Krita has made creating beautiful digital art accessible for everyone. Still, some of the brushes you get from paid services like Photoshop can bring even more to the table. It would be nice if you could use those same brushes in Krita itself and get the best of both worlds, but can you?

Photoshop brushes are compatible with Krita, however, you can only use the brush tips. Additionally, you have to save a preset to be able to reuse them without having to re-import them. 

If you use Krita for your digital art and want to start taking advantage of Photoshop brushes on it, we’ve got you covered. In our guide below we will discuss what brushes work with Krita, how you can import Photoshop brushes, and why doing so can really shake up your next digital art project. So come along and let’s dive right in!

What Brushes Work With Krita?

One of the coolest things about Krita–aside from the fact that it’s free–is that it is compatible with a whole litany of different brush kits. Everything from Photoshop brushes to independently released kits is available. Before we jump into why Photoshop should be one of your go-to’s for brushes, let’s first take a look at what brushes work with Krita.

Below is a sample of some of the most diverse and useful brushes compatible with Krita:

• Photoshop brushes: First and foremost are Adobe’s brushes. Photoshop is sort of the gold standard when it comes to digitally editing images. Fortunately, their brushes can, in fact, be used in Krita by using a certain method to import them. The only downside is that only the brush tips can be used.
• Krita Watercolor Set: These custom watercolor brushes are perfect for beginners and filled with options. 
• Painterly Mix Brushes: Want to paint the perfect sunset in Krita? Check out Painterly Mix Brushes. If you have the newest version of Krita these may have come preinstalled. 
• Comics Brush Bundle: If you’re into making your own comic books in Krita, then you have to check out the Comics Brush Bundle. These brushes are made specifically to make your work look like it was made with classic comic book tools. 

All of the brushes above are either free or have free options within them. If you have so many tools at your disposal why not use them! In the next section, we’ll discuss in greater detail why you should use Photoshop brushes specifically. 

Why Should You Use Photoshop Brushes in Krita?

While Krita is amazing on its own, knowing how to import Photoshop brushes can really expand your options and allow you to create even more interesting and diverse art. Many of the Photoshop brushes are designed specifically for high-resolution images, meaning they are great to use for everyone from beginners to old-time pros. 

How Do You Import Photoshop Brushes into Krita?

So now we come to the real meat and potatoes. If you want to use Photoshop brushes in Krita, how exactly do you go about importing them? Can you just import them like any other brush pack or do you have to do a work-around to get them in?

While you do kind of have to work-around to get Photoshop brushes into Krita, following the steps below will ensure it is relatively easy: 

1. Download your brushes and create a new document in Krita: There are loads of free Photoshop brushes online as well as paid ones if you want something really specific. Start by downloading the brushes you want to your brush folder or wherever you keep them. You can also take this time to boot up Krita and open a new document. 
2. Open the brush editor in Krita: The brush editor can be opened either by finding it on the toolbar or simply pressing F5.
3. Ensure the right options are selected: When the brush editor window opens you’ll need to navigate to where you can import your brush. Ensure “pixel” is highlighted under “brush engines” on the right of the window as well as “brush tip” under “general,” in the middle. 
4. Import your brushes: Click the “predefined” tab in the middle of the screen then select the folder icon down below. Now just select the file for your brush and you should be all set! Please note that depending on where you downloaded your brushes from, you may want to first unzip the file before you go to import.  

If you want to reuse a brush please remember to save it as a preset. If you don’t save a preset with the brush imported then the next time you want to use it you will have to import it again. Feel free to bookmark this page if you think you may need a refresher down the road. 

So Really, Are Photoshop Brushes Compatible with Krita?

Photoshop brushes are compatible with Krita, however, there are some limitations. The brush tips can only be used and you have to save them as a preset to reuse them without having to re-import them. 

Even with some limitations, simply knowing how to import Photoshop brushes can expand your options when using the already incredible free software Krita. So, what will you make with your new brushes?