**Program Tutorials** : Photoshop Elements : *Program Basic

Load a new brush set
There are two different ways to load brushes in PSE. “On the fly” loading allows the user to load brushes into PSE and use them immediately without restarting the program. If the user switches to a different brush category, the brushes that were loaded “on the fly” will no longer be available in PSE. Permanently loaded brushes require that PSE be restarted before the brushes are available for use and they are always available to use.

1. Click on the Brush Tool in the toolbox.
2. Click the down arrow next to the brush preview, to bring up a menu of available brushes.
   
3. In the brush menu, click the right arrow.
   
4. From the pop-up menu, click Load Brush…
   
5. In the Load window, navigate to where the brush file (or ABR file) is saved. Select the ABR file and click Load.
6. The newly loaded brushes will now be available at the bottom of the menu of available brushes.
   

1. Copy the brush file (or ABR file) into the Presets\Brushes folder in the install directory for PSE.
2. Start (or restart) PSE.
3. Click on the Brush Tool in the toolbox.
4. Click the down arrow next to the brush preview, to bring up a menu of available brushes.
   
5. The new brush set will be listed in the pull-down list of brushes.
   

1. Click the Brush Tool in the toolbox.
2. Click the down arrow next to the brush preview, to bring up a menu of available brushes.
   
3. Select the brush to use by clicking on brush type in the drop down menu.
   Note: There are a variety of brush sets available in PSE. To change the brush set that is displayed click on the down arrow next to the current brush set name. Then pick a new set to be displayed.
   
4. Create a new layer (CRTL + SHIFT + N) to add new brushwork to the layout. This allows you to make changes to your brushwork more easily than if it was added to an existing layer.
5. To change the default size of the brush, in the Size setting field on the Options toolbar type in the new size in pixels. You can also click the down arrow next to the size and use the slider to set the new size.
6. Different methods of creating designs with brushes
   a. Free hand - Using a hard round brush from the default brush set, freehand draw a shape.
   b. Straight lines - Draw straight lines by holding down the SHIFT key while drawing horizontally or vertically on layer.
   c. Dotted lines - Draw a dotted line by clicking the More Options icon on the brush options toolbar. Adjust the spacing until the desired spacing is achieved. Watch the brush preview to see how the spacing changes will affect the brush.
   d. Stamps – Create single stamped images of the brush by clicking once to add a single brush shape to the layer. To change the angle of the brush click on the More Options icon. Then set the brush angle by dragging the brush angle icon to a new location or entering the angle you want to enter.