Photoshop Keyboard Shortcut Brush Size

I'm not sure how long I've been using the right mouse button and the Tools options menu in Photoshop to adjust the size of the brushes, but it must be years. In Photoshop tutorials on YouTube I have always seen that people change the tool size pretty quickly with any keyboard shortcut and the mouse, but the step was always missing to google how it works.

After I have just tested the Logitech Craft keyboard with the rotary wheel, I am confronted with the subject again, because the rotary wheel on the keyboard also allows you to adjust the brush size very comfortably without going through the tool settings. My wife works in Photoshop all day and she was also very interested in the keyboard and said that she could then save herself the keyboard shortcut. "Ah!", I thought, "Let's ask the specialist how it works exactly." And of course the solution came promptly.

To change the brush size or the brush hardness, you don't necessarily have to go through the brush options if you know which key combinations to use (screenshot: Sir Apfelot).

Keyboard shortcut on Mac

Since the keyboard shortcuts are different on macOS and Windows, I have divided them into two sections. Here first the way on the Mac (tried with Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 under macOS Catalina):

Hold down the ALT + CTRL keys
then click with the left mouse button and keep it pressed
Move the mouse left / right to enlarge or reduce the brush tip
by moving the mouse up / down you can adjust the hardness of the brush

~~If you are good at finger yoga and manage to press the SHIFT key at the same time, the brush hardness can be adjusted with the movement of the mouse.~~ You can work with the SHIFT key, but moving the mouse up and down regulates the hardness of the brush so that you don't have to do finger yoga. Thanks for the hint, Juri!

Keyboard shortcut under Windows

If you work with Photoshop under Windows, you would have to use the following buttons to change the brush size:

Hold ALT and right mouse button down
then move mouse left and right

Also under Windows you hold the SHIFT key if you want to change the hardness of the brush.

With the rotary wheel of the Logitech Craft you can not only change the tool size, but also the hardness, the flow and the opacity (photos: Sir Apfelot).

Alternative to the shortcuts: Logitech Craft

As already mentioned, I am currently testing this Logitech wireless keyboard. I can reveal so much even before my final test report: Changing the tool tips in terms of size, hardness, flow and the like is a snap with the context-sensitive rotary knob on the keyboard. The thing also works wonderfully with other Adobe programs such as Illustrator, InDesign and the like.

To do this, you can freely assign a number of multifunctional buttons so that you can call up certain actions or processing steps directly with the press of a button. I find working with this wheel very pleasant and much easier to implement than the rather complex keyboard shortcuts - especially since the mouse does not have to be moved to change the brush size and you can continue working more quickly.

Since the Logitech Craft also cuts a very good figure when typing, it is my recommendation for all those who are often in Photoshop or in general in Adobe Creative Cloud programs. You will find them here at Amazon or here at Gravis (probably cheaper than at Amazon).

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With Lynne, a graphic artist and designer has joined the team who contributes articles on the topics of homepage, web development and Photoshop. YouTube has recently become one of her areas of activity. Lynne is (unintentionally) very good at generating error messages and thus ensures a steady influx of problem-solving articles, which repeatedly make the Sir Apfelot blog a popular contact point for Mac users.