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It's a pain for photo editors or graphic artists when the Photoshop brush keeps lagging while in the middle of complex drawing or retouching, preventing you from putting the brush where you need it.
Over the years, as a photo retoucher, I've experienced various issues with why this happens, and I found ways to solve them so you don't have to. Now, I'm listing different ways how to fix Photoshop brush lag so you can edit smoothly and improve your editing workflow.
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To fix Photoshop brush lag, reduce brush smoothing and the file size, turn off rulers, remove custom brush settings, allocate more RAM to Photoshop, and enhance scratch disk space. Closing background programs, improving battery performance, setting a higher processing priority to Photoshop, and cleaning your device can also stop brush lagging.
It can be frustrating when you can't continue editing because the brushes won't cooperate. Whether through Photoshop or computer fixes, these are various techniques to remove delays in Photoshop brushes.
When Photoshop brushes are lagging, the first thing you can do is tinker with some settings within Photoshop.
Brush spacing is the space between each dab of the brush tool. When using a brush, you place extremely small dots in every stroke. These dots form a long line or stroke, and the distance between these dots is the brush spacing.
Photoshop automatically sets the spacing at 25%, which is generally enough for most edits. The less distance in the spacing, the smoother the lines the brush can draw. However, a lower spacing can sometimes cause brush lagging.
Photoshop CC 2018 introduced the brush smoothing algorithm to create cleaner, more natural-looking lines. However, a higher smoothing percentage may also cause brushes to slow down.
Another way to fix brush lagging in Photoshop is to reduce the file size. There are different ways to bring down the overall size of your file.
The rulers can help with the proper alignment and placement of objects. However, if you don't need them, you can turn them off in the meantime, so there's one less thing for Photoshop to work on. In this way, Photoshop can focus on the brushes and prevent lagging.
Another reason why Photoshop brushes lag might be because there's not much RAM space allocated to the software. Perhaps you have less than 16GB of RAM and tend to work on projects with lots of layers. In this case, it's possible to experience a slow Photoshop performance.
The latest settings allow Photoshop to use GPU instead of CPU. As a result, it frees up CPU processing power and speeds up processes within Photoshop, including brush commands.
This should be automatically turned on if you're using the latest version of Photoshop with a compatible graphics card. If not, follow these steps to enable the setting.
Adobe programs use scratch disks as temporary storage locations while you're working offline. Thus, it's essential that you have enough storage for them.
Suppose you're still having brush lag issues after tweaking some Photoshop settings. Another way to solve this is to make changes at the operating system level.
Background programs can hog performance resources, so close programs or browsers you won't need while using Photoshop.
For example, turn off Bluetooth or close the Chrome browser with several tabs opened. You can also press CTRL + Shift + Esc to open the Windows Task Manager to close more running applications. Right-click on the program you're not using, then click on End Task.
Turn off low-power or battery optimization mode. Let your computer run power normally. Reduced battery power can diminish Photoshop's performance level, preventing the brushes from working properly.
Giving a higher process priority enables the software to run faster, letting you fix lagging brushes in Photoshop.
Unmaintained computers or laptops can slow Photoshop's performance and cause brushes to lag. Dusting off the screen or wiping down the keyboard are basic parts of cleaning your device.
What you also need is to maintain your computer from the inside out. This includes cleaning the hard drive, updating software, or removing outdated programs.
It also helps to ventilate your computer. An overheating computer can slow down Photoshop brushes, so it's vital to cool it down. Use case fans to get cool air in and expel hot air.
Your Photoshop may lag because the software doesn't meet the system requirements. Make sure that you have an up-to-date operating system and that you're using a high-performance graphics card.
Photoshop may lag when the custom settings for the Brush is too complex. For example, you're using a high smoothing setting or an increased spacing value.
You can reset the Brush tool to fix its settings. Press the B key to open the tool, then click on the drop-down menu beside the Brush icon. Click the gear icon and then choose Reset Tool to bring the Brush back to its default settings.
To solve brush lagging in Photoshop, you can tweak a few settings, including the file size, custom brush settings, and memory allocation. Another way is to make changes in the operating system and clean your device. With these hacks, you can prevent Photoshop brushes from having lagging issues again.
