This post covers the basics and differences about brushes and patterns in Adobe Photoshop. It is a part of a series, the other parts are:

The differences between brushes and patterns in Photoshop,
Photoshop Brushes: install and create,
Photoshop Patterns: install, create #1 and #2.

This is the 3rd post in the series. The next three posts will be pusblished over the next three days. To stay tuned about new posts, subscribe to our RSS Feed.

The difference between brushes and patterns in Photoshop

• As we explained earlier, a brush in Photoshop is like a ‘real’ brush – you can use it to paint stuff (right!). Photoshop offers a lot of options and settings for your brush, like form, spread, edges, and more. The best part is that you can create your own brushes from any image and save them for future use.

• Patterns, on the other hand, are seamless images which you can apply to an artwork using layer styles. Not only that; you can also apply them to a brush! Sounds confusing? Not really, if you consider what a pattern actually is. A pattern is a style you apply to an existing image or brush. It basically consists of a single smaller image which has been designed to be tiled on both its x and y axis.

In essence, a brush is a tool to apply content. A pattern is a style you add to content.

Photoshop offers various pre-installed brushes and patterns. To fully discover and use the beautiful power of Photoshop though, you have to use custom brushes and patterns. There is a nice collection of brushes and patterns on Beeex.net. We add more every day, so be sure to check in often!

So there you have it, the basic difference between brushes and patterns. Quite easy, right? The good thing is that you can use almost every image or photograph to create your own brushes and patterns. The possiblities are truly endless.

We would like to know if this post answered your questions about brushes and patterns. Is anything left unclear? Do you have a question you would like answered? Leave us a note! Comment, and thou shall be heard

Nick La, who runs the website Web Designer Wall, collected these very useful shortcuts for Adobe Photoshop. They aren’t documented anywhere officially – therefore they can soothingly be referred to as ’secret’…

You can read the post on Web Designer Wall here!