Deep Textured Brushes

One way of creating a rich textured look in your Photoshop paintings is using layer styles. First, though, create a brush similar to the one pictured and save it. Next, for the Samurai portrait below, I created a new layer, enabled ‘Bevel and Emboss’ and tinkered with the settings until I found something desirable. Be sure to run several tests on a blank document before committing to a final version. Afterwards, I saved that style as a ‘New Style’ for my style library.

Next, I blocked-in a rough outline of the character, all the while, making sure I maintain his strong silhouette.

From this point forward, I begin painting on a new layer with the new brush and new layer style. If the brushstroke has too much kick, decrease the flow to 20-30%. I didn’t use this brush entirely. Many brushes were involved in this demo, but it’s quite obvious where I used the deep-textured brush. The deep-textured brush lends the painting a nice tactile quality and brings an extra dimension to your work. Well, that’s it! If you have any questions, let me know.