Create a Bristle Brush in Adobe Illustrator CS6

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Video: Create a Bristle Brush in Adobe Illustrator CS6

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You're watching VisiHow. In this tutorial, we're going to show you how to create a custom brush for line art in Adobe Illustrator CS6 in Windows 7.

1. 1
   To begin, open Adobe Illustrator from the desktop or by clicking the Windows icon in the lower-left corner of the screen

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   Clicking the Windows icon will reveal a list of the most recently used programs. You may find Illustrator on the list. It is identified by a brown-and-orange icon with the letters "Ai".

   

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2. 2
   Otherwise, click the search bar at the bottom of the start menu to begin typing "Adobe Illustrator"

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3. 3
   Then, click "Adobe Illustrator CS6" once to load it and go directly to your workspace

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4. 4
   Create a new document by clicking "File" in the top-left corner

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5. 5
   Then, click "New..."

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   Alternatively, press "Ctrl" + "N" on the keyboard. You can also open an existing document. For detailed instructions on how to create a new document in Adobe Illustrator, please view our other tutorials.

   

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6. 6
   Click "OK"

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7. 7
   Once our document is open, click the "Brushes" icon on the right-hand side panel

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   A menu will appear with a set of default brushes.

   

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8. 8
   At the bottom of the menu, click the small square "New Brush" icon

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9. 9
   In the pop-up window, create a new brush by clicking "Bristle Brush"

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   Without a shape or object, there will be no access to "Scatter Brush" and "Art Brush". There are other VisiHow videos about these two brushes.

   

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10. 10
    Click "OK"

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11. 11
    Type a name for the brush at the top of the large dialogue box that appears

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    Let's call this brush "Van Gogh".

    

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12. 12
    Next, you can change the shape by clicking the "Shape" drop-down menu

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13. 13
    Click a brush shape

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    The brush preview will be updated. For this tutorial, the "Round Fan" brush is selected.

    

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14. 14
    The size of the brush can be changed by clicking and dragging the "Size" slider to the right or left

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    As you make changes, your preview will also be updated.

    

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15. 15
    You can also make changes by manually typing a number in the box to the right-hand side of each slider

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16. 16
    Change the "Bristle Length" value to go between "Short" and "Long" strokes

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17. 17
    Change "Bristle Density" from "High" to "Low"

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18. 18
    Change "Bristle Thickness" between "Fine" and "Coarse"

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19. 19
    Change "Paint Opacity" between "Transparent" and "Opaque"

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20. 20
    Finally, change "Stiffness" between "Flexible" and "Rigid" brushes

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21. 21
    When you are satisfied with your settings, click "OK"

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22. 22
    Now, select the "Paintbrush Tool" from the vertical toolbar on the left-hand side of the screen

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23. 23
    Next, click the brush that you have just added in the "Brushes" menu on the right side of the window

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    The brush is "Van Gogh".

    

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24. 24
    Then, click and drag the canvas with your mouse to begin drawing

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    Your line will look rugged as you are drawing, but when you release the mouse to stop drawing, Illustrator will automatically polish the lines for you.

    

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25. 25
    If you want to make any changes to the brush, double-click "Van Gogh" within the brushes panel to reopen your settings panel

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26. 26
    Click "OK" after you've made any changes

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    A dialogue box will appear asking if you want to leave the existing brush strokes as they are or if you want to apply your updates to the existing brush strokes. For this tutorial, let's click "Leave Strokes". Experiment with all of the settings to see how they affect the brush strokes and to see which types of settings will work for your design.

    

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This is a VisiHow tutorial. We've just shown you how to create "Bristle Brush" in Adobe Illustrator CS6 in Windows 7. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section below. Thank you for watching VisiHow!

CREATE A BRISTLE BRUSH FROM A SHAPE?

How to create a bristle brush from a shape in illustrator CS6.. I have tried: I tried to make a fire shape with pencil tool. I make a circular shape filled with gradient, then how to make bristle brush using that shape.

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