Using the Art History Brush

[Doug Nelson]

View here

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

[DannyRaphael]

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~

[DJ Dubovsky]

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

[Ed_L]

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

Ed

[jsr88]

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

[DannyRaphael]

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).

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

Again, welcome aboard.

~DannyR~

[jsr88]

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.

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

julie

[nonamac]

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

More great ideas, and a site for cool goodies.

More thanks to Danny!!

Macky

[DJ Dubovsky]

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

[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

[lglogan]

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.

[DannyRaphael]

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~

[JBCaffrey]

Lynda,

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

Jim

[lglogan]

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

[CJ Swartz]

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.

[jsr88]

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...
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.
<---SOON Macky...SOON!

[smason]

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

Sharon

[DannyRaphael]

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~

[LQQKER]

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.

[artmaker]

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.

[DannyRaphael]

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~

[artmaker]

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.

[DannyRaphael]

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~

[artmaker]

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.

[jeaniesa]

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

[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

[Blacknight]

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!)

[artmaker]

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.

[DannyRaphael]

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.

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~

[glikster]

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.