Photoshop brush

File Format
Name	Photoshop brush
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Graphics Photoshop brush
Extension(s)	.abr

Photoshop brush (ABR) is a file format used by Adobe Photoshop for brushes (graphics, and information about brush behavior).

Format details

There are at least two different ABR formats, which we'll call "old format" and "new format". The first two bytes of the file are the major version number.

Old format

Known major version numbers: 1, 2

This format is documented in old versions of the Photoshop file formats specification.

New format

Known major version numbers: 6, 7

This format is not publicly documented by Adobe.

Some guesses about the format: This signature "8BIM" appears at offset 4. It and the rest of the file constitute a series of tagged blocks (the basic structure of which is publicly documented). The known block types are 'samp', 'patt', and 'desc'. The format of 'samp' is unknown. The format of 'patt' is the same as that of 'Patt' (which is publicly documented). The 'desc' block contains a descriptor.

Specifications

Old format

• Photoshop File Formats Specification V6.0 Release 2
• Photoshop Brushes (ABR) Specification (from archive.org)

New format

• Adobe Photoshop File Formats Specification (Defines some data structures used in ABR format, but does not describe the format itself.)

Software

• Adobe Photoshop
• Konvertor
• XnView
• ABR2GBR - Most likely only supports old format

Sample files

• There are many websites offering Photoshop brushes for download. Some examples:
  • http://fbrushes.com/
  • http://www.libertiny.com/brushportfolio/