Adobe Photoshop Tutorials

How to create realistic cloud brushes

These tutorials were written and created by yours truly in Photoshop CS, though they should work fine on most earlier versions. All tutorials are marked according to the skill level requirement. Please do NOT copy these tutorials elsewhere.

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Skill level: Beginner.
Works in Photoshop 6 and up. Click thumbnails to see larger views.

	Finding a good image is key in brush making. Go to an image site with large, crisp images. I chose Stock Exchange. Large images are preferred as you can always make a brush smaller. Enlarging brushes make them blurry and pixelated. Make sure your image is a jpg or in rgb mode. For me, a good brush image needs two things: composition and contrast. This will make your job a lot easier. Your best bet is a single floating cloud in a sea of darker blue. That allows for maximum mobility when creating a wallpaper since there are no cut edges to hide; it can be put anywhere your heart desires. This cloud fits all my criteria.
	Since brushes only rely on greytones, I always like to desaturate my image so I know exactly what I am going to get. To do this, go to Image -> Adjustments -> Desaturate.
	In brush making, white is empty space and black is read data. Since your cloud is white, you want to change it to black. Go to Image -> Adjustments -> Invert.
	Ok, now your cloud is black in a grey sky. To just have the cloud as a brush and not the background, the background needs to be white. This is where we play with the levels. Go to Image -> Adjustments -> Levels. Under the histogram, take the rightmost slider (the white one) and slide it left until your background is white. Click ok. For my image, I moved the right slider left to the number 120. Clean up any stray areas with the eraser tool.
	Now to define the brush. Go to Select -> All. Next, go to Edit -> Define Brush Preset. Type in a name for the brush and click ok. If the Define Brush Preset option is not highlighted, then your image is too large. Shrink it to 2500 pixels width or height, whichever comes first. Brushes can only be a maximum of 2500 pixels high or wide. Be sure to save your brush set so that you don't lose it! Select the brush tool and click the brush box as if you want to switch your brush. In that box, click the arrow within a circle and select 'Save Brushes.' Name your brush set and save.
	And now your done! I like my clouds semi transparent so I can layer more clouds in front and behind. Brush your clouds in various harmonious colors on a gradient background. Be sure to play with the blending options as that's the key to your image's atmosphere.

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