Download a brush set

Just occasionally you may feel like having something a little different to play with in the form of brushes - or you may want to download a ready made collection of cloud brushes instead of creating brushes from your own photos of clouds. Whatever the reason I will help you to understand how uncomplicated it is to get and install them.
First find the brushes.
I simply type into the Google Search "Photoshop brushes" and you would be amazed how many links appear - and most of them offer free downloads (the brushes AND the download are free). If you need a specific shape - such as clouds, then put that into the search too "Photoshop cloud brushes" and that will find the specific brush sets that you can visit. Each of the creators of brushes let you see what they have before you download them - there are usually a few examples shown.
I have just searched for "smoke" to find brushes to put steam on a cup of coffee or add smoke to a shot of a smoldering log. That is a brush I would not be able to make myself. I found my smoke here but I am sure there would be lots of excellent sites I could have gone to.

 I could add just a little steam for a "not too hot" look....

 Or I could give lots of steam - it depends on how much I erase from the single dab with the steam brush.

Lets concentrate on Clouds, since that is what I have been showing up until now. This is a good site to go and chose some. There are dozens of other sites just as good. Click on the link below the set you would like to download.
The file is in a Zip folder and will go into the download folder you have put aside for all things you save from the computer. Do set a special folder so that you know where to find your downloads! In your browser go to Options then to Tools and (each browser is different) somewhere you will find an option similar to this.

I realise that most people put everything in "My Documents"  (now called "Libraries"!)but I go straight to one of my three drives and create my folders there. You do what you feel comfortable with - but deciding on your location means you will always know where to go looking for your downloaded pictures, programs, music, etc.
Back to our clouds - click on the Download button or link to get the brush folder.

The name of the brush folder will be shown on the pop up download box - this is important because just sometimes there are other things that can be downloaded on the same page and they are not what you want. (They pay to be on that page, they are a form of advertising). Click Save File for your cloud set.
If you feel like getting a few different brushes before you close your browser, go for it! I found some flames and some swirly brushes for borders! Now close the browser and open your Windows Explorer and find the folder where your zip files have been saved.
Right click on the folder (can you see that the folder has a zip?!)

In the pop up box that appears click Browse and find the download folder (the same folder that the zip is in) and click Extract.
Another folder will be alongside the zip folder, left click on it to reveal what is inside.

If, like me, you have quite a few things in your download folder already it might be clearer to make a new folder and drag the zip folder into it. If this is confusing information, ignore it!
When you click on the unzipped folder the brush is an ABR file or else it looks like in my illustration above, it depends on whether you have chosen to view as Thumbnails or as Details.
Right click on the brush or the ABR file and Copy - do this by holding down the Ctrl and letter C at the same time.
Now you have to put the file into Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
Follow the route I have taken - it is the same for either program.

Now all you need to do is open your program and use the brushes.
Always put a new layer over your image before using the brush, that way the cloud can be moved or it can be made larger. If you paint a cloud and have used the largest brush size and it is still not large enough, use the keyboard and Ctrl+T to bring up "Transform" Then you can drag the corners out to enlarge your cloud or even distort it by squeezing in the sides and stretching the top or bottom.
Apply another layer if you want to add a different shaped cloud. You can add as many layers as you like and as many clouds as look natural.
Once you have finished and everything looks good, Flatten the image and save it.
Have fun with your brushes!
AJ

Make your own cloud brushes

It may seem obvious - but first you need to take a few photos of isolated clouds!
Here is one of mine (you could download it and try with this photo if you have none!)

Step 1. Convert to black and white.

In Photoshop Elements there are a few options you can scroll through. Select the one that will give you the blackest looking sky.
In Photoshop the treatment is a little different, Click on Image>Black and white and use the sliders for Cyan to darken the blue sky to jet black.
Step 2. Clean up the sky using a soft edged brush and black. Get as close to the cloud as you can without obliterating any part of it.

Even though my blue sky looks smooth and even, when it was converted there was quite a lot of white through the black of the sky. That would show if the brush was created without painting over with black.
Step 3. Take a look at the default brush panel. Are the brushes white on black?

Absolutely not! So the next thing to do is invert the colours.

Click on Filter > Adjustments>Invert  Now you have a black cloud on a white background.
Step 4. Crop the cloud as close as you can

Take care that you do not cut any of the faded edges of the cloud or a hard line will show when you apply it in a picture. Leave a little space around the cloud.
 Step 5. If the cloud image is too large you will not be able to turn it into a brush so we need to resize it. If you follow these steps and find that your longest side is 1000 pixels or less you will not need to do any resizing.

All the steps for resizing are illustrated here. Follow the numbers sequentially.
Now we are ready to change this baby into a brush.
Step 6. Click on Edit>Define Brush.

Step 6. In the pop-up box, write a name for your brush.

 Done!
Now you are ready to use your new brush.
Open a picture that needs a cloud and click to add a new layer - the button on the extreme left of the Layers Palette.
Change you color swatches from what ever colors they are to black and white (I prefer to use cream and black because I find white to be too dazzly)
Click on the brush tool and scroll to the bottom of the brushes and click on the very last one - it is the one you have just created.

Now give one click on the sky to apply the brush.
If you do not like it, undo and resize the brush and click again.
The cloud can be moved once it is applied because it is on a layer. It can also be made less bright by sliding the Opacity from 100% to a smaller percentage.
Here is my cloud.

If you find any of these images too difficult to read, click on them and they will open larger.
There may not be many times you need home made clouds but for those few occasions when Nature does not provide the best backdrop, you are ready!
AJ    joanren@gmail.com

Changing skies

Australia (and other countries!) can have the most beautiful blue cloudless skies. I love those days! Mind you, sometimes the photos taken on those days would be so much better if there were a few clouds to add interest to that emptiness!
For those occasions when I find a photo that the eye is pulled into the blank emptiness at the top, I have made my own clouds!
Perhaps I am doing this tutorial the wrong way around - I am going to show how to use the cloud without showing how to MAKE the clouds! I will do that next time.
First I have a picture taken in the Northern Territory.

This is a very important landscape to the aboriginal people of this area. The eye is drawn right through the picture into the blue of the sky. A couple of clouds would stop that happening and allow the eyes to linger longer over the landscape - can you see the face on the rock profile? See, you looked right past it!
Make a blank layer to go over the picture.

If I show you this often enough, you may be able to remember! The grey and white squares in the layer that is called "Layer 1" indicate that it has no colour in it at all, it is transparent.
Imagine a piece of clear cellophane laying over the page of a book, that is how this layer is, you can see through it and all below is unchanged by it in any way.
We shall "paint" clouds onto this layer - and you do not need to be an artist to be able to do this. It is really straight forward.
Before getting to this stage I would suggest that you search for and install a set of "Cloud brushes".
The instructions on how to install the brush set in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements are given to you by the brush designers. Not only have I downloaded a couple of different sets of cloud brushes I have also made my own and this is what I will show you how to do in my next tutorial.
The next thing to do for adding clouds to a sky is to click on the brush tool.

After clicking on the tool, click on the brush set at the top - if you haven't changed your brushes recently it will read "Default brushes". From the drop down box, select the set of brushes that contain the clouds. I have three different sets of cloud brushes but I have selected the set I created myself.

Click on the picture with your brush (you are on the layer so you cannot spoil anything).
When I clicked on my photo I discovered that the brush was much too big for my needs so I had to reduce its size. To do that I held down the Ctrl key (Command for Mac users) and dabbed repeatedly on the left square bracket key, next to the letter "P". The brush I had left sitting over the picture and by using both hands on the keyboard I could watch to see the cloud shape reduce in size until it looked as if it was small enough for me to use. When the cloud brush is hovering over the picture there is a rough outline of the shape.
I had left a big imprint on the layer when I first clicked with the brush.
Delete that layer and create a new one. Delete the layer by clicking on the garbage bin at the bottom of the layers palette and then clicking "Yes" when asked if you really want to delete the layer. Click on the Add new layer button again (like in picture number 2) so you have a clean layer for your new cloud size.
Before applying the brush we need to set the colour for the clouds. White and black would work but take a good look at clouds - they are not pure white. They would be really dazzling if that were so.  Click on the foreground colour of the two colour swatches at the bottom of the tool bar and in the colour selection box that appears chose a yellow colour - slide a little further down towards the red so there is a warmth to the yellow. You will need a sample from the light area. Here is where I took my sample.

The background colour swatch can be black or dark grey - it gives the shadows to the cloud.
Now click only once on the sky - after using the outline as a guide to positioning the cloud.

Although the cloud is dabbed at 100 per cent opacity this strength can be reduced in the layers palette to more transparent. It looks quite natural, doesn't it?
Because this cloud is on a layer it can be moved. Change the tool to the Move tool (hit the letter V on your keyboard, if you like short cuts!) and move the cloud across the sky.

Take care that the cloud is not put over the top of trees or buildings. If that happens you will need to erase using either the erase tool or by using a mask and painting out the cloud.
When you are happy with the placement of your cloud go to Layers>Flatten image (on the Menu Bar).
Now, off you go and find a set of cloud brushes and give a little character to those empty blue skies!
AJ                joanren@gmail.com