Shader Brushes

Shader Brushes

The Brushtip for all Ink Brushes is a simple circle

Ink Wash

For an Ink Wash we use ink mixed with water in different concentrations to create different values of greys in our painting. On paper you can use a watercolor brush to achieve this affect. In the digital world, we need a brush, that controls the lightness and darkness of the stroke with the pen pressure. The lighter we hold the pen and paint, the lighter the value (less ink + more water). The harder we press, the darker the brush stroke will be (more ink + less water).

The line drawing + ink wash.

Basic Setup

The brush tip for all four shader brushes is a simple black Circle. The brush tip has a spacing of 1%, for all except the Shader Dry Brush. This one has a spacing of 12% to achieve a light block in.

Brush Tip

Spacing 1 %

Spacing 1 %

Spacing 12 %

Spacing 1 %

Shape Dynamics

The Shape Dynamic for all is set to Control: Pen Pressure. With this setting we can control the amount of ink and water with the pressure of the pen on the tablet.

Texture

Click!

The Textures for all brushes vary. I listed them below with a link to download them.

#237S

#168S

#27534

#27541

Texture Settings

Dual Brush

The Dual Brush works like a surrounding container for our brush, giving it a new shape.

We created all these brush tips at the beginning of this tutorial, now you can apply them as a dual brush.

none

Transfer

Setting the Flow of the Brushes to Pen Pressure enables us to control the darkness and lightness of the brush stroke with our pen. Adding a flow Jitter of 30% gives the brush a more realistig look.

Transfer Settings for all 4 Shader Brushes

Flow Jitter: 30% Control: Pen Pressure

Flow Jitter: 30% Control: Pen Pressure

Control: Pen Pressure

OFF

Tool Settings

The last important step is to set the flow of the brushes. We are trying to simulate an ink wash, so we want our flow to be really low and only add more ink to the stroke, when we press the pen on the tablet.

Before you save the brush, select black as your foreground color, to include it into the brush.

Flow: 9%

Flow: 7%

Flow: 9%

When saving your Brush, make sure to activate these Settings.

Flow 3%

These icons show you, that your Brush has been saved with the color and the tool Settings.

Voila! Here are your Shader Brushes!

Pro Tip!

With the brush selected hold down Shift + Ctrl and left click.. The Menu that appeared lets you choose the blending mode for the brush. Set it to "Clear" to use any brush as an eraser.

Watch the Ink-Wash Time Lapse

I made a selection from my line drawing and used my Shader Brushes to paint in the Values. First I painted in a light grey for the whole figure and then I started adding shadows. I also painted highlights in with white color using the same brushes. Remember that you can use any brush as an Eraser, when you set the Blending Mode to Clear.