Brush Tool

The Brush Tool is the cornerstone of painting and retouching in Photoshop. It allows you to draw soft-edged or hard-edged strokes of color precisely where you want them.

By adjusting settings like Opacity, Flow, and Smoothing, you can achieve various painterly effects. Opacity controls the transparency of individual strokes, while Flow determines how quickly paint is applied, much like an airbrush.

To master the Brush Tool, familiarize yourself with shortcut keys to change brush size (brackets [ and ]) and hardness (Shift with brackets). This makes your creative workflow incredibly smooth and organic.

Where to Find It

The Brush Tool is located in the toolbar, typically represented by a paintbrush icon. Press B to activate it. It shares the group with the Pencil Tool, Color Replacement Tool, and Mixer Brush Tool. Right-click the icon or press Shift+B to cycle through them.

How to Use

• Select the Brush Tool: Press B or click the paintbrush icon in the toolbar.
• Choose a brush tip: Open the Brush Picker from the Options bar and select a brush tip. Adjust size using [ and ] keys.
• Pick a color: Set the foreground color using the Color Picker (click the foreground color swatch at the bottom of the toolbar).
• Adjust settings: Set Opacity, Flow, and Smoothing in the Options bar. Lower values create more transparent or gradual strokes.
• Start painting: Click and drag on the canvas to paint. Use a graphics tablet for pressure-sensitive strokes.

Settings & Options

• Brush Preset Picker: Choose from hundreds of brush tips including round, textured, and specialty brushes.
• Size & Hardness: Control the diameter and edge softness of the brush tip.
• Opacity: Sets the transparency of each stroke (1%–100%).
• Flow: Controls how quickly paint is applied, similar to an airbrush effect.
• Smoothing: Automatically smooths brush strokes for cleaner lines, adjustable from 0%–100%.
• Tablet Pressure: When using a tablet, enables size, opacity, or flow to be controlled by pen pressure.

Pro Tips

• Use the Brush Settings panel (Window > Brush Settings) to create custom brushes with scattering, texture, dual brush, and transfer dynamics.
• Hold Alt (Option) and right-click drag horizontally to adjust brush size in real time, and vertically to adjust hardness.
• Save frequently used brush configurations as tool presets by clicking the tool preset icon in the Options bar.

Common Mistakes

• Using 100% opacity and flow for everything: Hard, opaque strokes often look unnatural. Vary your opacity and flow for more painterly, organic results.
• Not using layers: Painting directly on the background layer is destructive. Always create a new layer for each element of your painting.