Digital artists need Adobe Photoshop brushes. And brushes are an absolute necessity for photographers and UX designers too. They add that extra shine to any project in Photoshop. The best Photoshop brushes cost money. But thanks to the open community, you can find plenty of high-resolution brushes that are free as well.

It isn't too tough to find a free brush when you have community sites like DeviantArt, Brusheezy, and ArtStation around. But we decided to save you a search by recommending 10 Adobe Photoshop brush sets that can be downloaded for free.

1. Kyle T. Webster

A voluminous set of more than 1000 brushes is one of the new Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 features you shouldn't miss. When you go to the download page on Adobe.com, you will learn a bit more about the award-winning illustrator and the world's topmost authority on Photoshop brushes. There are 15 free Photoshop brush sets on offer.

Take your pick from watercolor, dry media, spatter, runny inkers, or just the megapack with 300 brushes to begin with. It's available to Creative Cloud members for free.

2. Real Markers

If you are into sketchnotes or just sketching, then this free 12 brush pack could be for you. Eilert Janben is a freelance illustrator from Germany who uses his own brushes for storyboarding. The entire set boasts 300 brushes but will cost you $9. So why not take a peek with the twelve free brushes first.

3. Abstract Bokeh Brushes

Bokeh is those out-of-focus orbs of light that make close-up photos pop. The best way to create bokeh is with the lens itself. The second-best way is creative trickery with Photoshop. Brusheezy is a site well known for its Photoshop brushes and PSD resources. This single find has 24 high-resolution brushes in sizes up to 5000px.

4. Eyeshadow Photoshop and GIMP Brushes

After Brusheezy, make a stop at DeviantArt to fill your cart with a variety of Photoshop resources. This unique set of eyeshadow brushes for Photoshop and GIMP is just a small part of it. The 52 brush set should fit right into your palette if you are interested in make-up mockups and other eye effects on portrait photos.

The description says---it includes various glittery effects, patterned eye makeup, and face painting styled eye accents (a butterfly and a swirl). Maybe, you can pair it with these eyelash brushes made by the same developer.

5. Tech Photoshop Brushes

We are a tech site, so why avoid these cool Photoshop and GIMP brushes that are made of tech shapes and diagrams? The brushes are made by the same developer as the eyeshadow brushes and you can find them on Stephanie's site.

The brush shapes include circles, hexagons, lines, blueprints, diagrams, binary designs (including a Matrix-like binary arrangement), gears, circuits, and other tech forms.

6. Free Calligraphy Brushes

Calligraphy brushes are the first thing you will search for when you are a brush lover. BrushLovers.com has a huge stock of free Photoshop brushes and I found this nice set there. The 54 free calligraphy brushes can help you mimic the style of traditional calligraphic pens and create interesting hand-lettered effects.

7. Woodland Wonderland: Gouache Brush

Gouache is an opaque watercolor and is a painting medium. The Photoshop equivalent is a creative option for digital coloring. The Woodland Wonderland 31 brush pack from RetroSupply is a set of natural media-inspired Photoshop brushes. It isn't free but there is a free sampler pack which will give you a free Gouache brush for the price of your email address.

You can also subscribe to the site and get hold of their other freebies too. The whole site is about adding a touch of retro to your designs, so a brush set like Edge and Fold Distressor brushes could be useful too.

8. Sketchy Cartography Brushes

Let's make two stops at MyPhotoshopBrushes.com and pick up this unique set of 146 cartography brushes. Maybe, you are in the mood for making your own Indiana Jones-style treasure map. Or, an inspired history assignment for your kids. The vintage sketches of geographical shapes and map lines can add the right effects.

9. Hi-Resolution Cloud Brushes [No Longer Available]

Take the help of Franz Jeitz and his 17 brush set of cloud effects. These high-resolution brushes can be added to any photo which needs a more interesting sky. You can add the cloud to the night sky too and make it look realistic with the help of Photoshop. Maybe, you can give it a shot in your next project when you replace a background using Photoshop.

10. Free Christmas Holiday Text Brushes

It's never too early to start thinking about Christmas, and if it creeps up on you you'll wish you had these festive brushes installed and ready to go. You can take this 20 brush set and create inspiring text designs for flyers, Christmas cards, and Christmas photos. The brushes are vector scalable to high-resolution.

Browse MyPhotoshopBrushes.com for other free Christmas and winter sets too. The brushes are free for personal and commercial use.

How to Install New Brushes in Adobe Photoshop CC

Installing new brushes in Photoshop shouldn't take more than a few seconds. The more important part is organizing the brushes in their own groups so they become easier to manage. But, let's install some first:

1. Open Adobe Photoshop. Go to Windows > Brushes and open the Brushes panel.

2. Click the small hamburger menu icon on the top right corner of the panel and click Import Brushes

3. Browse to the folder location on your PC where you have downloaded the new brushes. Find the file with the .ABR extension and double-click the file to load it.

4. The single brush or group of brushes in a folder will now appear at the bottom of the list of Photoshop brushes.

5. Delete unwanted brushes. Select a brush. Choose Delete Brush from the panel menu, or click the Delete icon.

More Photoshop Brushes to Download

The Creative Cloud Marketplace is a good place to scour for the best digital art resources. But it is like a shiny Fifth Avenue shop. The web is so vast, you will always find a nook here that's more like a bazaar with freebies to dive into. And, if all else fails, you can learn to create your own Photoshop brushes by mixing and mashing different shapes.