View here (http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/index.php?m=show&id=3)

Jim Caffrey has written a very clear tutorial on one of the most mysterious (to me, anyway) tools in Photoshop, the Art History brush.

The is an excellent tutorial, Jim. For those who haven't taken the leap to Photoshop 7, the screenshots of the new brush options should be inspirational.

On behalf of all the folks who will learn from this masterpiece, Thanks very, very much!

~DannyR~

Jim,
I've got to say it was worth waiting for. Your descriptions are short and precise and your screen shots are fantastic. Excellent job and the finished image looks soooo good you would think it really was painted. Thanks for taking the time to write it for us.
DJ

I'll just echo what's been said already. Thanks very much. It looks like something fun to play (or work) with.

Ed

First visit to this site...The site is grand, but TUTORIALS? FANTASTIC!!

Jim, This tutorial on the Art History brush REALLY makes sense. You've put in all the necessary instructions, good illustrations, and enough of the "why" part to make it interesting. Needless to say it fits right into my PhotoShop learning activities at the moment.

THANK YOU!

julie

Hi Julie!

Welcome to RetouchPro.

Here's a link to a recent "challenge entry" I think you'll enjoy, where the artist primarily used the Art History Brush (click HERE (http://www.retouchpro.com/challenge/art/challenge4/challengeA4_lqqker.html)).

Have fun while you're poking around. Let me know if you have ANY questions.

Again, welcome aboard.

~DannyR~

Danny,
Thanks so much for the welcome...and I used the link and found it to be most interesting. I have a feeling that I'll be hanging around here a lot in the days (heck, why "days"? ) make that the indefinite future. :D

I really have to thank Lisa for pointing me in this direction. THANKS AGAIN LISA!!

julie

:) Julie, I knew I'd find you here one of these days! Have you checked out http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4196

More great ideas, and a site for cool goodies.

More thanks to Danny!!

Macky

Hey Welcome to you both Julie and Macky. Looks like word of mouth is spreading some nice things about this site and drawing some more great members. Look foreward to seeing you on the forum again. :)
DJ

Tks for the warm welcome, DJ!
I've been lurking on RP for months...now that Julie's arrived, I guess I have to get active!

Macky

Well, I gave the tutorial a try and I love it. I added a canvas texture for effect. I think I will start using the Art History brush more often.

Lynda:

Glad you gave this fine tutorial a test spin. There are some very interesting possibilities with the Art History Brush function + the new PS7 brush engine.

As you get more and more comfortable with the tool technique, I can only imagine the results you'll be able to get.

= = = = = =
Macky

A ** B I G ** welcome to RetouchPRO. It's always great when new members discover old friends here. Look forward to seeing some of your creations.

We're honored to have you. Welcome aboard.

~DannyR~

Lynda,

Big Ben looks terrific! I wish my results with the Art History Brush were as good as yours.

Jim

Thanks, Jim. It takes time and a small brush size. I spent almost 2 hours on this image. I am anxious to try another.

Hmmmmm, think he can tell the difference?? -- Chuck

Well, it might be worthwhile to give him a test. ;) If he doesn't notice the difference..., you can decide whether you need to tell him or not.

Originally posted by nonamac
Tks for the warm welcome, DJ!
I've been lurking on RP for months...now that Julie's arrived, I guess I have to get active!

Macky

Macky...:wavey:
Imagine finding *YOU* here! ;)
I guess I need to say thanks to all these nice people who welcomed me earlier...and yes, Macky...you'd better be sticking around for a while.
:oldman: <---SOON Macky...SOON! :D

I'm new to this site and I really enjoyed this tutorial. Thanks!

Sharon

Sharon:

Welcome! Glad you found us and thanks for your kind words. Hope you have LOTS of fun poking around, learning and experimenting.

By all means ask (via forum posts or send me Personal Mail [click PM button below]) if you have any questions or there's anything I can do to help.

~DannyR~

Great tutorial Jim

I've been using the art history brush for some time, and must say you seem to have the gift of making the instruction simple, which should help any user use a "not so used tool".

Again . . . good job of explaining and illustrating. :)

I dont' know. Perhaps the mac version is really differant. Shouldn't be. But... there are steps in this tutorial that seem to be missing.

1. The screen shot of the layers. After a duplicate layer is made and AFTER a new layer? Shouldn't I see THREE layers there????

2. Just where do you find those brush settings??? I dont' have a single palet that remotely resembles the ones on the screen shot.


can't do anything from that point on. sigh.

Artmaker:

Welcome back to RetouchPRO -- and to the Photo-art forum in particular. Looks like it's been a while since you posted a message in the forums.

What version of Photoshop are you running?

~DannyR~

Hi Danny R,
Yes it's been awhile. Actually I teach photoshop classes. Haven't needed this great board in a long time. But... I have never played with the art history brush and my students always ask what it's for. High time I learned ah?

I have photoshop 7. I thought I read this was a version 7 tutorial correct??? I dont' see where those brush settings are coming from. I can play with the brush but all it seems to do is blur the picture. Phoey. There has to be more to it than that. And there are TWO brushes in the brush history tool box. Which is for what?

I wish my "help" was still installed. I'm using the college computer right now and its been removed. All my books are for previous versions. No help there.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll keep watching my e-mail.

The brush settings are here... (assuming a C:\ installation).

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop 7.0\Presets\Brushes\xxx.abr

Should be 11 brush sets in this and the "Phothshop Only" subfolder therein.

- - - - - -

Assuming your brushes palette is docked in the palette well (top R of screen), click the Brushes tab (tab highights and a triangle displays next to it). Click the triangle to open the menu. The brush sets contained in the folder above should be listed at the bottom of the menu.

If they are not listed, the brush sets were removed, not installed or installed in the "wrong" place.

Does any of this buy you anything?

~Danny~

Hi again,

OK, mac user here. There is NO C drive. But I do know where presets are.

On a mac you get to them through photoshop. Up in the dock, in the toolpreset button, then in the arrow, top right, scroll down to the "load presets" thing. And your right, the folder they should be in is empty. College computer again. Don't need any stinking presets. ha!

Now when I get home I'll check my computer but it's possible those were deleted too. (memory issue.)

I suppose you have to have these presets just to see what the tool does? There are a ton of assorted brush shapes one can do without and still use the paintbrush. Could this be similar? Again, it DID do something. Not a very attractive something. Just blur mostly.

Artmaker, you should also be able to open the brushes palette through the PS menu item: Window>Brushes. Do you have that menu item?

Jeanie

By golly, I sure do! Wow I could play with that for several hours huh?

I still am not sure just what this history brush does. Guessing here, same effects as the layer effects only applied by brush?

Thanks

Originally posted by artmaker
By golly, I sure do! Wow I could play with that for several hours huh?

I still am not sure just what this history brush does. Guessing here, same effects as the layer effects only applied by brush?

Thanks Try making the brush size smaller, either by sliding the slider or hitting the "[" (left square bracket thingy!) until your brush size is managable. It helps (me, at least) to set your preferences for "Display and Cursor" to "brush size". That way you can see the little circle that will represent your actual brush size. Hope this helps!

(another mac user! yay!)

Hi again and yea! hi "another mac user."

History brush. Yuck! I cannot find a single practical use for this thing. I've played around with brush sizes, and texture, and a few other settings. All it does is ruin the picture. I'd like to see some images where this tool has been effectively used some way. Layer effects and filters all seem to do exactly the same thing and are easier to use.

Also, there are two history brush tools. "hisotry brush, and history brush tool."

So confused.

So far, when I teach my beginner class I get to this tool and just tell them I've never found a use for it. Nothing has changed.

Oh, you want a "practical" application! (LOL) One might be the selective color restoration to a color image converted to BW I mentioned in e-mail. There are other ways to achieve that result, too.

To be sure there's no misunderstanding, PS has two tools with similar names: History Brush and Art History Brush, the tool used in this tutorial.

Both operate on the same principle (taking source pixels from the selected history state), but the results generated by each is different.

Let me suggest you start a new thread in

THIS FORUM (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=5).

Please don't misunderstand. I'm pointing you in this direction so more members will see your question.

If I recall I saw a Scott Kelby technique for quick dust and scratch removal that used the History Brush. If I can find the details and it in fact uses the HB, I'll post it.

~Danny~

I didn't use the tutorial, but I've been attempting to put the Art History Brush to good use. And since the only Creative Interpretation of the pic I used is supposed to be black and white, I'll post here.
so, there it is.

I didn't use the tutorial, but I've been attempting to put the Art History Brush to good use. And since the only Creative Interpretation of the pic I used is supposed to be black and white, I'll post here.
so, there it is.
re: B&W
A desaturated version would have been fine. :)

I have fought with AHB forever and have never got anything this good.

What brushes and settings combinations are you using to get these types of results? Really like this technique.

As always, your kind words lighten my day.

Let me see. I upped the resolution to 300 ppi.
I used Jaykita's (I think I saw her write that) method of using low opacity guide layer above white. The brushes....
the 1st layer's broad strokes were with "Rough Round Bristle". Mode set to Darken, Area set to 28pix, Tolerance set to 25%, style to Dab.
2nd layer's detail was with "watercolor small round tip" I think. with the same settings.
the guide layer I ran through Imp: Your(Danny's): Chalk Sketch: Long Strokes on K, Faded to 35%.
Then ran Imp:Danny's (Your): Paint: Liinear Brush D. Faded to 45% or so.
The rest you can see from the pallette. Except I selected the white from AHB1 and deleted it, and deleted that same selection from the guide layer as well.

As always, your kind words lighten my day.

Let me see. I upped the resolution to 300 ppi.
I used Jaykita's (I think I saw her write that) method of using low opacity guide layer above white. The brushes....
the 1st layer's broad strokes were with "Rough Round Bristle". Mode set to Darken, Area set to 28pix, Tolerance set to 25%, style to Dab.
2nd layer's detail was with "watercolor small round tip" I think. with the same settings.
the guide layer I ran through Imp: Your(Danny's): Chalk Sketch: Long Strokes on K, Faded to 35%.
Then ran Imp:Danny's (Your): Paint: Liinear Brush D. Faded to 45% or so.
The rest you can see from the pallette. Except I selected the white from AHB1 and deleted it, and deleted that same selection from the guide layer as well.

Ah... this helps a lot. For the life of me I couldn't fathom how AHB could have been used to get such spectacular results. Our good friend "impressionst" to the rescue!

The downside: Now I have a compelling (to me) reason to goof-off today instead of doing something useful around the house.

THANK YOU for that! :)

As always, your kind words lighten my day.

Let me see. I upped the resolution to 300 ppi.
I used Jaykita's (I think I saw her write that) method of using low opacity guide layer above white. The brushes....
the 1st layer's broad strokes were with "Rough Round Bristle". Mode set to Darken, Area set to 28pix, Tolerance set to 25%, style to Dab.
2nd layer's detail was with "watercolor small round tip" I think. with the same settings.
the guide layer I ran through Imp: Your(Danny's): Chalk Sketch: Long Strokes on K, Faded to 35%.
Then ran Imp:Danny's (Your): Paint: Liinear Brush D. Faded to 45% or so.
The rest you can see from the pallette. Except I selected the white from AHB1 and deleted it, and deleted that same selection from the guide layer as well.

Thank you Glikster! HURRAH!!!!!!!!!! Someone seems to have got something worthwhile out of my Art-history-Brush tutorial, Page 1 in THIS THREAD. (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9702)
Danny, what do you feel, do u think it's worth a mention in your tutorial section? Just asking :)

I adapted jaykita's "tutorial" a little, learned some stuff from Janet, and suddenly things clicked...
1) Duplicate background and run High-Pass filter, radius 2. Choose blending "Overlay" and opacity at 20%.
2) Between these put in a solid color layer for your paper - not white. I used pastel green, that way I was sure what was painted and what wasn't. You now have an outline drawing.
3) Put in an empty layer between the "overlay" and the "paper".

Now you have an outline drawing and you just have to colour inside the lines.
Aargh, inside the lines - did I say that!

alternative: step 1) Find edges 2) use white.

Here's my first real effort. Did two painted layers and then aniso'd the outline layer and left it there.

Rô

I adapted jaykita's "tutorial" a little, learned some stuff from Janet, and suddenly things clicked...
1) Duplicate background and run High-Pass filter, radius 2. Choose blending "Overlay" and opacity at 20%.
2) Between these put in a solid color layer for your paper - not white. I used pastel green, that way I was sure what was painted and what wasn't. You now have an outline drawing.
3) Put in an empty layer between the "overlay" and the "paper".

Now you have an outline drawing and you just have to colour inside the lines.
Aargh, inside the lines - did I say that!

alternative: step 1) Find edges 2) use white.

Here's my first real effort. Did two painted layers and then aniso'd the outline layer and left it there.

Rô

Well, well, well. It wasn't so difficult after all!! Good Fun, what? And a great job too! :bigthmb:

Now that was fun!

I don't think this is nearly as good as it could be, but I really enjoyed this technique. I'm looking forward to using this on challenges. :bigthmb:

Here's one I did using only Art History brushes and a canvas texture. AH was hard for me to get into in the beginning, but it has become my favorite PS tool.

Link to a larger res version
http://www.pbase.com/image/58291035

Cat, you've done it again. That's just plain (me searches in vain for suitably hyperbolic adjective)...

It passes my personal "does-this-look-like-a-real-painting-
or-does-it-look-like-a-photo-that-somebody's-been-mucking-
about-with" test with flying colors.

I bow to you, madam.

dc (who, inspired, is off to take another whack at the dreaded AHB)

Here's one I did using only Art History brushes and a canvas texture. AH was hard for me to get into in the beginning, but it has become my favorite PS tool.

Link to a larger res version
http://www.pbase.com/image/58291035Inspiring work, as DC noted. Well done, Cat.

~Danny~

Here's one I did using only Art History brushes and a canvas texture. AH was hard for me to get into in the beginning, but it has become my favorite PS tool.

Link to a larger res version
http://www.pbase.com/image/58291035

Catherine great work I too think that the ahb is my favorite tool, may i ask which brush you used in your posting

Palms

Cat, you've done it again. That's just plain (me searches in vain for suitably hyperbolic adjective)...
It passes my personal "does-this-look-like-a-real-painting-
or-does-it-look-like-a-photo-that-somebody's-been-mucking-
about-with" test with flying colors.
I bow to you, madam.
dc (who, inspired, is off to take another whack at the dreaded AHB)
DC, I'm happy to have passed your test! :rainbow: Thank you so much for the wonderful encouragement.
Thank you, Danny. And Palms, I did this on one layer, directly onto the original, using the watercolor starter brush set at varying sizes.