fill the circle with black, and deselect.
7. Merge all layers, and you have your finished simple flower. Tip: I never merge my layers in case I want to change something. My preference is to create a new layer, then go to 'Image', 'Apply Image', which provides you with the full image on a new layer.
8. Now use your rectangular marquee tool to select the image. This isn't strictly necessary, but I prefer not to have too much blank space around my brushes - it makes it easier to tell their size from the preview. Tip: I hold down shift to keep the selection square, so the brush preview isn't distorted.
9. Go 'Edit' on your top toolbar, 'Define Brush', chose a name for it, and click on 'OK'.
10. Click on the brush symbol on the tool panel on the left, and select your new brush.
11. Now for the fun part. Go to the brushes presets area, a tab in the top right hand corner of the screen. You'll see a list of options: Shape Dynamics, Scattering, Other Dynamics, Wet Edges, Texture, Air Brush, etc. I'll run you through the settings I'm selecting for this brush, but you'll want to fiddle around with all of these when you try making your own scatter brushes.
First I'm clicking on the boxes by 'Shape Dynamics', 'Scattering' and 'Color Dynamics', as these are the three main properties I want for this brush. You'll notice the preview display below changing as you click each box.
Now I want to alter the actual settings on each of these properties. First of all, I click on the words Shape Dynamics. There are various settings that can be altered. Size jitter alters the variation of size of each swirl in a stroke (set that high and you'll have a large variety of sizes of swirls, set it to 0% and they'll all be the same size). I'm setting size jitter to 73%. You can set it to vary according to pen pressure, fade, etc - I'm setting it to pen pressure. Minimum diameter allows you to specify a minimum size for the brush image, as a percentage of the original. I'm choosing 22%, because I'd like a wide variety of sizes for this brush. Angle jitter controls the amount the image is tilted - 0% means all the images will be upright, 100% means they'll be at all different angles. I'm picking 100% for this brush. Roundness jitter needs to be used with care. It's good for abstract brushes, but an image such as a flower won't look good distorted, so I'm setting it at 0%. (click here for an image of the settings)
You can change Scattering and Color dynamics in the same way - play with the settings until you find something suitable for your brush. For this one, I've set scattering to 858% and ticked the 'Both axis' box. I've set count to 2, and count jitter to 25%. (click here for an image of the settings)
For the Color Dynamics, I've set foreground/background jitter to 100%, as I want it to use both colours equally, hue at 25% to add more variety to the colours, and brightness jitter to 50%. (click here for an image of the settings)
At this stage, you might want to add Texture (you can use patterns within the brush), Wet Edges (which can be very effective), Other Dynamics (which alters opacity and flow) and so on.
As a final touch, click on 'Brush Tip Shape', and play with the spacing option at the bottom. This is fairly self-explanatory - it alters the distance between each image when you drag the brush across the canvas. Try sliding the scale up and down to see what sort of spacing you like. I'm choosing 51% for this brush.
12. Once you've got your settings to your liking, click on the 'Create new brush' symbol at the bottom of the brushes preset palette, and press okay to create it. At this stage, you might want to delete your original brush, which you can do by right clicking on it and choosing 'delete brush'. Tip: it's handy to have a large blank document open so you can try out the brush at various stages and see how you like it.
13. Now all you have to do is save your brush. Tip: it's advisable to do this regularly while making a set of brushes, in case your computer shuts down for any reason.
Go to 'Edit', 'Preset Manager', and click on the brush(es) you've made. Tip: in PS7 you'll need to hold down shift and select each brush you're saving, whereas in PS CS you can just hold down shift, select the first and last brushes, and all the ones in between will be selected. You can tell they're selected as they have a slightly bolder black line around them. Now click on 'save brushes', chose a name for them and press save. Tip: if you're sharing them, it's good to put your name first so people will know whom to credit when using them. It's also good to be descriptive in the name - 'set 3' means nothing, but 'butterflies' will make your set easier to find and recognise. Now click on 'done' and you're finished!
14. The finished brush looks like this (this is one sweep of the brush across the page, with the foreground colour purple and the background colour gold):
Download the brush (plus two extra scatter hearts thrown in for free!)