GIMP Tutorial on How to Install Brushes

The GIMP image-editing software contains a set of brushes with which you can draw images. The program includes a basic set of brushes; to increase your drawing options, download and install a set of third-party brushes for the software. The brushes available for GIMP range from simple circles to complex patterns, and thousands of brush files are available for download from the Internet.

Instructions

1. Close GIMP if the program is open. Open a new window in your Web browser and navigate to the page containing the brushes you want to install (see Resources).

2. Click the download link for the brushes that you want to install. Save the zip file containing the brushes to your browser's download directory.

3. Click the "Start" button, then click "Computer." Navigate to your browser's download directory and double-click the downloaded zip file containing the GIMP brushes. If the zip file contains a subfolder, double-click it to see a list of files with the ".gbr" extension.

4. Click "Extract All Files." Navigate to "Program Files\GIMP-2.6\Share\GIMP\2.6\Brushes." If you're running a version of GIMP other than 2.6, replace "2.6" with your version number.

5. Click "OK," then click the "Extract" button.

6. Launch GIMP. Click the "Windows" menu and select "Dockable Dialogs." Click "Brushes." GIMP opens a list of the brushes installed on your system, including the newly installed brushes.

Tips & Warnings

• If the newly installed brushes don't show up in GIMP, click the "Refresh" button in the Brushes dialog box.

References

• GIMPBrushes.de: How to Install Gimp Brushes?

Resources

• Stylish Web Designer; 2000+ Free GIMP Brushes for Designers; Loveish Kalsi; Feb. 12, 2011