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Paint brush. Brushes for drawing and painting

Paint brush. Brushes for drawing and painting

12.04.2019

Drawing is a rather interesting and exciting hobby, but if you want to achieve really serious success in it, you can’t neglect any details.

For children's creativity, parents usually first of all select paints, but brushes have a huge influence on the quality of the implementation of creative ideas.

Types and their purpose

Brushes are very different, but the baby is unlikely to need professional models at the training stage. It is worth paying attention to art brushes of a relatively small size - these are sold in any store for goods for creativity. All parts of the brush are of great importance, but the characteristics of the hair bundle, with which the paint is applied to the painted surface, are of fundamental importance.

Size and shape are of the utmost importance, because small brushes are much easier to draw fine details, and large ones are better suited for toning large areas.

The stencil brush differs even in such details as lack of sharp endings in the hairs- they are flat and blunt, due to which the coloring of the figures through the stencil is faster and more uniform. For direct application of paint to a drawing, sometimes, by analogy with brushes, even sponges are used.

An important role is also played by the choice of a specific material for the hair bundle - the convenience of working with a particular type of paint, as well as the durability of the product, depends on this. For serious artistic needs, it is better to purchase more than one brush, and not even a couple, but a whole set.

The base of the brush may seem primitive, but it also determines how good this tool is. It must securely connect the handle and the hair bundle to each other - the life of the brush depends on this. The seam on the surface of the plinth can make the drawing process less convenient, so it is better not to have it.

Even the handle has certain requirements. Primarily, its surface must be smooth- this will allow you not to rub or scratch your hand, even with a huge amount of time devoted to your favorite pastime. In addition, the length of the handle is selected in such a way that it is most convenient to hold the tool in the hands of its future owner.

What paints are used?

You can choose different parameters of the hair bundle at your own discretion, however, professional artists have long developed general recommendations for choosing a brush for each type of paint, thanks to which the palette is better revealed and details are drawn more clearly.

For example, for oil paints, natural hog bristle brushes are preferred, which can absorb paint. Mongoose hair is also acceptable, except for the toughest varieties.

In our country, badger hair is often used as a material. Synthetics are traditionally considered a lower quality substitute for natural raw materials, but a nylon-based brush is one of the rare exceptions to the rule, allowing you to write in oils without losing quality.

For water-based paints, the selection of a brush will be easier, but here you need to take into account some features. For example, squirrel hair is great for watercolors, but synthetics are not suitable (but they are considered an ideal choice for painting with acrylics).

Production material

Materials differ in paint absorption and stiffness, which cannot but affect the final result. To date, there are at least a dozen different materials, and almost every variety has its own advantages:

The most versatile option is a kolinsky brush, which is widely used by professionals in their field, but such a product is rarely bought for children - it is too expensive.
Squirrel hair is the best option for painting with watercolors, and therefore is one of the leaders in the field of children's creativity.

The pony is another animal that produces inexpensive wool well suited for painting. In general, this material is also quite versatile, but compared to the column, it is somewhat inferior in quality.
For oil paint, they never came up with anything better than pig bristles.
Badger hair is considered a good option for almost all types of paint, provided that the consistency is sufficiently liquid.

Sable wool is quite versatile and suitable for all types of paints, but it is not used for drawing small things, and such a tool is very expensive.
Artificial materials are not very popular among professionals and are used more for acrylic-based paints, but nylon brushes stand out from this list, as they allow you to paint oil paintings.
Unusual options, such as rubber or silicone brushes, can give a completely new, unlike anything, which is actively used by modern artists, but can only interfere with the child in the process of learning to draw.

Dimensions

If parents are going to buy just one brush for a small child who is taking only the first steps in drawing, it is better to stop at an average in shape and size option from a universal material, such as pony hair.

However, for serious painting, brushes with different sizes are needed. When compiling your own set, you need to remember that you will have to draw both small details and large monochromatic ones, so the minimum set should include at least one large and one small brush.

Serious art teachers usually tell their students right away what tools they should get to achieve the expected result. They usually call brushes by numbers - for example, "round number 3". Theoretically, this means that any brush with a rounded hair tuft with a diameter of 3 millimeters is needed, unless the teacher named a specific name along with the brand.

In the case when the shape of the brush differs from that for which the concept of diameter is appropriate, the number most often indicates the width of the hair bundle.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that numbering is actively used not only in the colloquial speech of people close to painting, but also by the brush manufacturers themselves, and this is where the catch lies. Although the number of millimeters is not difficult to measure, measurement standards may differ in different collections of the same manufacturer.

Forms

The skill of the artist is not to paint the whole world around with the same brush, but to be able to choose the most suitable tool for the transfer of each individual object. This is another reason why not one brush, but a whole set is needed to achieve success in painting.

Professional artists use the main types of hair bundle shape as follows:

The round brush is the most common option that many parents purchase for their children as well. Such a tool is optimal for painting small details with bright color - for the so-called "dotted" pattern. For the gouache painting technique, such a tool can safely be considered the main one.
Flat brushes are distinguished by a somewhat flattened shape of the hair bundle, due to which they resemble a tongue in their appearance. This arrangement of bristles makes the whole tuft more elastic, making it easier to make long tangential movements, so this variety is also used quite often - for example, for painting large objects in a picture.

Brushes called "flutz" are also very thin, but at the same time they are much wider, somewhat reminiscent of a comb and a paint brush. Their use is limited to large-scale painting, they are painted mainly using watercolors and gouache.
Type and line brushes are distinguished by an extremely small area of the hair bundle, reduced to the size of a small round dot, and the difference between them lies in the fact that the bristles of the first variety are much longer. This design helps to draw fine lines and write exquisite patterns, and is also most suitable for learning calligraphy.
Fan brushes could be classified as flat, if not for one “but”: their bristles are arranged in the shape of a fan, that is, the general end of the hair bundle does not look like a straight line, but like a roundness, in which only the center is guaranteed to touch the surface of the canvas, and the flanks - only with a stronger pressure. Such a trick is used by those artists who seek to reduce the contrast between the details of the picture and provide a smoother transition of colors.

Other characteristics

Among other small characteristics that affect the final result, first of all it is worth highlighting the hardness.

Prefer softer materials, because the elastic bristles better feel the smallest changes in the position of the hand and allow you to draw the smallest details.

Stiff bristles, when pressed hard, can even slightly damage the paper on which the drawing appears, and although some modern artists use this as another artistic technique, children are unlikely to need this feature.

Since we are talking specifically about children's creativity, you should not ignore the strength of the product: a low-quality product can quickly break in half, and the bristles can easily pull out of the base. A child's tool must be prepared to endure this kind of challenge, or at least be cheap enough that its potential replacement does not look like a problem for the parent's wallet.

Which is better to choose?

If the child has already achieved relative success in drawing, it is better to entrust the choice of professional tools to the child himself, because only he knows what he needs.

But most parents, when buying brushes, do it for kids who can’t draw yet, so you have to make the choice yourself. Considering that adults themselves often do not have a direct relationship with painting, the task only becomes more complicated.

The minimum set for drawing should consist of at least two brushes, one of which will be small, for drawing contours and small details, and the other large, for sketching surfaces.

If there are only two brushes, then it is better to choose the same material, ideally universal, suitable for different colors. In the case of teaching children, pony hair looks like an ideal “candidate”. However, all these considerations are relevant only if the kid takes drawing lessons as part of the comprehensive school program; for any more serious courses, a larger set will be needed.

The choice of material here will also depend on the type of paints and the type of basis for drawings, so special brushes may be better suited for painting on canvas - not the same as for painting on fabric. When choosing brushes for additional classes question about specific models better to ask the teacher.

Recently, the art of calligraphy has also become a fashionable trend, which is taught even to children in our country today. Here, with the choice of brushes, of course, it is a little easier: for them, the main selection factor is the minimum size of the beam with a high density of bristles and their sufficient softness.

Useful little things

Most people think that paints, a brush, an album, and a glass of water to rinse the bristles are enough for drawing. Professionals from the art world will be able to name several dozen different items that are not strictly necessary to create a masterpiece, but can somewhat simplify and make the process of creation more enjoyable.

For example, for children's brushes, a special case or case could be a very useful addition. It will save the tool itself from breakage, excessive tornness of the beam and pollution, and the briefcase from the inside and things in it from paint if the child forgets to wash it off.

If there are quite a lot of brushes in the kid's arsenal, it makes sense to give a package for the whole set - such pencil cases will allow the kid to quickly find the brushes in the bag.

A special stand for brushes will help not to stain the table during the drawing process. It allows you to keep the correctly mixed color on the bristles, which is not needed yet, and at the same time not to stain everything around with it.

When painting with acrylic paints, it is very convenient to use a brush washer, when using which the brushes will always be in limbo - so the pile will not touch the bottom and will not deteriorate.

In order to paint a picture, the artist needs a canvas in a stretcher, as well as paints and brushes. The success of his work largely depends on the quality of the latter, so the choice of such tools must be approached responsibly. To choose the right brushes for painting, you need to consider what paints you have to work with, as well as the possibilities of your budget.

In an effort to choose the right brushes for drawing, you need to know what they are, what brushes are made of and what colors they are intended for. So, for example, to paint with gouache or watercolor, they use squirrels, columns and synthetics. All of them have their own quality characteristics:

Kolinsky is suitable for all styles of painting, but its price is quite high.
Squirrel is ideal for watercolors, and synthetics for acrylic painting.
The pony brush is a good alternative to kolinsky and squirrel brushes.
A brush made from pig hair is more suitable for oil paints.
A badger brush is used for soft paints.
Sable in its quality has the properties of a column and squirrels, but such bristles can be used to write large works and miniatures.
Synthetics are unsuitable brushes for watercolor, they are more often used for acrylic.

Any brush is made of a handle, a hair bundle and a plinth. The quality of this drawing tool determines whether it will be convenient for the artist to work. In turn, its durability in use depends on the quality of all components of the brush.

To choose the right brush sizes and the tool itself, you need to focus on the following points:

the material from which the brush is made - it is convenient to use a good quality brush;
the brush handle should be smooth;
its length should be user-friendly.

The base of the brush should wrap around the handle as tightly as possible, fixing the hair bundle motionlessly. It should not have a seam so that the tool is comfortable to hold in your hand. The most important part of the product is the hair bundle, which differs in material. Synthetic paint brushes are of poorer quality than natural brushes. Such drawing tools are classified by numbers.

Artists know how to choose brushes and what kinds of brushes are commercially available. The correct choice is also influenced by the size of the brush, as well as by what paints the specialist in artistic creativity plans to paint. One will use thin brushes, another will need a round one.

A brush with good hair has the following qualities:

her hairs are elastic;
when wet, they do not lose their shape;
do not fall out during work;
the glue with which they are fastened does not go beyond the clip.

All these characteristic features must be paid attention to in order to choose a good brush.

On the video: how to choose the right brushes for painting.

Types of brushes and their purpose

For the right choice of brush, focus on the bristles from which the bundle is assembled. You also need to know which brushes are better to use for watercolors, gouache or oil paints:

Squirrel wool brushes. Ideal for watercolor painting. Thin and soft brushes allow you to control the fluidity of the paint, so it is convenient to paint over small details of the picture with them. To make a high-quality squirrel hair brush, the bristles are first degreased, sorted by length, unusable hairs are removed and straightened.

Designed for watercolor paint, the artist can not only use them comfortably, but also save on the price. To choose a brush for children to paint, pay attention to their painting skills.

Sable wool tassel. It is the most expensive tool used by professional artists. The choice of such brushes makes it possible to draw thin lines, they can be used to paint with gouache and watercolor.

Pony wool tassels. Quite elastic and soft, suitable for ink drawing. However, for those who are going to paint with gouache, this is also a worthy option. With the help of such bristles it is easy to apply strokes of paint.

Nylon brushes. Recommended for acrylic paint, they come in different shapes, it all depends on the specifics of the artist's work. A sales assistant at an art supply store will help a beginner make the right choice.

Natural brushes are characterized by the fact that the bundle in them is made of animal hair. Made from natural material, which is much better quality than synthetics, these brushes will last much longer.

Suitable brushes for working with oils

For artists who paint with oil paints, it is recommended to purchase the following brushes:

bristle, characterized by special elasticity and quickly absorbing paint;
medium-soft mongoose brushes;
badger hair brushes that are suitable for mixing oils and acrylics;
synthetic brush nylon, which is almost as good as natural ones.

Synthetics are inexpensive, so they paint with such brushes at school on landscape paper. Thanks to the light nylon hairs, children can clearly see the shade of paint on the bristles. With a thin brush it is convenient to outline the contours and boundaries between colors, and with a thick one - to paint large areas of the picture.

Paint by number tools

Brushes by numbers are included in the kit, which is sold together with the paints under the numbers. Painting by numbers is a modern art form, when a non-professional artist has a chance to create a canvas of a famous celebrity.

Made from stretchy nylon fiber, numbered brushes are perfect for this kind of art.

To choose good brushes for painting by numbers, you need to consider that they are divided by purpose, quality of hair and their shape. This choice also depends on the paint used by the artist. A nylon (synthetic) brush is perfect for painting with oil paints. Flat brushes are often used in shape, and everyone chooses sizes individually. The artist needs those brushes that seem to be an extension of his hand.

What are the forms of brushes

All brushes for gouache, watercolors and oil paints can also differ in the shape of the bristles:

Round brushes. These products are suitable for drawing with gouache paint, allowing you to paint over small details of the picture.

Flat brushes. They are more elastic, therefore they are used for painting areas of paintings with a close-up of the image, for example, earth, sky, grass. Their capsule is compressed at the end, forming a flat bun of hair. Artists use them to sketch urban landscapes. The shape of the brush in its outline resembles a cat's tongue.

Flute brushes. Their shape is wide enough to apply broad strokes to the canvas. They are used mainly in watercolors, sometimes with oil paints.

These are round and very long brushes, needed to apply fine lines. They have found their application in graphics.

In all their indicators, they resemble typefaces, differing only in short hair.

Fan brushes. They are one of the varieties of flat brushes. They got this name due to their shape in the form of a fan. Their use allows you to soften the color stretching and contrast of the contours.

The final result of the artist's work depends on the correctly chosen tool. But for an experienced painter, such a choice is not a problem. And to purchase all these goods in a specialized store of art goods is not difficult.

Tips from professional artists (2 videos)

A variety of brushes (25 photos)

To choose the right type of brush, you should take into account a number of factors: what materials you choose it for, what accessories you use, of course, your budget. You also need to pay attention to the following aspects.
The shape of the beam and the purpose of the brush are directly related. Here is a list of the most popular forms for painting.

ROUND
It is considered a universal brush. Great for drawing, creating an image. Using a round brush, you can get to the most inconvenient places.

LINEAR
Generally longer than round ones, creates crisp lines, long strokes and is also suitable for lettering.

Stencil
The tip of this brush is blunt and flat, and the paint material is applied with vertical strokes. Such a tool is used for painting by means of a stencil.

CAT LANGUAGE
Variant of a flat brush with a domed or oval section. It is quite versatile - it can be used as a flat brush, as well as perpendicular to the surface, as it happens with a round one. Perfectly applies a thin smear. By choosing brushes for painting in the form of a cat's tongue, you will be able to make perfectly thin lines.

The choice of bristles, which may seem strange for a beginner artist, is also very important. The bristles can be stiff and resistant to wear.

Pig bristles
An excellent choice for oils and acrylics. This brush is also great for working with thick paint. It's more expensive. A do-it-yourself oil-painted icon as a gift will be an ideal present in every sense. Not only because of the high quality of execution, achieved thanks to good brushes and paints, but also because of the positive emotional mood.

Badger
A badger fur brush is ideal when working with medium-density paints. Usually has a conical shape.

Synthetic brushes
Nylon brushes are not suitable for watercolor, but for moderately thin acrylic they are great. The brush handle should be ergonomic so that the artist's hand is minimally tired. Brushes with long handles are used for writing with oil paints. This handle allows a person to sit at a comfortable distance from the object.

You can check the quality of the tool by the following indicators: sharp tip, rigidity and fluidity controllability. Dip your brush into the water. The new one takes a long time to absorb it. After that, lightly tap the brush on your finger: if it is of high quality, it will take on a pointed look. The hair of brushes of poor quality acquires an untidy appearance. Once the tip and hardness test is complete, brush across the surface to determine flow.

The product must be made with your own hands from and to, respectively, the tags must also be copyrighted. I offer you an easy, not energy-consuming and economical way. Below is a small master class so that you can make hand-made labels yourself.

Painting with watercolors is back in fashion. Why is it impossible to make a copy of a watercolor drawing and what are the secrets of watercolor paints? Watercolor painting festivals are held annually in different countries of the world. The works that won prizes are striking in the first place with their realism. Competitive works are not at all like painting with watercolors - rather, in front of you are photographs with bright and at the same time natural colors, clear contours, and an interesting plot.

Tool Brush(Brush Tool) is the most popular tool among digital artists, but it is also one of the most difficult. When you first start working, you get the very feeling that you need a separate brush for every effect you want to create. The default set of brushes that Photoshop comes with doesn't seem like much of a use for this, but professional artists often share their brushes, so you can always download something more powerful and suitable for your work.

The problem is that the more complex the chosen brush, the more difficult it will be to use it in the right way. And if you've ever watched professionals in the field at work, you'll see that most of the time they use either a simple round brush or a slightly textured brush. They could use a simple "default" set of brushes and still create great work with it. But why can't you?

In fact, using Photoshop is not just pushing some buttons and waiting for the program to do something for us. You can't just take a brush, try to draw something with it, and if something doesn't work out, then start choosing another brush. And the point here is not at all in the brushes, but in the person who uses them!

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a basic set of brushes. It will be a little smaller than what comes "out of the box" with the program, and certainly it will not confuse you. I will also show you how to apply these brushes in the process of creating a detailed image. Thus, you will understand how to create freely, without constantly resorting to the search for new brushes.

1. Create a Texture Brush for Sketching

Before we begin, open the brush menu (where you choose your presets) and click Restore (reset) brushes(Reset Brushes). Oh, and don't forget to save your current set before resetting!

Step 1

Create a new document. Take a tool Polygon(Polygon Tool) and install number of sides(Sides) 3. Now draw a black triangle.

Step 2

Create a new layer. Draw a rectangle with the tool Rectangle(Rectangle Tool (U)) in mode Pixels(Pixels).

Step 3

Now go to Filter - Noise - Add Noise(Filter > Noise > Add Noise). Select distribution(distribution) by Gauss(gaussian) and turn the slider to the maximum.

Step 4

Now cut our "noise" rectangle to a triangle shape. This is done by applying clipping mask(Clipping mask) Ctrl-Alt-G.

Step 5

Resize the "noise" layer with the tool free transform(Free Transform Tool (Ctrl-T)), this will make the white areas more pronounced.

Step 6

Now go to (Edit - Define Brush Preset). We're using this shape of ours as part of a more complex brush, so don't worry about naming it.

Go to Brush Settings(Brush Settings (F5)). Choosing a brush Chalk(Chalk) from the list of default brushes. Set its size to 30.

Step 7

Choose items Broadcast(Transfer) Noise(Noise) and Smoothing(Smoothing).

Step 8

Select double brush(Dual Brush). Find our triangle in the list and select it. Next, set the settings as shown in the image below.

Save the brush by clicking on the white card icon at the bottom of the brush settings dialog. Name the brush Texture Sketch.

This is my favorite brush, it is very versatile. It is both chaotic and quite accurate at the same time. You can use it in the first stage of sketching to sketch out your idea before you even know what you want to draw. Starting a painting with a freehand sketch is the best way to create something from nothing, without planning, it allows the end result to look more natural and organic.

2. Create a brush for detailed sketches

Select Hard round brush(Hard round brush). Change her Size(Size) and Intervals(Spacing) and check the checkbox Broadcast(Transfer).

That's all! Save this brush as Sketch Detail and try painting with it.

This brush is ideal when used as a regular pencil. The less confident you are, the more transparent your lines will be, which means that some shortcomings and mistakes will be easy to correct. This brush feels comfortable and natural, and is great for creating detailed sketches.