Brushes for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are a fantastic resource for digital scrapbookers. The brush tool paints brush strokes, like a traditional paint brush, but also can be used like a stamp. Photoshop and Photoshop Elements come pre-installed with a small choice of basic brushes. You can also find a huge selection of decorative brushes online for sale and for free. (Installing Photoshop Brushes and Installing Brushes in Photoshop Elements) Brushes can be used in many ways to add visual interest to your digital scrapbooking layouts. Here are 10 quick, easy ideas for using brushes on your next digital layout!
1. Directly on Your Photo
Brushes can be stamped right onto your photos. Outline brushes in shapes such as hearts, stars, and circles can draw attention to details in your photos. Cherub wings can be added to a child’s back for an angelic effect with a wing-shaped brush. Flourish and swirl brushes can add little touches of flair to photo corners or edges.
2. Photo Frames
Instead of matting your photos, try using frame brushes. You can also stamp a favorite brush many times around the perimeter of a photo to create your own custom frame. Consider offsetting the angle of your brushed frame so that it’s tilted opposite of your photo for a fun, casual feel.
3. Custom Patterned Background Paper
Use a favorite brush on a solid background paper to quickly create your own custom patterned paper. The angle, spacing and scatter settings of the brush can be adjusted in the brush settings palette to create a randomized effect to the pattern. Play with the colors you use to further the theme and feel of your layout. Contrasting colors will create bold, eye-catching patterns. Using a color that’s a slightly darker (or lighter) shade than your background can produce a subtle, damask-like pattern.
4. Journaling Boxes
Frame brushes can be used to create borders for journaling boxes stamped directly on your background papers. You can also cut journaling boxes from solid background papers with the shape tool or marquee too and use your favorite brushes to decorate them.
5. Journaling Text Highlights
Use outline circle and rectangle brushes to surround certain words in your journaling for emphasis. Paint stroke brushes can also be used underneath pieces of text to highlight thoughts you want to have prominence.
6. Page Borders
Creating a dotted border for your page is quick and easy with brushes! Choose a basic round brush. Increase the spacing setting in your brush settings palette, and then draw a line just inside the margins surrounding your page. Consider using other shapes like hearts, stars, squares, etc. in the same way for an extra splash of fun.
7. Page Corners/Edges
Fancy or dramatic brushes can be stamped along the edges or on select corners of your page for instant impact and a custom look. Consider stamping the same brush multiple times at varying angles, sizes and opacities with colors that coordinate with the rest of your layout.
8. Page Highlights
Stamp with a favorite brush on a layer beneath the area where the bulk of your page content will be. This works particularly well with layouts with a lot of white space to create extra drama. You can also creatively use brushes to lead the eye from one photo to the next. Create “pathways” with your brushwork that will function as a “road” for the eye. Watch how easy it is to get your reader to look around the page exactly as you intended.
9. Title Embellishment
Brushes can be a quick way to add visual interest to title work. Plain fonts can be made fancy in no time by adding a swirl or flourish to the beginning and end of the title. Just be careful that your brushwork doesn’t make your title hard to read.
10. Background Texture
Texture brushes are great for adding a little extra “oomph” to your background paper. You can find them wide variety of styles, from bold and grungy to subtle and classy. Choose a color a little darker than your page background for a understated texture. Use a contrasting color for a bolder texture statement. Don’t forget to give white and black a try too!