79 Artistic Brushes for Photoshop That Simulate Real Art Tools

1K Shares

Contrary to popular belief, Photoshop isn’t just for editing photos. It’s also a tool for designers who like to create art from scratch. Using the virtual art tools provided by the program, a skilled artist can craft amazing images and designs with or without the use of a pen tablet. But for many designers, the tools that Photoshop provides are not enough. Fortunately, these artistic brushes for Photoshop are the next best thing to using an actual paintbrush, pencil, or other art tool.

Every designer has unique needs, and you’re ultimately going to use the tools you feel the most comfortable with. But with a collection of brushes this large, there’s a good chance you’ll find the next must-have tool for your toolkit.

Splatter and Spray Brushes

Sometimes being neat and tidy is exactly what you don’t want. These splatter and spray brushes set out to replicate the chaotic textural effects that are lost when paint is made of pixels instead of pigments. From grungy and hip graffiti brushes to delicate splatters, here’s your excuse to get a little messy with your print designs.

Dirty Spray Brushes (No longer available)

Drip Collection

Free Faded Splatters Brush Set

Free Textured Spray Paint Brushes

Gradient Splats

Hi-Res Splatter PS Brush Set

Ink Splatters Brushes (No longer available)

Massive Splatter Pack

Messy Spraypaint

Paint/Ink Splats/Blots/Splash/Splatter Brushes (No longer available)

Paint Splatters (No longer available)

Photoshop Splatter Brushes

Splashes of Paint

Splatter and Watercolor Brushes for Photoshop

Splatter Brushes

Spray Paint Brushes Vol. 1

Spray Splatter Brush Pack

Paint Stroke Brushes

Many of the Photoshop brushes you find online aren’t actually “brushes” at all. After all, anything can be turned into a brush, even a photograph or vector object. But these paint stroke brushes are the real deal—brushes that actually simulate real painting tools. From bristle brushes to fingers and sponges, if it can apply paint to a canvas, you’ll find its Photoshop equivalent here.

12 Free High Res Dry Brush Stroke Photoshop Brushes

20 Painted Photoshop Brushes (No longer available)

Acrylic Brushes Set

Deadbeat Marker

Finger Paints Brush Set

Fingertips

Hi-Res Paint Strokes: Set II

Paint Lines Brushes

Paint Trails Brushes

SimpleSmudges Brushes Pack

Sponge Party

Sponge Prints and Swirls Set

Watercolor Brushes

The serenity of watercolors make for a truly remarkable image, but it’s an effect that can be extremely difficult to pull off in Photoshop, where there’s not a drop of real water to be had. These watercolor brushes for Photoshop are the best way to simulate this artistic style without getting your computer wet.

14 Hi-Res Watercolor Stroke PS Brushes

7 Watercolor Brushes

Free Hi-Res Watercolor Photoshop Brushes

Free Hi-Res Watercolor Photoshop Brushes Set II

Grungy Watercolor

High Resolution Watercolour Photoshop Brushes

Insane Watercolor Brush Set

Watercolor and Salt Photoshop Brush Set

Watercolor EXTREMUM

Watercolor Paint Brushes (No longer available)

WaterColor Reloaded

Watercolor Splatters

WG Watercolor Brushes Vol1

Marker and Ink Pen Brushes

Markers and ink pens almost have a dual nature to them. On one hand, they’re permanent, so we associate them with importance and professionalism (such as signing official documents). On the other hand, they can create fun effects like cross hatching, stippling and even comic book crackles. This collection of marker and ink pen brushes for Photoshop runs the gamut from first-grade fun to serious business.

25 High Resolution Marker Pen Brushes

Brushed Ink Brush Set

Crackle and Hatch Brushes

Dither and Hatches

Free Cross Hatch Photoshop Brush Set

Hatching and Stippling Brushes

Hatching Brushes for Photoshop

Incredible Inking Brush

Mateu7’s Ink Brushes

Nanda’s Real Pen and Marker Brushes for Photoshop

Paint Markers Brush Set

Pen and Ink Hatching Brushes

Photoshop Inking Brush Tool Presets

Textured Marker Brush v.3

Pencil Brushes

An authentic pencil effect is one of the hardest things to get right in Photoshop, which is why so many designers have created their own for lineart and other artwork. These Photoshop pencil brushes are best when used with a pen tablet, but even designers who only use a mouse will find something to love.

Charcoal Brushes

Colored Pencil Brush Set

Colored Pencils

Pencil Box

Pencil Brushes PS7

Pencil Brush Set

Photoshop Pencil Brush

Sketchtastic Brush Set

Stumpy Pencil v.2

Mixed Media Brush Sets

Creating “mixed media” in a digital environment is much easier than doing it in real life because you can quickly switch from paint brushes to pens to pencils—all from your computer. That must be why so many designers have created easy-to-download brush sets, each containing brushes made to resemble a swath of different artistic mediums.