Adobe brings to life the 100-year old brushes of Edvard Munch and Competition

Adobe has today announced an innovative, first of its kind project, The Hidden Treasures of Creativity, which will digitally recreate the over 100-year old paint brushes of Edvard Munch to inspire a new generation of master painters. In collaboration with The Munch Museum in Oslo and award winning Photoshop brush maker Kyle T. Webster, Adobe has digitally replicated seven of Munch’s original brushes and made them available in Creative Cloud for Photoshop and Sketch users worldwide.

With the support of the Munch Museum’s conservation experts, Munch’s original brushes were photographed in 360 degrees using ultra-high-resolution cameras, which captured all angles and details to create an accurate three dimensional representation. Munch’s artistic style and brushwork were closely analysed by specialists, and combined with data about the brushes’ attributes, including physical properties such as flexibility and bristle type.

The process of turning the data and scans into Photoshop brushes was then performed by Kyle T. Webster, regarded by many as the world’s foremost authority on Photoshop brushes. In collaboration with the museum experts, Kyle has been able to capture the exact shape and performance attributes of each of the brushes, which are available to download for use in Photoshop and Sketch from today.

Simon Morris, Senior Director of Campaign Marketing at Adobe said: “There are certain pieces of art we all know and love. These works transcend time, living on to influence modern creatives, and society as a whole. But we rarely think about the tools that were used to create those masterpieces.”

“The Hidden Treasures of Creativity is all about bringing these tools back to life and placing them in the hands of a new generation of artists. Institutions such as The Met in New York and The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam are already making their collections available online to help keep classic works of art in the public eye. This innovative project is an extension of this movement, making it possible for today’s artists to rediscover and treasure the brush of a master and use it to create their very own masterpiece.”

Adobe will also be running a contest over the next month between 15th June – 14th July 2017.

^{This is to encourage Photoshop and Sketch users to make use of these exclusive brushes to create their own versions of Munch’s most famous and iconic painting, ‘The Scream’. Edvard Munch made four different versions of the artwork and 80 years on, Adobe is challenging artists worldwide to create ‘The 5th Scream’.}

^{Entrants will be able to submit their masterpiece by uploading their artwork to Behance with the tag #MunchContest for the opportunity to have their work of art displayed in The Munch Museum in Oslo and as part of a special Behance collection. In addition, the grand winner will receive a cash prize of €6,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to Adobe MAX, the world’s leading creativity conference, taking place in Las Vegas from 18th-20th October 2017 among other prizes. Submissions will be judged on originality, artistic composition, consistency with the theme and creativity by a dedicated panel of judges. The brushes can be downloaded online here with supporting tutorials being made available as part of the campaign. Winners of the contest will be announced on 28th July 2017.}

 ^{Check out the tutorial videos below:}