Brushes in Metabrush

Here are some Metabrush images to illustrate a few of the many possible variations of brushes you can create. On this page I give you some examples and how to make them.

First, some things to know:

  • On the Metabrush screen, on the right side of the bar across the top, there is a brush icon. When you click on this brush icon, a big set of brush groups comes up. For example, Gradient is one of those brush groups. Its symbol is a circle that is white around the outside but shades into black in the center. If you click on that symbol, then click on "Single" at the top of the list, you'll bring up the individual gradient brushes. Then you can click on one of the brushes to select it. Similarly for the other brush groups. The terminology "Gradient brush 16/32" means I used the 16th brush of the Gradient brush group. Metabrush displays these numbers when you click on a brush, and it displays the brush group name when you click on a brush group.
  • Set the brush size and brush opacity on the vertical bar on the left edge of the Metabrush screen.
  • All the examples on this page use Metabrush's "Paint" mode, which is the left-most choice on the toolbar at top left of the Metabrush screen. It is also the default mode when you open the app. In Paint mode, you can choose a source image for the brush by touching the little flower-like icon from the strip along the left-hand side of the Metabrush screen. This will bring up your camera roll, and you can select an image. With a source image selected, you are painting with that source image, rather than painting with a color. Very cool!
  • Brush settings can be found on the bar at the top right of the Metabrush screen (look for the little 3-slider icon). Wherever I mention things like spacing, rotation variance, etc., I am referring to brush settings. Brush settings can dramatically alter the appearance of the brushstrokes you create in Metabrush, particularly the settings for spacing, structure and shadow. Metabrush gives you a preview of what the brush stroke will look like, as you adjust these setting sliders.
  • I find that patterns work well as source images in Metabrush. Most of the patterns I used on this page can be found in Donald Bishops's iColorama textures collection on Flickr. You can freely use these images, and you can also contribute images of your own for others to use.

I created this in Metabrush using a large brush, high opacity. I used a small spacing. The brush I used was Gradient brush 16/32.

I used a Gradient brush and experimented with the brush settings, which you can find on the bar at the top right of the Metabrush screen (look for the little 3-slider icon).

This is the source image for the above brush.

Here are several examples all using the same source image, and all using Gradient brush 1/32. All were large size, high opacity.

From left to right: (1) small spacing, no rotation variance, no position variance. (2) low to medium spacing, no rotation variance. (3) low to medium spacing, low positional variance, low rotation variance. (4) less spacing, more variance. (5) more spacing, no rotation variance. (6) different rotation setting, no variance. (7) stamp.


Source image for the above brushes. This is a photograph of mine, enhanced in iColorama.

Basic hard brush 4/25 (from the "Basic" brush group, which is the first one in the list of brush groups), large size and high opacity. Medium to large spacing. Various variance settings for position and rotation.

Source image for the above. This is a photograph of mine, enhanced in iColorama.

Basic brush 4/25. Low spacing, low to medium rotation, max rotation variance, low position variance, no color variance, medium shadow, max structure, medium rotation dynamics and opacity dynamics, max size dynamics.

Source image for the above. This is a photograph of mine, enhanced in iColorama.

Gradient brush 7/32, low to medium rotation, low spacing, low position variance, max rotation variance, no color variance, medium rotation dynamics and opacity dynamics, max size dynamics and structure, high shadow.

Source image for the above. I created this pattern in iColorama.

Same settings as the above, different source image.

Source image for the above. I created this pattern in iColorama.

Same settings as above, different source image.

Source image for the above. I created this pattern in iColorama.

Same settins as above, gradient brush 22/32

Same source image as above, gradient brush 12/32, low spacing, no position variance, no rotation variance, medium shadow, otherwise all the same settings as above

Same as above, except Brok brush 3/9, using 3 different rotation settings

Gradient brush 12/32, max size. Almost max opacity, no rotation variance or position variance, low spacing, rotation low (90), no structure, no shadow or color variance, middle rotation dynamics, middle opacity dynamics, max size dynamics

Source image for the above. I created this pattern in iColorama.