Realistic Space scene

Here's an awesomely detailed tutorial on how to create a realistic space scene using a few textures and simple Photoshop tricks. This is definitely one worth bookmarking.
Create a Realistic Space Scene Tutorial

Bringing it all together - ReznMusic.com

Hello everyone. No posts for a while, yes, I know. Wedding planning and life got to me. But I have something extra special to share with you in today's post.

With all the various posts I've made at RoughItUp, I wanted to show you the possibilities of executing these great resources.

A friend of mine is a member of the band, Rezn, located in the California Bay Area. He needed a website so I collaborated with him to come up with an ultra-mega-cool band website using these awesome grunge brushes and various stock images from Fotolia. We used Wordpress for the site which made getting us up in running very quick and easy.
Be sure to check out the website!

http://reznmusic.com

New PatternWall site

Hello all. A brand spankin' new website launched this week called PatternWall. It has oodles of free repeatable patterns and textures to use on your web design layouts. Check it out:
>PatternWall.com

Magic Night Tutorial

There is a really sweet tutorial on psd tuts about creating a Magic Night website layout. It's really work looking at, even if you aren't into web design. There are several topics covered that could help with illustration. The imagery is very inspirational as well. It's very fantastical looking.

> Create a Magic Night Themed Web Design

Tea Stain Texture

A friend of mine says his mom tea stained her wedding dress. Sounds like an interesting way to add some color and interest to a dress. Anyway, here's a tea stained texture for you. Brought to you by frameofthoughts on Deviantart.
>Tea Stain Texture

Star Brushes

The lens flare may be one of the most over used effects in photoshop but sometimes stars and flares have their place. If you need to add some sparkle to your art, give these star brushes by jen-ni a try.
> Star Brushes

Grunge Brushes by glors

One can never have enough grunge brushes. Using all sorts of brushes in combination creates a wonderful array of texture in images. Here's another one by glors to add to your collection.

Grunge Brushes

Old Grungy Books

Some free grunge book brushes. Not sure how these would be useful. And the same guys also bring you this. Free for commercial use (with some limitations. read the 'read me' file)

Grunge Book Brushes

Sorry for the delays in posting

Hello everyone.

Blogger seems to be experiencing some problems related to scheduled postings. Most of our blog posts are scheduled ahead of time to be released once per day. However, Blogger has had some issues with this system and posts are not being posted on time as noted on the Blogger Known Issues page. So we appologize for the lateness of posts for the past couple weeks. Hopefully, the Blogger team will get this bug resolved soon.

Grass texture

Fotolia has a cheap grass texture that could be used to create some awesome texture. I think it would make a good photoshop brush.

Fotolia Grass

Create Halftones in Photoshop

We recently posted an article linking to halftone brushes. But for when those brushes just aren't doing the job, here's a tutorial showing you how to create your own half tones.

Particles Textures

Azuremonkey has a nifty set of four of free textures. One of them has really awesome color, well at least it appeals to my tastes. Check em out by clicking the download link on the left of this page.

Particles

Hand Written Fonts

Web Design Ledger has a great post about hand written fonts. Many of them are nicely textured so think about how you can use typography to add texture and richness to your illustrations, web design, and other artworks.

21 Best Fonts for Hand Drawn Style Web Design

Halftone Brushes

Making halftones and screentones can be a bit of a pain in Photoshop. But here's a quick shortcut for you, BRUSHES!!! Yes must have more brushes.
>Halftone Brushes

Splatterz Brushes

This is the best splatter brush set I've seen! Forget those other splatter brushes, check out this one made by physicalmagic
> SplatterzBrushes

Wood Texture tutorial

Here's a video tutorial for how to create a wood box texture in Photoshop

Orange Dream Texture

A nice texture for you. Free to use as long as you credit Dalistock and notify him.
> Orange Dream

Free Texture site, Texture King

Don't want to pay high prices for texture stock photos? No problem. TextureKing has a good base of free stock images. Their Concrete and Wood/Plant collections are particularly good.

>TextureKing

29 Grunge Brushes

KeepWaiting at DeviantArt has created a fantastic set of grunge brushes. These are fairly high resolution too, so they are very flexible for whatever size project you're working on. Definitely check these out.

>Old Grunge Photoshop Brushes

Concrete Texture Stock

Here's a stock image with some gritty/cracked texture. This one will cost you a few bucks though from Fotolia. But it's pretty nice!

Concrete Texture Stock

RoughSea Brush [exclusive]

I've created a new brush called RoughSea. Crazy textures, yeaaaar!
> RoughSea Brush

Star Field brushes

A sweet set of brushes for that more realistic space look. Also can make a great texture for sand or dirt. These are awesome. You must download them.

> Star Field Brushes

Mix n Match photos, patterns, colors in web design tutorial

Here's a great tutorial from TutsPlus on how color and texture can change the look and feel of a web page. It includes detailed step by step instructions on how to make a webpage layout in Photoshop. If web design isn't your fancy, it's at least worth taking a glance at the screenshots toward the bottom.

> Mix n Match web design tutorial

50th Post!

Rough It Up has reached its 50th post! 

We are still a relatively new blog and we are off to a great start. Now is your chance to tell us what you think. Do you want to see more brushes? Or are the textures really what get you excited? Or would you like to see more featured artwork? Please contact us and let us know what it is you'd like to see more of. 

Please post a comment on this entry to let us know what you think! Every person who responds gets a free taco!* 

*This offer does not actually include free tacos.

Dry Brush Strokes Brushes

Dry brush stroke brushes. For that really authentic traditional media look. They are also free for commercial use.

> 25 Dry Brush Strokes

Splat Brushes

These are some nice splatter brushes you should really check out.

> Cazilu's Splat Brushes

Fire brushes

I just saw that movie Snakes on a Plane and man I hate snakes. Burn those mofos with these hot brushes.

>Insight Fire Brushes

Bamboo Brushes

Here's a nice set of 13 bamboo foliage brushes. I like all the different leaves on here.
> Bamboo Brushes

Cracked Dry Earth

Wow this is a really neat stock find from Superstar-stock. This really dry and cracked space in the ground makes a nice texture.
> Textura Tierra Seca 01

Abstract forrest texture

Joannastar-stock has created a nifty forrest like texture image. Usage guidelines.

> Abstract 03

Rust Texture Pack

A pack of 5 rusty textures for use in your projects. These are free to use and created by nighty-stock.
>Rust Texture Pack

Splatter Brushes

You can never really have enough splatter brushes. So here are some more. These work in PhotoShop and in GIMP.
> Splatter Set II

Featured Art - Visions

Helena Markos, has created a wonderful work of art depicting a mischievous cat snooping around on the kitchen counters.

Note her use of browns and yellows to indicate background elements. Rather than outlining everything in black, she's outlined it in a midtone brown to allow that black cat and the steam to really pop. She's also got a grunge texture going on with the background elements that kind of makes it appear like it was all done with a silk screen process. The shaded areas are also created with a screen tone adding another layer of texture. Be sure to check out the original so you can see it in its fully textured glory.

>Visions

Also check out her website.

Foliage Textures and stock

38 free stock images and textures of ivy, plants, grass, leaves, and other foliage. These were intended for use for 3D textures. But there's no reason you can't use them for other things like backgrounds, brushes, and photoshop textures.

> Foliage Textures

Paper & Plastic Packaging Textures

Wow... 30 fantasmic textures, and at high resolution to boot. This is a great find. Very versatile high resolution paper and plastic textures.

> 30 High Res Paper & Plastic Textures

Vintage Texture Pack

A sweet collection of fancy vintage motifs. Great for that wedding blog. You can use these without citing credit. Check cloaks' terms for details.
> Vintage IV

Check out Cloaks' other vintage packs as well:

Vintage I, Vintage II, Vintage III

Stock Music Texture

Musical notation on a textured piece of paper. Great for that new band website. Details on usage linked from the original entry.

> night-fate-stock's music texture 8

Chalk Brush [exclusive]

Here's a brush you can use to mimic chalk or pastel mediums. This .abr file comes with two variants of the brush. Blend with other brushes in your arsenal for even more variants. Brush available under Creative Commons.

> Chalk Brush

Featured Art - After the Rain

Check out the nice crosshatching work that Dienle has done on her art piece "After the Rain." The crosshatching technique creates a nice texture, especially onthe mushrooms and on that really awesome umbrella.

Wood grain textures

I really love the grain of wood. Something about that natural phenomenon really adds something beautiful and earthy to any project. Here are some nifty free wood grain textures to use in your projects.

>Highres Wood Grain textures

Who's Hungry short animated film

Check out this awesome animated short. It's all done in pencil and has some interesting usage of texture and depth.

Who's Hungry

Security Envelopes

Check out the possibilities with Security Envelopes as a great pattern or texture. They can be used to create wonderful works of art. I used to think these things were quite ugly but now I'll never look at a security envelope the same way again.

• iDiY Security Envelopes 1
• iDiY Security Envelopes 2
  

Texture Photo Roundup

Texture can be found all around you, not just in brushes and stock art. Check out these cool photos and works of art with interesting textures.

• Razor Blade Makeup
• Summer Rain
• But Does it Float Clouds
• Typographic Ballet
• Rock of Ages
• Ruins of Detroit
• Supernatural Riot
  

Floral Brushes

Some high res floral brushes to tickle your fancy. Created by Jaaaiiro.
High Res Floral Brushes

Splatter Brushes

No modern art piece is complete without some splattering. Also great for grunge... or maybe even blood!
Splatter Brushes

Grunge Brushes

Awesome textured grunge brushes, great for web design.
Grunge Brushes

Stained Paper

Stained paper for adapting to a texture available under Creative Commons.
Stained Paper

High Res Paper

Every great grunge texture starts with an old deteriorating piece of paper. Here are some great free paper textures to get you going.
Free High Res Paper

Flawless Secret Brushes

These brushes mimic natural media nicely. Courtesy of Flawless-Secret.
Flawless Secret Brushes

Grunge Tutorial

Want to know how to create wicked cool worn out grunge graphics? This tutorial details it step by step. You'll need a paper base to start out with.
Grunge Tutorial

40+ Beautiful Patterns and Textures for Ornate Backgrounds

WebDesignLedger.com has a pack of 40+ patterns and textures for backgrounds. This collection is really sweet because it has a lot of detail and flurries. Some of these would be excellent for a wedding website or paper invitations.
40+ beautiful patterns and textures at webdesignledger

Nebulae Grunge Textures

Ten textures that will rock your universe.
Nebulae Grunge

850 Tech Brushes

Working on a Futuristic Design on a graphics or web design in Photoshop mostly requires more tech feeling. Using circuits,linings,wiring or even blueprints could help achieve a better futuristic results but will take time doing all the details needed. To work more with ease and save time, why not use brushes instead?
read more

Tree brushes

Here are some tree brushes. I would not want to use these as is, otherwise your tree line might look a little repetative. But cropping these brushes into just tree limbs and varying them a bit, could help you to more easily create trees that you can make your own.
6 Tree Brushes

Feather Brushes

Feather brushes are great for getting texture. The wispy ends can be used for painting foliage as well.
Feather Brushes

Handmade Paper

Hand made cork-like paper available under Creative Commons.
Handmade Paper

Grunge Rays

A nifty grunge background for just a couple bucks.
Grunge background

Pro Flourished Brushes

Professional flourished brushes for PhotoShop

How to create Grunge Brushes

Want to know how to make your very own grunge brushes? This tutorial has all the details, complete with screenshots.
How to create a set of Photoshop grunge brushes

Furry Wave brush [exclusive]

I've created a really neat photoshop brush that can be useful for texturing. This is my first brush so if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know.
Brush available under Creative Commons license.
Furry Wave Brush

Bullet Brushes

These textures if cropped/used effectively, could be used for more than just bullet holes.
Bullet Brushes

Telemachus

Interesting foliage to inspire your next fantasy painting.
Telemachus

Photoshop Brushes tutorial

Find a texture you like and want to turn it into a brush? This tutorial could be very useful.

Photoshop Brushes Tutorial

Textures and Patterns Showcase

Smashing Magazine shows you some websites with great textures.

Textures and Patterns Design Showcase (via Smashing Magazine)

Highres Messy Watercolor brushes

12 brushes at very high res. Ideal if you do paintings in Photoshop.

Highres Messy Watercolor brushes (via Smashing Magazine)