30+ Best Free Illustrator Brush Sets for Digital Artists

If you want to add unique elements to your illustrations or take your digital art to a higher level, Illustrator brushes are what you need. Despite the popularity of Illustrator, finding the perfect brush pack can be time-consuming, especially when compared to the multitude of brushes available for Photoshop.

Illustrator brushes can add creative elements to your artwork that would be difficult to achieve manually. They allow you to quickly add textures, patterns, shapes, and lines to improve your designs and make your projects stand out.

We’ve curated this collection of the best high-resolution brush packs for Illustrator to save you time and effort. Within this collection, you’ll find a diverse range of free Illustrator brushes in various styles, including brush, stipple, grunge, vintage, doodles, and many more.

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Stipple Illustrator Brushes

Free to Download, 8 Illustrator Brushes

With this free stipple brush set, you can add texture, shading, and depth to your digital art. They’re also great for creating dotted shading, halftone textures, and retro-style gradients. Perfect for comic illustrations.

Stipple Brushes adobe illustrator brush brushes abr pack set free

Massive Pack of Brushes & Symbols

330 Illustrator Brushes

This pack is a must-have for any project. This huge collection of Illustrator brushes contains over 330 strokes, speech bubbles, swooshes, splashes, and tons of other high-resolution drawings and paintings.

Preppy Art Illustrator Brushes

Free to Download, 29 Illustrator Brushes

With the Preppy Art Illustrator Brushes Kit, you can add a touch of elegance to your work. This free set includes 24 high-quality brushes, each with a preppy, sophisticated look and feel. These brushes are perfect for adding delicate details and subtle textures.

Watercolor & Black Pattern Brushes

42 Illustrator Brushes

This set of Illustrator brushes includes 42 watercolor brushes and a bonus set of 42 black pattern brushes. You can easily use them to create mandalas, wreaths, or borders.

Wax Crayon Brushes

Free to Download, 40 Illustrator Brushes

If you’re looking to add a naive charm to your designs, then look no further than this free chunky texture brush set. There are a total of 40 wax crayon brushes in the free pack. You can also use this brush pack in Affinity Designer.

Patts Brush Collection

50 Illustrator Brushes

As well as including 50 Illustrator brushes, this pack also comes with seamless patterns. With this Illustrator brush pack, you can make simple illustrations look beautiful.

Brush Stroke Illustrator Brushes

Free to Download, 16 Illustrator Brushes

In this free Illustrator pack, you get 16 free brushes that replicate dry and wet paintbrush textures. It’s a great set for creating expressive artwork, paint effects, abstract designs, or textured backgrounds.

Spray Paint Stipple Brushes

Free to Download, 12 Illustrator Brushes

This free set has 12 high-quality Illustrator brushes that will add a realistic spray paint effect to your designs. Perfect for creating edgy artwork such as graffiti-style posters, punk rock album covers, and urban landscapes.

Scribble & Scrawl Brushes

44 Illustrator Brushes

This set of 44 Illustrator brushes is perfect for any primitive-looking artwork or childlike drawings. You’ll find various elements that are easy to apply and edit to suit the needs of your project.

Sketch Brushes for Illustrator

Free to Download, 10 Illustrator Brushes

This free Illustrator set includes ten brushes for creating pencil sketches with rough and hand-drawn lines. They’re perfect for concept art or adding a natural and handmade feel to your art.

Spray & Hatch Brushes

Free to Download, 20 Illustrator Brushes

This free Illustrator texture package includes ten spray and ten hatch brushes. These brushes allow you to create volume and shadowing, highlight details, and point out composition elements.

Chemist Stipple & Grain Brushes

Free to Download, 35 Illustrator Brushes

Are you working on a design project for a chemistry lab? This set includes scatter shader brushes, textured and clear line brushes, grain and stipple brushes, and, as a bonus, retro texture brushes for Photoshop.

Chalk Brushes for Illustrator

Free to Download, 15 Illustrator Brushes

With this free brush set, you can create chalky textures, dusty strokes, or blackboard-style art. They’re perfect for playful, informal designs, typography, or cafe-style menus.

Floral Pattern Brushes For Illustrator

Free to Download, 25 Illustrator Brushes

This brush pack features a lovely collection of floral pattern brushes for Illustrator. You’ll find 25 pattern brushes and 25 individual illustrations for your projects.

Lipstick Vector Brushes for Illustrator

Free to Download, 5 Illustrator Brushes

Consider this free pack for Illustrator if you need a unique vector brush for a fashion or beauty project. The pack contains five individual brushes and is free for personal and commercial use.

Big Illustrator Brushes Pack

56 Illustrator Brushes

This pack includes a set of 56 various Illustrator brushes, including stipple brushes, chalk and pastel, ink, flourish, patterns, and more. The download also contains four distressed stipple seamless vector swatches.

Rodeo Hand Drawn Rope Brush

Free to Download, 5 Illustrator Brushes

This brush pack includes a hand-drawn rope brush that’s perfect for any design. You can easily adjust the width of the rope and change its color. The brush set is free for personal and commercial projects.

Pencilcraft Illustrator Brushes

30 Illustrator Brushes

This brush pack is a perfect choice if you need to give your illustrations a real-life hand-drawn feel. The free pack contains 30 brushes with infinite lengths.

Texture Illustrator Brushes

Free to Download, 10 Illustrator Brushes

These ten free texture brushes will allow you to add depth to your illustrations. They’re perfect for adding realism to your work.

Vintage Banner Illustrator Brushes

Free to Download, 19 Illustrator Brushes

This free set consists of ten hand-drawn Illustrator brushes that will add a vintage touch to your illustrations. Perfect for retro-inspired posters, website banners, and social media graphics.

Floral Watercolor Brushes Bundle

Free to Download, 38 Illustrator Brushes

Try this floral watercolor brush pack if you’re working on a wedding project. These brushes can create unique backgrounds or trims for wedding invitations. The free package contains 38 brushes, and they can be used in personal and commercial projects.

Doodle Brushes for Illustrator

Free to Download, 4 Illustrator Brushes

With the help of this doodle brush pack, you’ll be able to create unique wreaths and borders. The package contains four different brushes, and you can easily change the colors to match the project you’re working on.

Halftone Vector Brushes

Free to Download, 5 Illustrator Brushes

Consider this brush pack of halftone vector brushes to add a grungy feel to your digital art. The package includes five brushes, and can be used in both your personal and commercial projects.

Paper Tooth Line Brushes

Free to Download, 4 Illustrator Brushes

If you’re trying to achieve a printed look for your design project, then this brush pack is the perfect choice. The package contains four brushes that give your artwork a “jagged edge” printed look.

Adobe Illustrator Metal Gradients

Free to Download, 140 Illustrator Brushes

Finding high-quality gradients for Illustrator can be challenging. With this set, you will no longer find yourself lacking. The pack comes with 140 free brushes.

Marker Pen Strokes AI Brushes

Free to Download, 64 Illustrator Brushes

This set contains 64 high-quality brushes of marker pen strokes and scribbles. You can use them in both personal and commercial projects, and attribution is not required.

Natural Sketch Doodle Line Brushes

Free to Download, 16 Illustrator Brushes

This is another excellent set for adding a hand-drawn feel to your designs. You’ll find various doodle lines and can freely use them in any personal project.

Hairy Fur Illustrator Brushes

Free to Download, 8 Illustrator Brushes

This set of 8 furry brushes is perfect for any design project featuring pets and animals. The brushes are free for personal use and work best when applied gradually in different tones.

Urban Squares Illustrator Brushes

Free to Download, 10 Illustrator Brushes

Add a unique touch to your designs with this free urban square brush pack. These brushes can be used in personal and commercial projects, with attribution appreciated but not required.

Illustrator Grunge Brushes

Free to Download, 8 Illustrator Brushes

These grunge brushes are perfect for adding a grungy aesthetic to your artwork. The pack contains various brushes for personal and commercial projects.

How to Install Brushes in Illustrator

Installing Illustrator brushes is a straightforward process, here’s how to do it:

Download Brushes: Download one (or all) of the brush sets from this collection, or you can create your own. Brushes often come in AI, EPS, or ABR file formats.
Locate Brushes Folder: Open Illustrator and go to the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes). Select Open Brush Library in the panel menu and then choose Other Library.
Import Brushes: Navigate to the downloaded file and select the corresponding brush. Click Open to import the brushes.
Organize Brushes: After importing, the brushes will appear in the Brushes panel. You can now create new brush libraries and organize brushes into categories for easier access.

How to Use Brushes in Illustrator

Illustrator brushes offer many creative possibilities and can add depth and texture to your illustrations, designs, and artwork. Here’s how to use them:

Select Brush Tool: Choose the Brush Tool from the Tools panel on the left.
Select Brush: In the Brushes panel, select the brush you want to use. You can preview the brush strokes by hovering over the brushes.
Adjust Brush Settings: Customize the brush settings using the Brush Options panel (Window > Brush Settings) to control the size, opacity, color, and more.
Start Drawing: Click and drag on the artboard to create brush strokes. Experiment with pressure, speed, and direction for different effects.
Change Stroke Color: You can change the stroke color of the brush by selecting the stroke and using the Color panel.
Modify Strokes: After creating a brush stroke, you can modify its appearance using the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke) to adjust stroke weight, style, and more.
Expand Appearance (Optional): If you want to convert the brush strokes into editable paths, you can select the strokes and go to Object > Expand Appearance.

How to Create Your Own Illustrator Brushes

Creating your own Illustrator brushes allows you to add unique textures, patterns, and strokes to your designs. Here’s how to create custom brushes in Adobe Illustrator:

Design Your Element: Create the design, shape, or pattern that you want to turn into a brush. This could be a line, texture, scatter of objects, or even calligraphy.
Select and Define: Select the artwork you want to turn into a brush and open the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes).
New Brush: In the Brushes panel menu, choose New Brush. A dialog box will appear with different brush types: Scatter, Art, Pattern, or Calligraphic.
Choose Brush Type: Select the brush type that matches your artwork. Each type has unique properties for applying the brush stroke.
Brush Options: Customize the brush settings based on the brush type you selected. Adjust settings like size, spacing, angle, and scattering.
Preview and Name: Click OK to create the brush. You’ll see a preview of the brush stroke. Give your brush a descriptive or memorable name.
Save and Use: Click OK again to save the brush, and it will appear in the Brushes panel and be ready to use.

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Free Illustrator Brush FAQs

What are Illustrator Brushes?

They are resources for Adobe’s Illustrator that let you create different stroke styles. They can replicate the appearance of various real-life brushes, pens, and other art tools.
Why Use llustrator Brushes?

Brush sets are great for adding variety to your designs. They’re perfect for experimenting with new styles or adding unique touches to your projects.
Can I Really Download These Brushes for Free?

Yes, the above brush sets are free. Just check their individual usage rules, as some might have restrictions.
Are Illustrator Brushes Suitable for All Skill Levels?

Whether a beginner or experienced designer, Illustrator brushes can be an invaluable addition to your toolbox. They’re user-friendly and versatile.
Do I Need a Special Version of Illustrator to Use These Brushes?

Most brushes work with various versions of Illustrator. However, check the compatibility of the brush set with your version of the software.
Are These Brushes OK for Commercial Use?

Many free Illustrator brushes are fine for personal and commercial use, but it’s important to read the terms for each set. Some brush creators might require credit or have other specific conditions.