Paint.NET plugins and using Photoshop brushes in Paint.NET

Using Photoshop brushes in Paint.NET (free Photoshop substitution)

July 17, 2008 | by bsilvia | Announcements, Photoshop Brushes, Tutorials

Today, we’re gonna talk about the free Photoshop substitution called Paint.NET. Apparently it is supposed to be the best freeware when it comes to photo editing, so, I thought, why not test it?

And, don’t worry, in Paint.NET you can still use Photoshop brushes with a little help from one plug-in but we’ll talk about it later.

When I went to download Paint.NET, the first thing that stunned me was the size of that software. 1.6Mb! Now, that’s small! It’s probably fast as well!

So, download was quick. Installation, not so much but to work with it is real fast. Of course the interface and the features of Paint.NET can’t come nowhere near the features on Photoshop, but keeping in mind the price difference (Paint.NET is free) and the average need of the designer-beginner, Paint.NET can be just fine.

So, here is the procedure on using Photoshop brushes in this free application:

Get Paint.NET
1. Download Paint.NET here (direct download link) ->
2. Paint.NET homepage ->

Get Paint.NET Custom Brush Plug-in
1. Download Custom brush plug-in -> (the original plug-in has been discontinued, so try with this one)
To install Custom brush plug-in just place it to “Paint.NET/Effects” folder.

Get Paint.NET Custom Brushes
1. Paint.NET Custom brushes are basically .png files, ideally 100px x 100px, 96dpi
2. Such png files need to be copied to “My Documents\Paint.NET User Files\Custom Brushes”
3. In Paint.NET go to Effects -> Draw with custom brush (make sure you installed the plug-in first)

Please note: These brushes are downloadable in .png format. Since those are not in 100px x 100px (96dpi) the best way to use them, is to import them into Paint.NET using “Layers -> Import from File” command.

Get the FULL PREMIUM (18 brushes) Swirled Floral Edges Photoshop brushes set (including commercial license) ->

And Voila! That’s it!

So, if you’re hungry for more brushes, there are 22 Photoshop brushes sets with a total of 700+ HiRes professional brushes with commercial license in my little Shop. Prices start at $9.99 and they’re so cool and huge that they’re worth every single cent. And more. Don’t believe me? See for yourself ->

P.S.
If you want to convert the original Photoshop brushes to .png yourself here is the tutorial. This one is made for Paint Shop PRO, but the procedure for converting PS brushes to .png is the same ->

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26 Comments

bsilvia
January 31, 2010 at 1:23 pm

Hi Katy,
I don’t know what to tell you because the plug-in worked fine for me. Maybe you could post your question to their support forums?
Anyway, I don’t see the rip off here because Paint.NET is free. I hope you did not pay for it.
Silvia
Katy
January 31, 2010 at 12:07 pm

Hi.

I have found all of the locations. I opened Paint.NET, it said I’d installed the plugin in ‘Utilities – Plugin Errors’ and it said it was known to cause instability, and so wouldn’t allow it to be opened.

I also noticed that I have version 5.2, and that this is for 5.1. I have no idea where you get the newer version and this is a rip off if you have to keep on downloading it and going through this bother every time this fantastic programme updates itself, which it often does.

If anyone can help me, it would be much appreciated. Not happy with the results.
Destiny
July 27, 2009 at 7:15 pm

I can’t find my effects folder.
Hanh
July 3, 2009 at 12:13 am

how do i use dll files after i put them into the effects folder? they won’t show up in the draw with custom brushes list .
Brieana
July 3, 2009 at 12:12 am

Lue:

open the “effects” tab and click “effects lab”, then go into the effects lab and type ‘draw’ into the search bar, it will come up and lead you straight into the Draw with Custom Brush feature :)
Lue
June 22, 2009 at 6:20 am

I can’t find the Draw with custom brush on my PDN