13: History & History Brush

HISTORY PANEL(Window)

The History Panel is a tool which creates a chronological top-down view of everything you do in your working session in Photoshop. To access the History Panel, choose Window > History, or click the History Panel tab if it’s already activated in your workspace (highlighted in the Featured image above).

History States

Every move you make, from brush strokes to selections, is recorded and referred to as a History State or State for short, and each State appears in the panel. We can use this list of History States to, as I like to say, ‘time travel’ without the need for a flux capacitor.

As we angrily spam our crtl + Z (Windows) or ⌘ + Z (Mac) after we’ve made a dreadful mistake, we’re actually going back state by state to a time when we were happy with our work, and from that previous State we can start anew. A more thoughtful, timid and alternate approach would be by clicking on a specific State within the History Panel list itself and continuing on from there. Let’s face it, though, we all like to spam our “ctrl + Z” shortcuts, and it’s not a bad thing!

Snapshots

Photoshop will forget all States beyond the predefined number set in the preferences. Therefore, if you’d like to save a specific State before losing it, you can take a Snapshot . There is no limit to the number of Snapshots you can take, and they can be used in a variety of ways.

other undo options:

HISTORY BRUSH (Tool)

The history brush uses a previous state or snapshot of an image. The tool makes a copy of the image as it was in a previous state, then uses the content of this copy to paint with.

Using the History Brush

Before you can use the History Brush, you first have to apply a filter effect and then create a snapshot. In this example, the Poster Edges filter is applied.

To create a snapshot, click the Create new snapshot icon at the bottom of the History palette.
The new snapshot appears at the top of the History palette. It’s good practice to give it a name, so you can remember what it represents.
Select the History Brush Tool in the toolbox.To paint in the filter effect with the History Brush, click the box beside the snapshot to set the source for the History Brush. You also need to go back a step to Open so that you’re working on the image before the filter was applied.
In the History Brush Toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you select the History Brush, you can choose your Brush type, blending mode, and Opacity. In this example, a Hard Round brush is used with Normal blending mode and 100% Opacity.
Now you’re ready to paint in the filter effect over the parts of the image to which you wish to apply it.

Using Different Brushes with the History Brush

You can create some very interesting effects using the History Brush in conjunction with other brushes available in Photoshop and a different blending mode.

In this example, the Reticulation Filter is applied, a snapshot created (see right), and the History Brush selected.
From the default brushes, select the Round Blunt Medium Stiff brush.

Click to view larger image
Go to Window > Brush to bring up the brush settings. In the Bristle Qualities section, change the settings for the brush to add more Bristles (100%) and Stiffness (100%).
Select the Vivid Light blending mode, and then draw lines horizontally across the image using the brush.

ORIGINAL IMAGE

THE FINAL IMAGE