Nov 21 2008
Photoshop Brush Controller - Pressure Sensitive Brush in Photoshop Using Mouse
This is very useful and unique custumization of photoshop brushe it not only control the brush size while editing but it a gives a very good flexibility and control over the brushes. A must have tool for every photoshop user.
An exclusive free downloadable Photoshop script that enables to control the brush size using the mouse or the graphic tablet, in way similar to the new CS4 version. The controller also allows to adjust the opacity and flow values.
The Photoshop Brush Controller is a free script for Adobe Photoshop (Windows only versions) written by Marco Traverso.
It allows to control the brush size, opacity and flow values by pressing the CTRL + Right Mouse Button and dragging the mouse.
- Right > Increases Brush Size
- Left > Decreases Brush Size
- Up > Adjusts the opacity value
- Down > Adjusts the flow value
The script was created with AutoHotKey and allows several customizations in terms of keys and sensitivity. Read below for additional details (recommended) or scroll down to the download section.
The original article in Italian which describes the script is available on attic22.
Introduction
The standard tool for sketching and painting in Adobe Photoshop is the Brush Tool. Even if a wide range of standard and customizable brushes is available, it is still very useful to adjust the brush diameter size while painting without changing the brush itself.
Up to the current CS3 version, this was possible in several different ways:
- by adjusting the slider on the top option bar
- by right-clicking the mouse and adjusting the slider in the pop-up dialog
- by using the keyoboard shortcuts (Increase / Decrease Brush Size)
It is also possible, when using a graphic tablet, to assign the brush diameter parameter to the pen pressure or pen tilt: however it can be more convenient to use the pen pressure to control only the opacity, and moreover it can be useful to have more precise control on the brush size.
One of the new features of Photoshop CS4 is the ability to vary the brush size by clicking the Ctrl +Alt + Left Button and dragging the mouse (see this video)
The following script allows to have a similar control even in the previous versions of Photoshop (the ones that support the keyboard shortcuts), and also allows to adjust the opacity and flow parameters.
Note: being based on AutoHotKey, a Windows-only free utility, the Brush Controller script works only on Windows systems. Anyway the same principle could be adopted to create a similar script in OSx environments.
Installation
The PS Brush Size Controller comes as a zipped archive that includes three files:
- PS Brush Size Controller.ini
The .ini file contains the settings used by the controller - such as the keyboard shortcuts, sensitivity ecc. See below for customization - PS Brush Size Controller.ahk
The .ahk file contains the code of the script, and requires AutoHotKey. - PS Brush Size Controller.exe
The .exe file is a compiled version of the script, which doesn’t require the installation of AutoHotKey.
To install the script:
- Unzip the files in the same directory (the location is not important)
- Open the .ini file in a text editor and check that the increase/decrease shortcuts correspond to the ones you are using in Photoshop - see customization below
- Run the .exe or - if you have AutoHotKey installed - the .ahk file
You can also copy a link to the script file in the Startup folder of the start menu, so that it will run automatically when Windows starts.
The script was tested in Adobe Photoshop CS3 only. It should work on previous versions, anyway if you have some problems just send us an email and we’ll try to fix it.
Additional information
- The controller also works with other brush-based tools such as eraser, burn, dodge, etc.
- Since this is not a native Photoshop command, the CTRL+ Right Button combination starts the controller even when a brush tool is not selected. This disables the default effect of the combination in Photoshop - for example when pressing CTRL+Right Button a layers selection menu opens.
- The effect described above has to be considered when a different combination is selected in the settings file. For example if the activation is set to CTRL+Left Mouse Button, this will disable the relative function - for example the multiple layers selection, the move tool shortcut and the layer mask selection shortcut. So a less used combination is preferable.
- The Photoshop Brush Controller is released under the GNU General Public License.
Additional Information and full article can be read from the link below.
Free full version download also available.
Full Artilcle and Download of Photoshop Brush Controller
