I've downloaded two sets of brushes from here (made by Brooke: Paint Stroke Brushes and Grunge Paint Brushes) and the .abr files won't load. I am using Photoshop CS2. I thought I remembered reading something recently about how newer versions of PS let you make brushes larger than 2500x2500 pixels, so I was thinking maybe that's the problem, that perhaps these brushes are larger than my PS will allow. CS2 and below, at least, do not allow brushes larger than 2500 pixels. I tried googling for info to see if that is the case (about the newer versions letting you make bigger brushes) but nothing came up, so perhaps I misremembered. Any other thoughts about why these .abr files might not load? With the first set I just used the pngs to make my own brushes, but I just download one with a *lot* of brushes, which I wouldn't have done if I'd known I was going to have to make each one individually from pngs.
If the issue is indeed about the brush size/version of photoshop, perhaps you could add a note to the item descriptions saying ".ABR only works in CS_ and above."
Sorry about that Violet. I've posted in the Photoshop Forum to see if anyone knows what the problem is. Hopefully we can figure it out and find a solution.
https://www.digitalscrapbook.com/forums/software-specific/photoshop-and-photoshop-elements/making-abr-files-for-cs2
I just found this program which will convert the .ABR files so they are compatible with CS2: http://www.texturemate.com/content/abrmate-tutorial-convert-newer-adobe-photoshop-cs-brush-ps7-format-use-any-photoshop-version
What I would still like to know is if there's anything I can do when saving the .ABR files, or if it's just a break in the compatibility.
I have photoshop CS4, and none of Booke .abr files work with me.
Brushes are not backward compatible from all that I have read. If the brushes were created in a later version they may not work with CS2. One of the problems with older versions.
You can however try:
abrMate Tutorial: Convert a Newer Adobe Photoshop CS Brush to PS7 Format for Use in Any Photoshop Version
http://www.texturemate.com/content/abrmate-tutorial-convert-newer-adobe-photoshop-cs-brush-ps7-format-use-any-photoshop-version
This should convert a new brush to CS2. I have not tried it. So if you do, please let us know.
Yes, from my research after posting here brushes are not backwards compatible. Such a pity, and such a bizarre quirk of the program. abrMate looks awesome but unfortunately it's Windows-only and I use a Mac.
We could do a community project to remake the brushes in lower versions - like maybe someone with CS or another early version would get the brushes free and then use the PNGs to make a brush file, which you could offer here for folks who don't have the latest Photoshop. At the very least if you could specify in the brush description which version it was made with or is compatible with that would be helpful. I have one or two brush sets I've made from PNGs so far in CS2, let me know if you'd like them.