CREATING EDGE EFFECTS USING BRUSH DYNAMICS

For: Photoshop 7 and higher

Level: Intermediate

Edge effects are very popular in digital photography. In another

tutorial we studied how to create a number of edge effects using
Photoshop's Quick Mask. Here we are going to study another
approach that can produce excellent results. We will use various tools
and features such as Photoshop's vector paths, the brush dynamics,
which
are
available
from
PS7
and
higher.
Let's start by opening a picture in Photoshop:

Let's make sure that we are all using the default set of brushes.
Please save any brushes you have created before continuing.
Now, on the main Photoshop menu select EDIT > PRESET MANAGER.
The preset manager window appears. Make that the Preset Type field
shows the "Brushes" category. Click on the right arrow and select
"Reset Brushes":

Press "Done" to close the Preset Manager.

On the toolbox RIGHT-click the shapes icon (Arrow 1) and then click
on the "Rectangle Tool" (Arrow 2):

On the paths options bar (under the main menu) please click the
Paths button:

Now drag with your mouse to draw a rectangle from the top left
image corner down to the lower right corner:

Press B to select the brush tool. Then press F5 to bring forward the
brushes palette (or select Window>Brushes). Now we will select
the particular brush we are going to use to stroke the image edges.
In our example I picked the "Chalk" brush, at 44 pixels. Different
brushes create different effects. The bigger the brush size, the larger
will be the stroke:

Now click on Shape Dynamics. Manipulate the parameters and

observe the way they affect the brush stroke. In our example I
changed the Angle Jitter to 30%.

Now click the Dual Brush (arrow 1). We will use a second brush in
order to make the stroke look more random and interesting. In our
example I picked the "Dry Brush Tip Light Flow" brush (arrow 2). I
manipulated the various parameters as shown below (arrow 3):

I suggest you experiment by changing the other Brush palette

parameters (such as the "Texture", "Scattering", "Other Dynamics").
Now let's go back to the Layers palette (Window>Layers). Create a
new blank layer and name it "Border":

Now select the Paths palette (Window > Paths). Press B to select the
brush tool and click the "Stroke path with Brush" icon (click 4-5
times). This will stroke the rectangle using the brush dynamics you
defined earlier on. The foreground color will be used.

That's it. An interesting edge effect is added around your image:

By experimenting with different brushes and by manipulating their

dynamics you can create a number of different effects, like the ones
shown below:

Enjoy!