Using PhotoShop Brushes (abr) in Digital Image Pro
The only significant drawback to using DIP is the inability
to use PhotoShop brushes (abr) however there is a work around that will allow
you to use the brushes in their own way in Digital Image Pro.
You need to download the free program abrViewer available
here
http://abrviewer.sourceforge.net/.
The viewer requires MicrosoftNet Framework to run. If you
do not have this on your computer you can download it free from Microsoft here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=262d25e3-f589-4842-8157-034d1e7cf3a3&displaylang=en.
(Microsoft Download Center) Simply use Run and let it install itself.
Once you have downloaded the abr viewer, double click to
install. After installation the program should automatically launch or go to
Start > Program Files> Abr Viewer to begin.
You will need some brushes. There are plenty of sites
offering brushes, simply Google PhotoShop brushes or check the PhotoShop SBB
Forum using brush sites as a search term.
To get you started:
http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tools/brushes.html.
You will most likely need to unzip the folder the brushes
are in.
I have set up a folder in My Documents called Brushes. I
download and unzip the files into this folder.
CONVERTING THE BRUSHES TO PNG.
1. Launch abrViewer.
2. Select File> Open Brush Sets.
3. Browse to your Brushes Folder.
4. Choose a folder containing the brush set you want to
open.
5. Double click the folder and choose the abr file name and
select OK
6. The brushes will be visible in the preview pane.
7. The thumbnail size defaults to 270.
8. Select Export > Thumbnails
9. You then need to browse to the output folder. I have
subfolders in my Brushes folder called PersonalUse and CommercialUse. This is so
I know which brushes can be used for what tasks and is important if you have any
plans to sell or give away your designs. Select OK.
10. Your brushes will now be in .png format within the
folder you exported them to.
11. Close the previews in the Abr Viewer by right clicking
the set name from the Previewed Sets pane (bottom left hand corner) and choose
close.
USING THE CONVERTED BRUSHES IN DIP
You can now use these images in DIP in a number of ways.
a) Make a Stamp with it.
b) Drag onto canvas and manipulate size, color,
transparency etc. Add edge effects, or soften edges or gradual transparency to
help blend edges if necessary.
One problem you can encounter with downloading brushes is
that their resolution is generally only 96 or 120 ppi. This can place
restriction on the amount of manipulation you can do to, and how large you can
use, the resulting images.
You can try:
a) Resizing the png image to 300dpi and then increasing the
physical size using Format> Resize Image.
b) Use the Blur or Sharpen tools under the Touch-Up menu
c) Use additional filter effects like Emboss: Subtle
You just need to experiment to discover how to create the
effects that work best for you.
ORIGINAL TEXTURE FROM ABR BRUSH SET “TEXTURE” by 500ml
http://brushes.500ml.org/brushes/500mltexture.php
Stretched texture to fit 8x8 canvas, duplicated, flipped
and re colored.
Added Emboss: Subtle Effect.
© Copyright 2003-2005 by Scrapbook-Bytes; & original creator/s of tutorials/articles
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