Skip to main content

Photoshop brushes created from 3D scans of Edvard Munch’s actual ones

Many of Adobe Photoshop’s digital tools were inspired from physical dark rooms and studios, but on June 15, the company took that even further with the first set of brushes created from 360 scans of actual paintbrushes used by a well-known artist. Thursday, June 15, Adobe announced the digital recreation of seven 100-year-old paintbrushes used by Edvard Munch, the modernist artist most known for his 1893 painting, The Scream.

To digitally re-create Munch’s brushes, which are now over 100 years old, Adobe photographed the brushes from 360 degrees using high resolution cameras, building a 3D model of each brush. That digital model was paired with analysis from specialists on the brush’s other properties, like the bristle type and flexibility.

Photoshop brush artist Kyle T. Webster then took that data and generated a digital brush for each of the seven physical brushes. Adobe says that Webster’s work, thanks also in part to the data on the actual brushes, is able to digitally mimic Munch’s strokes with the exact shape and performance of the original paintbrushes.

The project, dubbed The Hidden Treasures of Creativity, resulted in seven digital brush re-creations now available for Photoshop and Sketch users as a free download.

“There are certain pieces of art we all know and love,” said Simon Morris, Adobe’s senior director of campaign marketing. “These works transcend time, living on to influence modern creatives, and society as a whole. But we rarely think about the tools that were used to create those masterpieces.”

“The Hidden Treasures of Creativity is all about bringing these tools back to life and placing them in the hands of a new generation of artists,” Morris continued. “Institutions such as The Met in New York and The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam are already making their collections available online to help keep classic works of art in the public eye. This innovative project is an extension of this movement, making it possible for today’s artists to rediscover and treasure the brush of a master and use it to create their very own masterpiece.”

In conjunction with the launch of the new brushes, Adobe will be hosting webinars on digital painting, along with a digital painting contest. The live-streams, to be held from June 20 to 22, will be hosted by Webster himself, along with Therese Larsson, Suzanne Helming, and Sebastien Hue. Users can register for the digital painting class online.

Adobe
Adobe

A contest will encourage digital artists to re-create their own version of Munch’s famous painting. Munch created four different versions of The Scream, so Adobe is encouraging artists to create “The 5th Scream.” Entries are submitted via a Behance upload with the hashtag #MunchContest, with the top winner taking home a 6,000 euro ($6,770) prize as well as a display at the Munch Museum in Oslo and an all-expense paid trip to the Adobe Max conference in Las Vegas, Nevada this October.

The brushes are available for both Photoshop and Sketch users free from Adobe Assets.

Editors' Recommendations

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
DJI Mini Pro 4 leak appears to reveal the drone’s specs
A retail box apparently showing DJI's upcoming Mini Pro 4 drone.

DJI appears close to unveiling the Mini 4 Pro, the successor to the Mini 3 Pro that launched in May last year.

First, as a reminder, DJI’s smallest and lightest “Pro” drone tips the scales at just 249 grams, a carefully considered move as it’s just 1 gram below the drone weight category that involves having to register it with the authorities. Sure, that’s no great hardship for most folks, but the fewer hoops you have to jump through to get your bird in the sky, the better.

Read more
GoPro unveils its latest action camera, the Hero 12 Black
GoPro's Hero 12 Black action camera.

GoPro: Introducing HERO12 Black | Everything You Need to Know

GoPro is back with the latest iteration of its popular action camera. The new GoPro Hero 12 Black is the kind of solid piece of kit we’ve come to expect from a company that’s been in the game for years. That’s actually created a bit of a problem for GoPro, with many customers happy to hang onto their current model rather than upgrade. So it'll be hoping the latest version will be attractive enough to prompt a wave of purchases among current owners, while at the same time attracting a bunch of first-time buyers, too.

Read more
How to hide photos on your Android phone or tablet
Google Photos

While modern smartphones are quite secure as long as they remain locked with a passcode or biometrics like a fingerprint, by default those features only protect the front door. If someone picks up your phone while it's unlocked, there aren't typically any barriers that will keep them out of exploring everything from your contacts and emails to your photos.

This can be particularly challenging when it comes to photos, since those are the things we like to show off the most from our phones. We've likely all had those moments when we want to show a friend or co-worker a funny cat meme, so we hand over our phone and trust that they won't swipe right and see the photo of the hairy mole that we sent to our doctor that morning.

Read more