Adobe Illustrator is used by millions of professional and hobbyist graphic designers all over the world. It is the industry-standard vector graphics software and while the tools that the program normally comes with can make some of the most beautiful artwork in the world, one of the best parts about Illustrator is the ability to add custom brushes.
With this in mind, we wanted to feature 30 Illustrator Brushes, both free and paid, so that when you need something other than just the standard brushes, you can add one of these to your toolbox.
These top free illustrator brushes are perfect for inking, texture, drawing, sketching, calligraphy, watercolor, grain, grunge, Japanese, chalk, line art, hair, and more!
If you’re ready, let’s get started.
Top 40 Best Free & Premium Illustrator Brushes
- Essential Illustrator Brush Bundle –
$199$59 - Fine Liner Brushes & Patterns – $21
- The Organic Vector Brush Bundle – $45
- Finest Vintage – Illustrator Brushes – $21
- The Retro Comic Book Tool Kit – $20
- Tattoo Style Art Brushes – $18
- Drunk Sailor | Vector Stippling Brushes & More – $24
- Classic Chalk Brushes Patterns – $16
- Carpenters Pencil Brushes – $14
- Outstanding Oil Paint Brushes – $19
- Irvington High School Vector Brushes – $15
- Character Drawing Toolkit – People Edition – $19
- Fabric Kingdom Illustrator Edition (with Envato Elements)
- The Watercolor Media Kit for Illustrator – $25
- Vector Foiling Illustrator Effect – $14
- CHEMIST Illustrator Brushes (with Envato Elements)
- 105 Illustrator Paint Stroke Brushes – $9
- Pencilcraft Brushes for Adobe Illustrator (with Envato Elements)
- Frosted & Frozen Creative Kit Combo – $15
- Liner Illustrator Brushes – $16
- Grain Shader Brushes For Illustrator – $19
And even more below…
The Essential Illustrator Brush Bundle – $199 to $59
Get RetroSupply’s most useful and time-saving retro effect brushes for Adobe Illustrator and save. These 16 bundles include hard to achieve and impressive looking effects including engraving, hatchers, stippling, gradated halftones and much more.
- 16 complete sets of RetroSupply brushes for Adobe Illustrator.
- Includes packs for engraving, stippling, gradated halftones, hatching and tons more.
- Save a huge amount off the individual retail price.
Fine Liner Brushes & Patterns – $21
With a huge range of different pen marks, the Fine Liner Brushes & Patterns from Artifex Forge provides you with a versatile and authentic kit that includes straight and rough outlines, dots and dashes, stippling, zigzags, and more. Most of the brushes that are included use the pattern brush feature meaning that the brushes won’t over-stretch on long strokes which can streamline the process and save you time.
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The Organic Vector Brush Bundle – $45
Shading and adding texture in Illustrator can be bothersome, especially if you need to do this in the tight areas of your artwork. The Organic Vector Brush Bundle from Retro Supply Co. helps solve that problem with three brush sets: Organic Shader Scatter Brush Set, Organic Shader Brush Set, and Organic Linework Brush Set. Each set contains 15 brushes. That means you get 45 brushes in this set that you can use to add texture and detail to every piece of artwork that you need to.
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Finest Vintage – Illustrator Brushes – $21
Vintage brushes can add a different dimension to your artwork, the problem is that they can stretch on long strokes and thankfully, The Artifex Forge has heard you and created Finest Vintage – Illustrator Brushes. When you use one of the vintage hatch or outline brushes, they will repeat a tile along the stroke seamlessly rather than stretching one image along the line. This means that you won’t have to change brushes as often and you can spend more time perfecting your designs.
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Japan ProBrush – Free
Japanese calligraphy is world-renowned for its amazing command of line work. Created by Leonard Posavec, the Japan ProBrush comes with nine brushes that allow you to bring their craftsmanship into your work. These brushes have been developed to emulate the ink and watercolor brushes that calligraphers use. If you’re looking to add a bit of Japan to your artwork, you should give the Japan ProBrush a try.
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The Retro Comic Book Tool Kit – $20
Many of us enjoyed reading comics as a kid and now that we’re grown up, we can easily create our own with The Retro Comic Book Tool Kit from The Artifex Forge quickly and easily and create comics with the same realistic effect with 84 brushes that have been optimized so there is less distortion when used. Included in the kit is a set of Comic Book Layer Styles as a bonus to help your comic book come to life that much easier.
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Tattoo Style Art Brushes – $18
When it comes to tattoo art, while people may love the look, not everyone wants to go through the process of getting it on their skin themselves. The Tattoo Style Art Brushes from The Artifex Forge comes with stipple shading scatter brushes and outline brushes so that you can make stunning, tattoo-inspired artwork. These brushes can help give your artwork an eye-catching edge and helps you create amazing work without the pain.
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Classic Chalk Brushes Patterns – $16
If you’ve ever been to a local coffee shop, you know that chalk can be used in a multitude of ways.With the Classic Chalk Brushes Patterns from The Artifex Forge, you can use one of the 74 chalk texture brushes to create amazing works of art. Sourced from actual chalk means that these brushes are as realistic as they can get so you can spend time enjoying creating new pieces of artwork for your clients or even just for personal use.
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Illustrator Brush Sampler Pack – Free
The Retro Supply Co doesn’t normally give away their premium brushes which is what makes this sampler pack such a great find. The pack contains brushes from some of their best-selling sets including Dragstrip, InkWash, VectorSketch, VectorHero, Black Magic Halftones, and Wax & Oil. This can be a great way to try out some incredible brushes before you buy them and any others from a company that routinely creates high-quality digital art resources.
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Drunk Sailor | Vector Stippling Brushes & More – $24
Doing stippling work by hand can put a huge strain on your hands and your sanity. The Retro Supply Co is here to help with their Drunk Sailor Brush Pack that can add the effect in seconds.Made using real stippling techniques with a seamless texture and pressure sensitivity puts you in total control. With 38 stippling brushes, 20 pen liner brushes, and 5 specialty brushes to help your artwork from start to finish.
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VectorSketch | Pencil Brushes – $15
Artists love using charcoal and pencils as mediums for their artwork but normally, if you wanted to use them digitally, you’d have to use Photoshop. Well, not anymore with the VectorSketch kit from Retro Supply Co. Packed with 40 charcoal and graphite-based brushes, you can get beautiful results in Illustrator with these brushes made from historically inspired charcoal pencil brushes.
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Outstanding Oil Paint Brushes – $19
Using oil paints to create art can create some of the most beautiful art in the world but not everyone has the time, patience, or resources to become proficient with them. That’s where the Outstanding Oil Paint Brushes by The Artifex Forge. Made by sampling real oil paints to create an authentic look every time. Featuring 50 authentic oil paint brushes that as close to using real oil paints in Illustrator as you’re going to get.
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Linocut Vector Brushes – Free
Linocuts are a printing process that is very similar to woodcuts and can create beautiful imagery if you don’t hurt yourself doing it. With these free Linocut Vector Brushes, you have 25 different brushes to choose from including a range of brush shapes including tapered strokes, split brushes, texture fills, and edge shading. Well suited to being used on an iPad, the brushes have pressure and tapering effects built into each brush.
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Memento Shader Brushes For Illustrator – $17
Created by Pixel Buddha, the Memento Shader Brushes For Illustrator provides you with 35 brushes and 12 textures that you can use to shade your artwork with a smooth workflow from start to finish. The noise brushes are a nice supplement that you can add to your artwork to give it a vintage look. Use these shader brushes to create amazing commercials, posters, illustrations, and anything else your creativity can come up with.
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Genuine Crafted Chalk – $16
Using real chalk offers a look and feel that can’t be beaten. Trailhead Design has created The Genuine Crafted Chalk Kit to give you a brush kit that looks and acts like real chalk. With 55 Vector brushes that cover a wide array of strokes, you can achieve with a piece of chalk. As a bonus, the kit includes 6 chalkboard textures that have been created from photographs of vintage slate chalkboards to give you a great background for your work.
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Carpenters Pencil Brushes – $14
You wouldn’t normally think that a carpenters pencil would make a good brush for your artwork. The Artifex Forge saw the pencil for what it was and with their Carpenters Pencil Brushes, you can create thick, textured lines and also change the width of the brush to add a new dimension to your artwork. Included in the kit are 42 different brushes with options from an angled brush to a multi-width option. Included specifically for Illustrator, the brushes are pressure-sensitive to give you more feel in every stroke you make.
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Stipple shading Illustrator brushes – Free
Created by Chris Spooner, the Stipple shading Illustrator brushes is a collection of eight stipple shading brushes that help your add grungy details to your artwork. A popular technique, you can easily add a vintage tattoo or retro comic book look to your artwork. With brushes ranging from light grain to heavy stipple, you can add a new dimension to your artwork and the best part is that its free.
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Wood Grain Brushes – $14
Woodgrain can have a beautiful and timeless quality and The Artifex Forge’s Wood Grain Brushes kit was developed by taking photos of real wood and live-tracing, cleaning up and then converting them into a brush. These brushes have more versatility than other vector textures because they can be bent and shaped to fit your artwork. If you love the look of wood on everyday objects, you should try this kit to see how it can enhance your current work.
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Halftone Brushes & Bonus Patterns – $15
Halftones happen when dots of ink, in a variety of sizes, are overlaid to build up color and tone. Doing so by hand can be a tedious process and thankfully the Halftone Brushes & Bonus Patterns from The Artifex Forge can help. With a mixture of pattern and scatter brushes, you can paint the effect in your way to create beautiful illustrations and designs.
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Rodeo Hand-Drawn Rope Brush – Free
No matter how long you have been a designer, there may be one item that, for whatever reason, you have trouble drawing. For some, its rope and the Rodeo Hand-Drawn Rope Brush is a great way to create rope quickly. You can apply it to any path, plus you can change the rope’s color and width easily.
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Irvington High School Vector Brushes – $15
Sometimes the best tools for you to create beautiful artwork come from the most random places and that’s what the Irvington High School Vector Brushes kit aims to do. Created by Retro Supply Co, the assortment of 20 vector brushes that include halftone interference patterns, watercolors, doodle fillers, hand-made cross hatchers, and ink brushes can give you those random tools you need to possibly create your best work.
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Character Drawing Toolkit – People Edition – $19
One of the hardest things that a new artist has to master is drawing people. Thankfully with the Character Drawing Toolkit – People Edition from Lisa Glanz, it just became that much easier. The kit is designed to help you overcome any natural anxiety that can come from drawing people and give you the tools you need. With more than 145 brushes, you can start creating the townspeople of your very own village in no time at all.
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Fabric Kingdom Illustrator Edition (with Envato Elements)
Created by Veila, the Fabric Kingdom Illustrator Edition brings you the most common as well as popular fabric textures and made them available to you as a set of graphic styles for Adobe Illustrator. It’s easy to apply these styles to any object you want. Just apply the style and change the color of the texture and the change happens right away. With more than 280 stitch brushes included, you can create your own Fabric Kingdom today!
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The Watercolor Media Kit for Illustrator – $25
Designed by Callie Hegstrom, The Watercolor Media Kit for Illustrator is chock-full of watercolor goodies including patterns and foils, vectors, and more than two dozen logos. This kit is an incredible resource that you can use to brand a business, create invitations, greeting cards, apparel and more. With more than 400 hand-drawn vector elements for Adobe Illustrator, you’ll have a hard time running out of creative ways to use this kit.
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Vector Foiling Illustrator Effect – $14
Created by Graphic Spirit, the Vector Foiling Illustrator Effect uses styles that are complimented by the actions and can provide you with a variety of 100% vector effect foil and works right inside Adobe Illustrator. Included in the set are eight styles each of foils including gold, silver, copper, blue, pink, and holographic. Also in the set are 3 styles of stamping, a handy user guide, and two vectorizing actions – all designed to help you add a bit of glam to your work.
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CHEMIST Illustrator Brushes (with Envato Elements)
Created by LeoSupply, the CHEMIST Illustrator Brushes provide you with scatter shader brushes, as well as textured and clear line brushes, grain and stipple brushes, plus decorative outline brushes all for your Adobe Illustrator program. Perfect for any kind of project you’re working on, this set is easy to use, just select a brush and draw. You can adjust the color and width just as easily and will be amazed at what you can create.
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105 Illustrator Paint Stroke Brushes – $9
Fiding a kit that has everything you need can be few and far between but not with the 105 Illustrator Paint Stroke Brushes from Abbie May. Packed with over 100 different paint stroke brushes so you can create realistic and incredibly detailed artwork. Perfect for hobbyists, designers, illustrators and just about anyone else, the brushes are super easy to use and the quality of each any every brush was ensured to make sure that everytime you use them, you’ll always have amazing results.
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Pencilcraft Brushes for Adobe Illustrator (with Envato Elements)
Created by Guerillacraft, the Pencilcraft Brushes for Adobe Illustrator kit keeps you from switching over to Photoshop to give your illustrations a better natural look and instead keeps everything in Adobe Illustrator to give you high-quality results – all within a vector. Made from real pencils and leads by hand, the brushes look completely natural and look great. Made up of 30 professional brushes that come with infinite path meaning you will never have to care about length anymore.
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Frosted & Frozen Creative Kit Combo – $15
Like something out of a favorite Disney movie, the Frosted & Frozen Creative Kit Combo lets you add some elegance to your artwork with all kinds of winter designs, both practical and decorative. The collection includes arctic crystals, liquid ice, icy sequins, Sparkling Frosts, Shimmering Snow, and much more. You can apply them with a color overlay on the layer style or in any color you wish. With 65 unique wintery patterns, you’ll be able to take your imagination and Let It Go!
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Liner Illustrator Brushes – $16
Created by Pixelbuddha, the Liner Illustration Brushes let you create lines with the precision of a magic wand, each brushstroke creating magic on your blank canvas. With a total of 72 brushes – 24 ink, 32 pat, and 16 dot brushes – drawing anything from lines, dashes, or asterisks has never been easier to accomplish. The collection also includes 20 seamless patterns that are made from the same inky liner so they can fit the style of composition that you work in.
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Grain Shader Brushes For Illustrator – $19
If you’re looking to add depth, shadow, grain, and form to your artwork then you can do no better than picking up the Grain Shader Brushes For Illustrator by True Grit Texture Supply. With a diverse selection of texture brushes, the set is perfect for adding grainy drop shadows, gritty accents, blended gradients, and subtle grain overlay effects. Built from a wide-ranging selection of source materials such as vintage paper, concrete, toner, ink spray, and sponged paint. With all the different options that you have at your disposal, this collection is the perfect tool to add to your collection.
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Sketch ProBrush
In the business of developing fashion sketches? If so, the Sketch ProBrush is what you need. Equipped with 72 quality handmade and fashion sketches, this set is a dream come true for artists, illustrators, and style experts, and visionaries.
Paint ProBrush
It isn’t surprising how many brand designers are painters offline, too. As such, the Paint ProBrush set is a terrific replica of physical handmade brushes. Perfect for projects that gravitate around paintings, sketches, and real-life drawings, this pack won’t let you down.
Subtlecraft – textures and brushes
Retro effects are fun, vibrant, and classy, so if the art direction you’re taking involves turning your creations into classic-inspired designs, Subtlecraft is the brush pack for you. Also suitable with Photoshop, this set adds a tasteful flare of vintage vibes to your work.
Tattoo Style Art Brushes
Radiating a natural tippled texture and shade, the Tattoo Style Art Brushes are perfect for anyone looking to recreate inked art online. Harnessing the inconsistency of real ink, this set is realistic, artsy, and easy on the eyes, instantly adding depth and authenticity to whatever you create.
Shader Brushes for Illustrator
Whether edge, shader, noise, or hatch brushes, the Shader Brushes pack is a superb option for designers wanting to achieve a grainy look. Also a great choice for moody and grungy aesthetics, this pack offers variety, personality, and volume, making it the best pick for anyone looking to enliven their work.
Pencil craft Brushes for Adobe Illustrator
Technology can come up with new machines that enable fresh and innovative designs, but nothing beats the authenticity and straightforwardness of drawing with pencils. That mentioned, if pencil-inspired drawings and designs are what you’re looking for, the Pencil Craft Brushes pack is all you’ll ever need.
Doodle Brushes
It’s the scribbled inconsistency that makes real-life drawings so beautiful and nice to look at. As such, Doodle Brushes are premium tools anyone can utilize if they’re determined to create stunning, distinct, and eye-catching digital art. Choose from 70 brush choices, and make your artwork easily stand out with this set.
Essential Artistic Illustrator Brush Collection
Natural artistic textures are perfect for when you’re trying to produce tribal digital pieces, so if this is the design you’re after, the Essential Artistic Illustrator Brush Collection is the answer. With 28 pro brushes at your disposal, making your digital art as clean and as realistic as possible becomes much, much easier with this pack.
Linocut Brushes
Linocut carving and printing are stellar artistic techniques, but they can take time to perfect in person. Thankfully, Envato’s Linocut Brushes allows designers to replicate Linocut designs. Instantly achieve the style and techniques you want your art to carry with this pack in no time!
Marker Illustrator Brushes
As the name of the brush pack hints, Marker Illustrator Brushes forges the texture real-life brushes create. Often used for presentations, headlines, titles, and report-looking designs, this pack is an awesome pick for creatives looking to achieve handwritten aesthetics.
Ink Age Brushes for Adobe Illustrator
Nothing can ever replace hand-drawn designs. So much so, that even in our online endeavors, we try so hard to retain the look and feel of handwritten lines. One awesome example of that reality is the Ink Age Brushes pack. Loaded with over a hundred brush designs, artists will like the realism, simplicity, and straightforwardness this set supplies.
Top 40 Free Illustrator Brushes
Adobe Illustrator can be an amazing program for you to create some of the most beautiful artwork. Using the standard brushes, while they are high-quality, is only limiting what you can do. With our list of the Top 40 Adobe Illustrator Brushes, we hope you can find some options to fit your kind of style.
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