Creating Abstract Brushes

In this tutorial, I'm going to show how to create a pretty cool abstract brush.
It isn't very easy to get this right, so you might have to try again a few times.

Part One:
Start with a 500x500 document with a white background.
Go to Filter->Render->Fibers... and use these settings:

Then Filter->Distort->Twirl... and set the angle to about 230 degrees.
You should now have something like this:

Now, select the magic wand tool by pressing "W" set the tolerance to about 33:

Use the wand to select an area similar to this:

Make sure you find a cool enough shape, take your time because this step is critical.
You might have to change the tolerance or maybe even start all over again to get a nice shape.

Once you've selected an area you're happy with:
Select->Feather... and use about 6px.

And while the area is still selected:
Edit->Define Brush Preset...
And name it whatever you want.

And your brush is done!

Part Two: Using the brush
Now that you've created your brush, let's try it out.
Open another document, let's say 500x400 or whatever you feel like acctually.
Add a black background and take out your brush tool (Hotkey: "B")
Select the brush you just created:

And in the brush palette, apply these settings:

And start drawing!

Try to add more layers and draw with different colors and blend them together.
Here's some samples:

If your brush didnt come out very well, try again.
Once you get it somewhat right, you can create pretty awesome effects.

If you enjoyed this free tutorial, please digg it if you can:

Thanks a bunch :)