How To Bring Textures Into Photoshop

I occasionally get emails asking how to import textures into Photoshop/Elements or asking if they need to install them as a plug-in. 

The good news is that there is nothing to install. Textures are basically just image files that you open up in Photoshop the same as you would any other image file.

Here's a quick outline on how to start working with your textures.

1. Download the zip files. (If you need help with the downloads / zipped files read this article.)
2. Unzip the files. (If you need help with the downloads / zipped files read this article.)
3. Back up your files. Back up your textures and other assets to CD and or an external hard drive or cloud storage.
4. Place your files in the appropriate folder. Drag your textures, etc. to where you normally store your images. Note: for some Windows platforms, apparently you cannot open a file unless it's in the appropriate folder. I've had a few clients have problems opening a file from their download folder that was solved by moving the files.
5. Optional: Import to a database program. Note, if you use Lightroom, Aperture or another image database program, import the textures. Note: Lightroom versions under version 5 do not support .png files. If you wish to import these to Lightroom, change them to Photoshop or Tiff files. (Just don't flatten them!)
6. Choose a texture to open. Using Lightroom, Bridge, Elements Organizer, or another image browser, choose the texture you wish to work with. Open the texture. Note: Certain image browsers such as Elements Organizer don't display the Black and White transparent .png files correctly. They may display as blocks of black. Change them to Photoshop or Tiff files. (Just don't flatten them!)
7. Place the texture in your image. Place it in a layer in your image file by either copying and pasting or dragging.
8. Quick Start Guide To Textures: Here's a quick tutorial to get you started working with textures.