Installing Custom Shapes and Brushes in Photoshop
If you’re new to Photoshop, you may not be familiar with installing new custom shapes or brushes. In this tutorial, I’ll show you the ropes so you can start using them straight away.
Installing Custom Shapes
To install a new Custom Shape you’ve downloaded, you’ll have to first select the Custom Shape Tool from the toolbar.
Now, from the Custom Shapes Options Bar, select the Custom Shape Picker dropdown. From here, you’ll be able to pick any of your currently installed custom shapes for use in your documents. However, right now we want to ignore all of these shapes, and instead click the arrow on the right side of the picker. From here, we want to “Load Shapes…“.
Once you click this, a browser will be opened up for you. From the browser, just travel to the directory where you saved your custom shapes too, and load them from there. Your new shapes will be available in the Shape Picker afterwards.
Installing Brushes
Installing brushes takes essentially the same steps as installing custom shapes.
Select the Brush tool from the toolbar.
And now from the Options Bar, select the Brush Preset Picker dropdown menu, click the arrow off to the right, and then select Load Brushes…
Again, just browse to the folder where your installed brushes are stored, and load them from there. You’re new brushes will be available in the Brush Preset Picker, as well as the Brushes window.
Need Help Installing Custom Layer Styles in Photoshop?
Hope this helps!
55 Comments
Ihave downloaded Adobe elements 9 to try
Flag as inappropriateThere is no Shape picker on the drop down menu
Thank you for great tutorial. Using of shapes become very popular nowdays, but several years ago we only used brushes.
Flag as inappropriateBonjour.
Flag as inappropriateJe suis a la recherche de tuto pour Adobe Photoshop Éléments 9.
Je cherche un outil pour repousser les contours vers l’intérieur.J’aimerais amincir une personne
Pouvez-vous me renseigner SVP.
Merci
Bonjour.
Flag as inappropriateJe suis à la recherche de tuto pour Adobe Photoshop Éléments 9.
Je cherche un outil pour repousser les contours vers l’intérieur.
J’aimerais amincir une personne.
Pouvez-vous me renseigner SVP.
Merci
(J’ai corrigé mon message précédent, je sais pas pourquoi, mais il c’était changé .
Hey this is an exellent work what you do, I. from México, and your page takes me out of the sand, Thanks a lot
Flag as inappropriateThanks
Flag as inappropriateThanks David,very useful
Flag as inappropriatevist for basic training of photoshop
Flag as inappropriatehttp://training4free.co.cc/Basic%20training/Basic%20training.html
very very useful information thanxxxx.
Flag as inappropriatevery very useful information thanxxx.
Flag as inappropriateIt’s quite useful for a new man to photoshop, thanks a lot, and thanks for sharing the PSD resourses for free, I love this website!
Flag as inappropriatewowwww, it’s help alot for me as a newbie for PS…very well explained. Waiting for the new basic tutorials…:)
Flag as inappropriateFinding this doesnt work for MAC….any suggestions….? Cannot save a shape in the shapes folder. i can only save as a Brush. I would like to save and load my own custom shape. I have Mac osx and photoshop 4…thanks
Flag as inappropriatewow Great article, thanks!164
Flag as inappropriatewow Great article, thanks!151
Flag as inappropriatewow Great article, thanks!146
Flag as inappropriategracias por la ayuda tnx XD
Flag as inappropriatehi
Flag as inappropriateI wanted to know if I can download shapes and brushes for my photoshop elements 6 for the mac ?
quiero descargarlos como le hago?
Flag as inappropriateNEED HELP!!!!
hey m using photoshop cs4 & i m new to this
i have tried evrythin for installin custom shapes n brushes in photoshop,bt its not working,wen i click on load shapes or brushes,its not showing any files in that folder. . .is it bcoz i hav installed photoshop in my E Drive???
Flag as inappropriategood Keep Goning
Flag as inappropriateThank u for all your posts, man!
Flag as inappropriateBut i only have one question, how can i delete brushes i`ve installed?
Simply deletin` them from the PS Brushes folder not workin`
useful for students and faculty
Flag as inappropriategreat work david, really very very simple to follow how to work with photoshop. thnks a million
Flag as inappropriateGreat man! very worthy to be learned hahaha
Flag as inappropriateI simply drag the desired brush to the brushes folder (then restart photoshop), which is under the presets folder. I use a Mac but I think its the same on a Windows XD
Flag as inappropriateThank you for the great tutorials, very helpful for a beginner like me. Now I know of all the shapes available in photoshop. Great job.
Flag as inappropriateHi! Thanks for the amazing site! I am working on a Mac and with CS3, and I’m a real beginner. I cannot even load the brushes. What am I doing wrong? I downloaded a couple of brushes, I expanded them, put the abr files in the Presets>Brushes folder, and either double-clicked or used the preset menu to Load Brushes, but nothing is working. Can you help? I’m trying to do the parchment tutorial…I’m hitting a snag before I even start :-(
Flag as inappropriateThanks,
Flag as inappropriate@Alentus: We have quite a few brushes you can download for free here Alentus. :)
Flag as inappropriateHi, I understand this part but where do i find those .ABR files :p
Btw, very clear tut
Flag as inappropriateit is easy to install and use. Thanks dude..
Flag as inappropriateHello all,
Flag as inappropriateI just started learn photoshop yesterday thru this usefull site. But i was wondering if my photoshop is the right version to learn from the very beginning. So i have Adobe photoshop 7.0
Please advice… Thanks
There are a lot of new features in CS2+, but you should be able to do most of the things here. If anything, you would have to find another way to do something that is only CS3, which could be a great learning experience.
Good luck!
Flag as inappropriateWith versions of Photoshop prior to the Creative Suite 3, yes, it was required that you install them in this way.
Flag as inappropriatei just double click on the brush file and it automatically installs them.
Flag as inappropriateis this only a CS3 thing?
very well explained :) i had problems trying to do this back in the days aswell Steve hahaha :(
Flag as inappropriateI remember when I first tried to do this I had an older version of photoshop…and had a heck of a time finding brushes for my older version hehe.
Flag as inappropriateYes, this is definitely one for those new to Photoshop. But everyone must start somewhere ;)
Also, this tutorial was filed under the Photoshop > Basic category, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise :P
Flag as inappropriateQuite basic, but I’ve seen many people with this question, so this should be of great help to others.
Flag as inappropriateYes, very useful.
Flag as inappropriateit helps me :)) thanks!
Flag as inappropriate