Here’s a list of frequently asked questions, and their answers.
The FAQs are separated into sections. Scroll down or click on a section below to view it.
Commercial Use & Redistribution
I’m new to this whole Photoshop thing. How do I get started?
The first thing you’re going to want to understand is how to install the Photoshop brushes, patterns, and shapes that you can download from this website. Here’s some tutorials to get you started:
- Installing & Using Photoshop Brushes
- Installing & Using Photoshop Patterns
- Installing & Using Photoshop Custom Shapes (coming soon)
Once you feel a bit more comfortable with that, I also have tutorials on more complex things involving Photoshop brushes, as well as tips and techniques! A full list of my Photoshop tutorials are found here.
What version of Photoshop will these work in?
All of our brushes, shapes, and patterns will work in any version of Photoshop from 7 up until the most recent version. Any version of Photoshop Elements from version 2 and on can use them. The brushes will work in GIMP 2.2.6 to present.
I’m a Mac user. Can I still use your resources?
Most definitely! All that matters is the version of the graphics program (Photoshop, Illustrator, GIMP, etc) that you’re running. Whether you’re on a Mac or a Windows computer is irrelevant. They work with both!
Oh no! I don’t use Photoshop or GIMP! Can I still use your brushes somehow?
Yep! You most certainly can! That’s what the image packs that you’ll see available below each brush download are for. You download those instead, open them up in your favorite graphics program, and make them into brushes for your own use!
When I use your brushes, they just show up in one color. How do I get them to show up in all the colors like you display them on your images?
One of the beautiful things about Photoshop brushes is the fact that they show up in whatever color you have selected to “paint” them in. However, this makes having brushes show up in multiple colors a bit more difficult. If you’re interested in doing that, check out my tutorial on adding multiple colors to your Photoshop brushes.
How do I install these?
I have tutorials that walk you through:
- Installing & Using Photoshop Brushes
- Installing & Using Photoshop Patterns
- Installing & Using Photoshop Custom Shapes (coming soon)
Your resources come as “ZIP” files. What are they, and how do I get to the good stuff?
Just about anything that you download from the internet is compressed in one way or another now-a-days. A ZIP file is just that… it compresses the file so that it’s smaller and easier/faster to download.
If you’re a Windows or Mac user, and your computer is fairly recent, you’ll have the ability to “unzip” the file already. Double click on it and Mac will open a program that will ask you where to extract it… Windows will open it like a file folder. With Windows, look for a button that says something along the lines of “Extract the Files” and click on it. It will then ask you where you want to extract it. For Photoshop Brushes, for example, you would then choose Program Files (in Mac, wherever you installed Photoshop) > Adobe > Photoshop > Presets > Brushes. The brushes will be there for you next time you open Photoshop! (If PS was open, you’ll have to close and re-open it.)
What are the “image packs” that you offer on each brush set page?
The image packs are for people that don’t have Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or GIMP. By downloading the image pack, you can open up the files of the exact images that I used to create the brushes. This way, you can make them into brushes that can be used in whatever your favorite graphics program is!
Wow! How do you do this?!
I’ve got tutorials that show how to make Photoshop brushes. That’s how I got started with all this. I’m also a digital artist, and am fairly adept with Photoshop and my Wacom Intuos 3 graphics tablet.
You know, you could be charging for these.
Yes, I’m aware that my brushes are of professional quality, and are as good (or better) than some of the brushes out there that people are charging money for, flat out. So, why do I do this? Consider it my good deed to the digital artistic community – for those that aren’t doing anything professional with the brushes, they should be able to have access to them, too. For those that are using them professionally, there’s commercial licenses. So, I’m still making some money – don’t you worry about me!
Could you make something for me?
I have a fairly backed up list of requests and ideas from my requests page, but feel free to add your idea there!
Can I use your resources commercially?
Yes. View my Terms of Use here. It basically asks that you credit me in whatever way that you can. If you’re a digital scrapbooker, most people list me and my website (www.obsidiandawn.com) in their TOU text file that comes with the download (although I much prefer credit to be given on the download page, since it’s easier for me to find).
I’ve had a few of the bigger companies (AT&T, Target) out there contact me about using my brushes. If you are a part of a larger corporation, or are simply in a position where you need clear-cut rights to be able to use these images, contact me about purchasing a commercial license. With a commercial license, you no longer need to provide credit to me, as you will have full commercial rights to the brushes/images.
Do I need to purchase a commercial license to use these commercially?
No. If you can credit me, as per my terms of use, then you do not need to purchase a commercial license. If you have no way of crediting me, or if you do not wish to have to credit me as the brushes creator, then you will need to purchase a commercial license. Information on commercial licenses can be found here.
What if I want both the brushes and the patterns?
In all cases where I make both a brush set and a pattern set that is named the same thing, they are similar enough to only need ONE commercial license for both of them. Why? Because you’re buying the commercial rights to the designs, not the brushes or patterns themselves.
Is everything $3 a set?
Yes. Whether you are purchasing the rights to brushes, patterns, shapes, or images, the price is $3. If it is zipped up into a “set,” then it’s $3.
I just ordered a CD, but it didn’t ask for my address anywhere. How do you know where to send it?
PayPal has your address stored already, through whichever account you used to purchase the CD. If your shipping address is different than the address that PayPal has on file, please contact me as soon as possible with the correct mailing address to ensure that you receive your CD!
If I order a compilation CD, does that give me the rights to use your brushes without crediting you?
No. When you are purchasing a CD, the only thing that you are purchasing is the convenience of not having to download over one hundred brush sets. You are NOT purchasing any rights to the images whatsoever. If you are interested in purchasing rights for the brush sets, check out the commercial licenses information. This does not apply to CD sets (like the Glitter & Light CD set) – this only applies to the compilation CD.
Will these CDs work on my Mac?
Yes! Our CDs are made to work with MacIntosh OS’s, Windows, and Linux.
I’m having trouble accessing the CD. What should I do?
Contact us. Be sure to include the following information:
- your operating system (Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X, etc.)
- a precise explanation of the error and when it is occurring
I just ordered a CD, but it didn’t ask for my address anywhere. How do you know where to send it?
PayPal has your address stored already, through whichever account you used to purchase the CD. If your shipping address is different than the address that PayPal has on file, please contact me as soon as possible with the correct mailing address to ensure that you receive your CD!
Will this CD work on my Mac?
Yes! This CD is made to work with MacIntosh OS’s, Windows, and Linux.
I’m having trouble accessing the CD. What should I do?
Contact us. Be sure to include the following information:
- your operating system (Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X, etc.)
- a precise explanation of the error and when it is occurring
With these CD sets, the commercial rights are included, right?
Yep! You receive a legal document on the CD (in PDF form) giving you rights to use those sets without needing to credit me. (This does NOT include the Compilation CD – there are no rights being purchased with the compilation CD.)
Anything else not covered here…
… please feel free to contact me with your question.
