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Rizum
Rizum
Known Participant
May 17, 2022
Question

How to make brushes automatically save to the last brush size they were changed?

  • May 17, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 5090 views

Hi, I am coming from other programs like Procreate and Clip studio paint, and I notice that photoshop changes the brush size to default whenever you switch brushes. I searched for a solution, but I found out that what most people do is to save the different sized brush in a new brush preset, which is super inconvinient. Is there any way that can make Photoshop remember the last size I use on any particular brush?

3 replies

W
Wienke
Known Participant
October 17, 2024

I’ve been struggling with the same issue, and I think I’ve got a solution:

First make your brush preset with the “capture size” unchecked, give it a descriptive name, and copy that name to the clipboard.
This version of the brush will always default to the size of the last brush you used.
Fine. Change its size to what you want. Now save it as a new preset, with “capture size” checked, and use the same name by pasting it from the clipboard.
It will be placed directly below the first brush.
Change this second brush to yet a different size, and save this one, too, with "capture size" and the same name.
Make sure your Brushes panel has “Show Brush Tip” checked. You will see that the sizes are displayed for the last two brushes you made but not under the first. At a glance, you can see which brush has which size—even though they all have the same name.
Since the brushes are together, it’s easy to switch between them. You can even use a keyboard shortcut, comma & period (think <>) to switch.
You can drag them to change their order, and/or move them to other groups.
It’s very fast to set this up, and since all the brushes have the same name and share the same settings except for size, you can simply delete all but the no-size version when you're done with the tweaked sizes, without losing the settings.

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2022

A Brush Tool’s current size will be honored if the Brush (as represented in the Brushes Panel) was created without »Capture Brush Size in Preset«. 

 

What do you mean exactly? 

Please post screenshots to clarify. 

Rizum
RizumAuthor
Known Participant
May 17, 2022

I meant that I wanted a brush to stay in the size I last use. 

For example, I use brush A, with a default size of 5 and I edit its size to 20.

Then I switch to brush B.

After that I came back to brush A, only to find the size is back to the default 5.

 

For the thing you said, I try to save a brush as new brush presset, and unchecked the Capture Brush Size in Preset. But when doing this, the brush size will also keep chaging,

For example, Brush A, has the brush size 1 and I change the brush size to 20.

Then I use Brush B, and change the brush size to 5.

Now, when I come back to Brush A, the brush size is neither 1 nor 20, but 5 from the Brush B.

Rizum
RizumAuthor
Known Participant
May 17, 2022

Sorry in the first paragraph, I want to add one last sentence.

"But I want the size to be 20, as I just edited."

Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 17, 2022

You'd need to redefine the preset with Capture Brush Size in Preset unchecked.

If the preset has no tool settings stamp it down on a new layer with black as the foreground colour.

Ctrl click the layer to select it.

Edit > Define new brush preset

Then use the Brush panel settings (top tight corner) to select New brush preset to bring up the dialog box below.

Create a new brush group and call it Favourites (or whatever)

Drag your new presets to that group

Right click the group and choose Export selected brushes.

This will create an .abr file on your drive so you don't lose your presets

 

I'm sorry. I don't know any way to force existing presets to use the current brush size unless they were previously saved with Capture Brush Size unchecked.

 

    Rizum
    RizumAuthor
    Known Participant
    May 17, 2022

    Hi I follow your instruction, but in edit, I only see

    edit-Define Brush Presset

    Which does not allow me to uncheck anything.

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 17, 2022
    quote

    Hi I follow your instruction, but in edit, I only see edit-Define Brush Presset

    Which does not allow me to uncheck anything.

    By @Rizum

     

    I agree that it is unintuitive, but hey!  Why would they make it easy?  (that's irony)

    Actually, it's my fault because you don't have to do it that way.  It's just that the Edit > Define new brush preset is the usual way to make brush presets, but it does not have the means to store 'tool presets;

     

    Let's do it another way.

     

    Select an existing brush.  It doesn't matter what size it is.

    Right click inside the document window, and what I call the right click brush panel will open.

    Click on the icon near the top right corner of the panel (the one I have highlighted with green).

     

    This will open the dialog box from my previous post.  

     

    But note it has been placed in the currently selected brush group

    If I close this group and open it again (by clicking on the little cog icon top right corner) the preset you made will be gone, and I mean gone forever.  This catches lots of people out!

    So you need to have no groups selected when creating your new preset, or else drag it to the bottom of the panel like below.  You can then create a new brush group > drag your preset(s) to that group > and save it with Export Selected Brushes which saves it your hard drive as a .abr file  It is then safe and yours to use forever more.  But don't forget that if you add more presets to that brush group, you will need to save it again.

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