Top 43 Free Photoshop Brushes For Architects

Free Photoshop Brushes For Architects

 

Introduction

 

In this post, we have collated top 43 free photoshop brushes for architects. This list contains some must-have photoshop brush types and set recommendations that will help you enhance your architectural drawings and visualisations. Super handy for architects and students alike!

Photoshop does so much more than touch up a photograph as we are sure you know. One of these really useful things are photoshop brushes. They are kind of a hidden gem within this software that took us a while to discover as well.

Photoshop comes with a set of brushes pre-loaded into the program. Although they can be useful, you do not have to limit yourself to using the standard set of brushes that come with the photoshop package. You can add numerous brush sets available online, which can be really useful when creating amazing visuals for your design project.

All you have to do is download the brush set file which will typically be in the .ABR file format. Then you can load them directly onto your photoshop workspace. This is quite easy to do – we have put together a short video towards the end of this post to show you how to do this.

Top 43 Free Photoshop Brushes For Architects

All of the photoshop brush recommendations mentioned in this post can be downloaded for free. We don’t think you should ever pay for brushes as there are so many free ones out there that we are certain you will eventually find the ones you want.

Without any further ado, these are our 43 free photoshop brush set suggestions, to help save you time. If you are not sure how to get them to work, please scroll down to the bottom of this post for a quick guide to installing your brushes into photoshop.

​People

People brushes are great to add to your drawings to provide your viewer’s with a sense of scale. And since the built environment is designed for humans, it is a no-brainer that you add in those people. They can also be used to illustrate and further support the architectural narrative behind the design of your building.

We also have our own set of People brushes, so do feel free to explore:
Free Photoshop Brushes – People (firstinarchitecture.co.uk)

FIA People Brushes

Here are some examples of how you can human figures can be used in architecture visualisations:

People 1
People 2

Clouds

Cloud brushes are a quick way to create a realistic looking sky in a rendering. They are perfect for making your backgrounds a little more interesting. Clouds can also be the perfect elements helping to bring some atmosphere to the overall composition. By layering clouds you can bring some depth to your architecture drawings.

These images are some examples of what you could achieve using cloud brushes:

Clouds 1
Clouds 2

Birds

Bird brushes are great for making your rendered skies come alive. They add movement to an otherwise static looking sky. Bird brushes can help your architectural visualisations emulate a natural environment, showing the harmony between your design and its context.

Birds Take Flight – Brushes – Fbrushes

Bird Brushes 1

We’ve even found some bird silhouette brushes – you can never have too many birds, right?

Check out these architecture renders with birds:

Clouds 1
Birds 2

Light Beams

Light beams can really be useful when showing how light interacts with your design and structure. You can create loads of different effects, ranging from dramatic to ethereal by using these. Some can be used to mimic the sun and its rays. They can also be used to bring attention to certain parts or spaces within your design.

Here are a couple of examples:

Light Beams 1
Light Beams 2

Lens Flares

Lens flare brushes can be super great to give your architectural renders that photograph captured by a camera type of look. They can also be used to represent the sun, artificial light fixtures for your interiors and more.

Free 54 Lens Flares Photoshop Brushes Vol-1 – PsFiles

Lens Flare Brushes

This rendered image shows lens flares in action:

Lens Flares

Spotlights

These types of brushes are mostly used to show the effects of artificial light both on exterior and interior walls. Spotlight brushes show more concentrated light beams which are great to emphasise certain elements within your rendering. They often are seen in night renders as their effect is more dramatic.

Here is an example of how you can use the spot light brushes for street lighting in a night render:

Spotlights

Grass

Grass brushes are widely used in architecture renders, sketches and collages. They add that realistic natural element to designs in landscapes, outdoor spaces and even some indoor spaces. They come in loads of different varieties and textures that can bring depth to your visuals.

Grass Photoshop Brushes 4 – Brusheezy

Grass Brushes 1

These are some cool architecture visualisations with lots of grass:

Grass 1
Grass 2

Foliage/Vegetation

Foliage brushes can be used to inject some greenery to your designs. These brushes will be your best friend if you are designing a building that has lots of natural features and vegetation elements within it.

Vegetation / Foliage Textures by redheadstock – DeviantArt

Foliage Brushes 1

Check out these examples:

Foliage 1
Grass 2

Trees

Trees brushes are a must have in every architecture student and architect’s photoshop brush collection. They can be used to show the natural context that surrounds your design and are always handy to have. You can get them in a variety of shapes, forms and styles.

Here are a few that you can use to enhance your architectural plans:
Nashe design studio- Gumroad

Tree Plan Brushes

Now this is a little bit of self-promo, but hey these are our most popular download, so these Tree in Plan Photoshop Brushes are well-worth the mention.
Free Photoshop Tree Plan Brushes Set 1 – Firstinarchitecture.co.uk

Free Photoshop Tree Plan Brushes Set 1

We do have a bunch of different styles for you to choose from as well:

These are some images to inspire you:

Tree Plan 1
Tree Plan 2
Tree Plan 3

You can also find tree elevation brushes such as the following:

Because they are so useful so here are some more, in stylised versions!
Archivo – Gumroad.com

Tree Elevation Brushes 3
Tree Elevation Brushes 4

Do consider our Tree Elevation brushes as well:
Free Photoshop Tree Elevation Brushes – Firstinarchitecture.co.uk

Free Photoshop Tree Elevation Brushes Set 1

All in all you can never have enough trees! And given that there are over 73,000 species of trees, we think it’s quite alright to have a big photoshop tree brush collection.

Here are a couple of images to show how they can be used in your architectural graphics.

Tree Elevation 1
Tree Elevation 2

Watercolour splatters

These brushes are really useful if you are going for a nice, artistic, watercolour effect on your visuals. They are great for adding texture to your backgrounds. You can also use them to create a more busy composition, if you find that your drawing is looking a bit flat.

Watercolour Brushes 3

It is possible to create some really beautiful watercolour style images using photoshop, sometimes along with SketchUp. The following images give you an idea of what can be achieved, all of which can be seen on SketchUpArtists.org where they have tutorials on the production of each one.

Watercolour Splatters 1
Watercolour Splatters 2

And here are some more examples:

Watercolour Splatters 3
Watercolour Splatters 4

Grunge

Grunge brushes are mostly used to add a dramatic artistic touch to your drawings. They can work quite well for urban contexts that may show signs of creative expression in the form of graffiti. They can also be used to texture backgrounds much like the watercolour brushes.

Watercolour Splatters 3
Grunge 2

Fog

Much like the grunge brushes, these fog brushes are used to create atmosphere and mood in a drawing. They might not apply to each and every project, but can be super effective for a relevant context.

(FREE) Fog Photoshop Brushes – Photoshop Supply

Grunge Brushes 3

This is a way you can use it in your drawings:

Watercolour Splatters 3

Arrows

Arrow brushes can be good for annotating drawings like site plans. If you primarily work on Photoshop to create such drawings, having arrows and symbols in the form of brushes may help speed up your workflow a bit. They can look quite good if not over used.

Free Doodle Arrows Photoshop Brush – Clementinecreative

Grunge Brushes 3
Arrow Brushes 4

We find some more cool ones:
Grungy arrow brushes set – Brusheezy

Arrow Brushes 5

Here are a couple examples:

Arrows 1
Arrows 2

Cool Extras

If you are looking to create renders that have that urban street art type of style, explore these brush sets by Alejandro Chavetta:
372 free grunge and grit brushes – Adobe

Cool Brushes 1

This set by Syd Weiler has some really nice brushes, if you are looking to create an illustration style rendering:
Free Photoshop Brushes: Syd Weiler’s Fall and Winter Nature Set – Adobe

Cool Brushes 2

There are also these seamless stone wall brushes that are perfect for rendering walls:
Hi Resolution Stone Wall Brushes – Brusheezy

Cool Brushes 3

A brief guide to install your brushes:​

Download and unzip the file.
Save the .abr file into a folder (create your own folder somewhere).
Go to photoshop, select the brush tool.
Pull down the menu to select your brush and click on the little right arrow at the top of this box.
This will bring up a menu. Click load brushes. Find the .abr file you saved earlier. Click load. Job done.

If you are struggling in any way with this then watch the video below:

That isn’t all, you can even tweak your photoshop brushes to your liking, using the brush setting. There’s a bunch of things you can adjust in this panel, including, brush size, opacity, density and more!

Brush Settings

Top 7 Photoshop Brush Libraries

A couple of great photoshop brush libraries include:

Brusheezy

Brusheezy
MyPhotoshopBrushes
PsFiles
BrushLovers
123FreeBrushes
BrushKing
FBrushes

You might also be interested in:

 

We also have lots of incredible architecture content. Be sure to check it out:

Free Photoshop Tree Brushes FI
Free Photoshop Brushes People
Photoshop Brushes Trees Download FI
Free Photoshop Tree Plan Brushes Set 2
Free photoshop tree plan brushes set 3 FI

Conclusion

 

Obviously there are hundreds of different photoshop brush collections out there, but these are just some good ones to get you started. Have a go at downloading and installing a set of brushes into your photoshop and let us know how you get on. Comment below!

Like us on facebook to make sure you don’t miss out on any updates, new cool brushes and other photoshop tips.

Thank you for reading! 🙂

Image Credits

 

People 1

https://www.archdaily.com/770335/nitsche-arquitetos-full-scale-mural-brings-life-to-sao-paulos-blind-walls

People 2

https://manifestarchitecture.com/scrapbook

Clouds 1

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/22588435624264329/

Clouds 2

https://www.archisearch.gr/student-works/reactivations-thesis-by-heidi-kaproulia/

Birds 1

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/06/25/uca-undergraduate-postgraduate-architectural-projects-schoolshows/

Birds 2

https://www.uptoyoustudio.com/projects/architecture-3drendering/

Light Beams 1

https://www.archdaily.com/804380/foster-plus-partners-cascading-complex-wins-competition-for-new-hotel-in-mecca-saudi-arabia/588fa577e58ece772e0005b6-foster-plus-partners-cascading-complex-wins-competition-for-new-hotel-in-mecca-saudi-arabia-image?next_project=no

Light Beams 2

https://www.yankodesign.com/2020/10/30/this-modular-treehouse-is-a-sustainable-school-designed-for-the-new-normal/

Lens Flares

https://visualizingarchitecture.tumblr.com/post/76275840441/author-francisco-tineo-school-in-tucuman-argentina

Spotlights

https://support.lumion.hk/articles/4406731189394-Lumion-12-0-Release-Notes

Grass 1

https://polis-magazin.com/2019/11/bieber-waldhof-west-neues-quartier-wird-modern-nachhaltig-vernetzt-und-naturbezogen/

Grass 2

https://visualizingarchitecture.com/photoshopped-landscape-tutorial/

Foliage 1

https://www.archistart.net/portfolio-item/horizontal-landscapes-an-agricultural-park-and-new-economic-district/

Foliage 2

https://www.archdaily.com/958737/an-irish-embassy-in-tokyo-and-a-bridge-over-the-nile-11-unbuilt-projects-submitted-by-our-readers/6052b64bf91c81a5e90003cf-an-irish-embassy-in-tokyo-and-a-bridge-over-the-nile-11-unbuilt-projects-submitted-by-our-readers-image?next_project=no

Tree Plan 1

https://www.archdaily.com/900611/the-fortified-cavern-clara-copiglia-plus-benjamin-lagarde-plus-tim-cousin/5b7ce46bf197cc6ef20003d4-the-fortified-cavern-clara-copiglia-plus-benjamin-lagarde-plus-tim-cousin-site-plan?next_project=no

Tree Plan 2

https://www.wettbewerbe-aktuell.de/ergebnis/landesgartenschau-2022-darmstadt-16627

Tree Plan 3

https://www.behance.net/gallery/66998285/VILLA-IN-BREZOVICA-KOSOVO?tracking_source=project_owner_other_projects

Tree Elevation 1

https://www.innauer-matt.com/projekt/stadtbuecherei-dornbirn

Tree Elevation 2

https://www.archdaily.com/887482/bmlz-villa-office-tsutsumi-and-associates/5a655bedf197cc2ab50001e1-bmlz-villa-office-tsutsumi-and-associates-section-a-a

Watercolour Splatters 1, 2

http://www.sketchupartists.org/tutorials/sketchup-and-photoshop/

Watercolour Splatters 3

https://usfsacd.tumblr.com/image/61598971052

Watercolour Splatters 4

https://nexttoparchitects.org/post/166912168001/basemap-kazan-architecture-millaarch

Grunge 1

https://phonoteka.org/16228-fon-dlja-arhitekturnoj-podachi.html

Grunge 2

http://afasiaarchzine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/estudi08014-.-Eurpan-13-.-Urban-Prescriptions-.-LEEUWARDEN-21.jpg

Fog

https://www.dezeen.com/2022/05/19/big-vltava-philharmonic-hall-prague-architecture/

Arrows 1

http://fenxitu.cn/peise/show.php?id=65&cid=2

Arrows 2

https://www.flickr.com/photos/references/5430880559/in/photostream/

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