Photoshop Airbrush/Paintbrush 'Brush-Tool' Tutorial

Paint & Airbrush Retouching with Photoshop's Brush Tool

One of the techniques used in photo retouching is to create an airbrushed effect by applying a smooth tonal gradation of color, using Photoshop's "Paintbrush" tool exclusively. Click on the "Paintbrush" tool and set the "Mode" to "Brush" in the options tool bar. While still in the options toolbar, set the "Opacity" to a low percentage (25% or less). This makes any alterations very subtle. If you go too far, you can undo your last few moves, or revert to a previously saved version of the file.

In the Photoshop "Brushes" pallet, select a brush size that covers a large area and use a brush with a soft edge. In the example below, we have chosen a 50 Pixel brush. This soft edged brush will give your stroke an "airbrushed" or "feathered" effect.

You may want to contain your corrections to a defined area by making a selection with the "Lasso Tool" (L) or the "Magic Wand" tool. Soften the selection edge by setting the selection using Select>Feather from the top menu bar.

Set the Feathering to at least 1 pixel so that there is not an abrupt visible edge after you paint the area. Use the key command Ctrl-H (Windows) or Command-H (Mac OS) to hide the selection "Marching Ants".

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