Create Cool Painterly Illustrations With the Art History Brush in Photoshop

Create Cool Painterly Illustrations With the Art History Brush in Photoshop

In this tutorial, Julianne Kost will delve into an often-overlooked yet highly versatile tool in Photoshop CS5—the Art History Brush. This tool, which utilizes history states and snapshots, allows users to transform their images into stunning painterly effects. Julianne emphasizes that while the default settings of the Art History Brush may not showcase its full potential, exploring beyond these defaults can unlock a world of creative possibilities.

Julianne begins by demonstrating the basic functionality of the Art History Brush using a simple image transformation. She explains how the tool can be adjusted to create more intricate and abstract effects, far beyond what the default settings offer. By showing before-and-after examples, she illustrates the speed and versatility of the Art History Brush, turning ordinary photos into unique pieces of art. Julianne also highlights the importance of understanding history states and snapshots to effectively use the brush, ensuring viewers can follow along and experiment with their own images.

Moving deeper into the tutorial, Julianne explores advanced techniques, such as merging painted images with their originals and using different brush presets to achieve varied artistic styles. She provides tips on setting up and customizing brushes to create desired effects, and explains how to navigate potential pitfalls, like changing bit-depths or color modes. By the end of the episode, viewers will have a comprehensive understanding of the Art History Brush and be inspired to use it in their own creative projects, leveraging its full potential to craft visually striking artwork.

Get tutorials & freebies delivered to you.

Subscribe to the Photoshop Roadmap newsletter, a weekly roundup of new tutorials, insights and quality downloads, trusted by 6500+ readers.

You might also like

Creating Dark Moody Wildlife Photo Edits in Photoshop

Dark, moody wildlife photography transforms ordinary animal portraits into dramatic, atmospheric pieces that capture the mystery and power of nature. This editing approach combines strategic lighting placement, careful color grading, and atmospheric effects to create compelling images that draw viewers into the scene. The workflow begins with essential noise reduction...

How to Create Professional Photo Composites in Photoshop

Creating compelling photo composites requires more than simply placing images together. This comprehensive tutorial demonstrates how to blend multiple elements seamlessly, from matching lighting and color to painting realistic shadows and highlights. The project showcases a dramatic scene inspired by Stranger Things, combining buildings, characters, and atmospheric effects with precise...

How to Create High-Converting YouTube Thumbnails with AI and Photoshop

YouTube thumbnails serve as the first handshake between your content and potential viewers. A well-crafted thumbnail can mean the difference between a scroll-past and a click, directly impacting your video's success regardless of content quality. This comprehensive workflow combines AI image generation with traditional design principles to create...

Essential Photo Compositing Tips for Better Image Blending

Professional photo compositing requires more than just combining images—it demands understanding how light, perspective, and color work together. These fundamental techniques separate amateur collages from convincing, professional-quality composites that tell compelling visual stories. Mastering composition rules, shadow behavior, and color matching creates seamless blends that viewers accept as natural....

Using Clarity and Dehaze for Natural Depth in Images

Photoshop's new Clarity and Dehaze adjustment layers offer precise control over image depth, but they're often misused to create harsh, over-processed effects. Understanding how these tools work at different frequency levels helps you enhance natural atmospheric perspective instead of destroying it. Clarity affects microcontrast in small...

Add Realistic Film Grain in Photoshop Using the New Adjustment Layer

Film grain adds authentic character to digital images, recreating the organic texture that made analog photography compelling. The new grain adjustment layer in Photoshop 27.3 brings this classic effect directly into your workflow, eliminating the need to work in Camera Raw. Understanding how grain actually worked in film photography...

You’ve successfully subscribed to Photoshop Roadmap
Welcome back! You’ve successfully signed in.
Great! You’ve successfully signed up.
Success! Your email is updated.
Your link has expired
Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.