Filter Designing

With the moVe tool, drag in a number of images from opened documents that you might possibly use. You can always hide the layers that you don't want to see or won't be using. Edit: Transform: Scale them if necessary. I use Ctrl/Cmd 'T' and hold the Shift key down. Make sure that you let go of the Shift key last (release click first) otherwise it will distort your perfect scale.

Here you see a number of potential layers that we can work with which might end up being some kind of design (how 'bout dat).

Let's choose a brush from the drop down brush menu in the options bar. Note that you must first be on the 'B'rush tool to see it's options (almost all tools have their own settings in the options bar when selected...at least in Photoshop 7 & CS. Previous versions become a blur because they seem light years away. Hey look, this parentheses just keeps going and going..) Where was I? Ok, choose a bristly brush because we want to create a torn edge effect. Bring up the brush hardness so you can get distinct edges.

Create a layer mask on the layer by pressing the new layer mask icon on the bottom of the layers palette (2nd from the left). Make sure black is your foreground color and just start masking with the brush and you'll notice how the edges look like the brush. Try putting on the airbrush function (in the options bar).

Airbrush will allow you to keep holding down the mouse to give the effect of an airbrush that keeps soaking or spraying. The lighter you click, the less effect and if you hold the brush in one place it'll start to soak up like those airbrush artists you see in your mall a decade ago. Oh yes, Photoshop has it all. You can save your tool presets by clicking on the brush as shown and click the new icon to create a new tool preset. Do this after you have found the brush and the settings that you like are adjusted. Now you can just go to your preset menu and choose the brush.

You can also adjust the opacity and flow, turn airbrush on or off and even have a separate blending mode set just for each brush! Experiment around with that sometime because you'll get different brush effects because the blending mode is playing with the light properties of the brush and the layers beneath it.

There are tons of great things to do with brushes. You can create your own custom presets even import vector shapes into the brush editing menu (look for a tutorial on that coming up).

Here I'm using the brush on a layer mask to create a ripped photo effect.  Get my video training on Basic Photoshop here or when you order the Discover Photoshop: Total Package.

You could also use the eraser tool but with the layer mask you are just hiding pixels so you can always come back to your original. It's like a temporary and flexible eraser but much more powerful.

Here's a larger brush using the same technique to hide the pixels. You can create quick and easy frames for your photos by doing this. Try out different brushes.