How to Live Paint in Photoshop CS5

Creating a real painting involves purchasing expensive paints, brushes and other supplies, but to make electronic artwork, all you need is the Adobe Photoshop CS5 software suite. With the suite's included Photoshop image-editing program, you can choose your paint colors, brushes and even canvas size.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Start Adobe Photoshop CS5, then click “File” and “New.” Type a name for the paint canvas in the Name box. Type the dimensions for the canvas into the Width and Height boxes, such as “11” and “8.5” respectively for a landscape-oriented copy paper size. Click “inches” from the two drop-down menus and click “OK” to open the canvas.
   • 2
     Click the paintbrush icon in the middle of the Tools pane on the left side of the screen. If you see a pencil instead of a paintbrush, right-click the pencil and select “Brush Tool” from the fly-out menu.
   • 3
     Click the second small drop-down arrow from the left on the toolbar at the top of the screen. This brush sizer menu is unlabeled but has a small number on it.
   • 4
     Scroll through the paintbrush heads and choose one, such as a feathered or blunt tip. Slide the Size bar to “20.” Without clicking, hover the cursor over the canvas. Check the cursor icon, which is now sized to the brush. Adjust the size and tip style as desired.
   • 5
     Double-click the “Color Picker,” the solid color box near the bottom of the Tools pane. Click a color to start painting with, then click “OK.”
   • 6
     Position the cursor on the canvas, click and hold down the left mouse button and drag to form the paint lines.
   • 7
     Change the paint colors in the Color Picker, adjust the brush style as desired and add additional paint to the canvas to complete the artwork.
   • 8
     Click “File” and “Save” to save the image or “Save As” to choose a destination to save the picture to on the computer.