Water brush for watercolor: instructions, advantages and disadvantages

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The water brush is a handy and useful tool for painting. It is designed to work with watercolors. Using such a brush eliminates the need to carry a jar of water with you, which is especially convenient when painting outdoors. However, for many professional painters and amateur artists, this tool seems unusual. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a brush? And what should be considered when using it? We will consider these issues in the article.

Description

Water brush for watercolor consists of the following parts:

• plastic water container:
• bundle of synthetic hair;
• removable lint protection cap.

The container and the fiber bundle are threaded together. The water from the reservoir goes tovilli through a foam sponge. This process is ongoing. Therefore, the brush hairs are constantly wetted during operation and never dry out. There is a special button on the container, with which you can stop the flow of fluid after you finish drawing.

This painting tool is also called a water tank brush or Waterbrush. Products are produced with different sizes and shapes of villi. You should pay attention to the dimensions. For example, the width of a Schreiber water brush can be between 1 and 5 mm. This value is indicated by numbers from 1 to 5. The larger the number, the wider the brush stroke leaves on the paper. The brush size is also indicated by letters: S, L, M.

The tuft of hairs has an elongated shape, so the brush looks like a pencil or pen. It is very convenient to draw clear lines with this tool, however, using the Waterbrush requires a little practice.

The water brush is for watercolor painting only. It cannot be used to work with gouache, ink or oil paints. A distinction should be made between Brushpen and Waterbrush. These brushes are similar in appearance, but have different purposes. The Brushpen has a reservoir filled with ink, this tool is used for calligraphy and drawing in anime style. The Waterbrush container contains only pure water, which is necessary for working with dry watercolor.

Pros

Water brushes have many advantages over conventional painting toolswatercolor. Consider the main advantages of Waterbrush:

1. Convenience. When using Waterbrush, there is no need to carry a jar of liquid with you. The button on the tank and a special cap prevent leakage. Therefore, a water brush for painting can be put in your pocket or bag.
2. Strength. Brushes made of natural hair crumble over time. The Waterbrush uses only durable synthetic bristles. In addition, artificial hairs are less likely to scratch the paper.
3. Cast duration. Even with intensive use, the reservoir brush lasts a very long time. However, do not forget to regularly rinse the villi and monitor the purity of the water. These brushes do not require complex maintenance.

The range of these products is very wide. You can easily pick up a tool with the required thickness of the tuft of villi. Drawings with water brushes are well developed in small details.

Cons

Reservoir brushes are easy to use. However, they also have their drawbacks:

1. Unfamiliar. At first, artists may find it difficult to apply such a brush. They seem unaccustomed to the constant supply of water. Often this is the reason for abandoning Waterbrush. Using these brushes requires a little practice.
2. The impossibility of filling the tank with coloring liquids. Only clean water can be poured into the brush container. In no case should you fill the tank with ink or ink. The container is made fromplastic that absorbs pigments. After such refilling, the brush can no longer be used to work with watercolors.
3. Difficulties in creating large fills. For such a drawing technique, it is better to use ordinary brushes with a voluminous bundle of villi. Waterbrush is not suitable in this case.
4. The need to use a napkin and a sheet of paper. When drawing, you should always have a dry cloth handy. It is necessary to remove excess water from the villi. It's also a good idea to have a piece of thick paper with you to help wipe off excess paint from the brush.
5. Fraying of the tuft of villi. The tip of the brush is made of strong synthetic hairs that do not crumble. But if used incorrectly, the beam can become frayed. It will be impossible to make thin lines with such a tool. Therefore, the brush should not be pressed too hard.

To appreciate all the advantages and disadvantages of reservoir brushes, you should test this tool yourself. Artists rarely create paintings with Waterbrush alone. However, this device can be used to draw fine details or blur in combination with other types of tools.

Regulation of water supply

How to use the water brush? Before you start drawing, you need to fill the container with water. It is important to keep the liquid clean and replace it in time, otherwise the drawing will turn out dirty.

Under normal conditions, the bristles of the brush are constantly moistened. If you need to increase the flow of liquid, then you need to slightly squeeze the container. To do this, press the center with two fingerstank.

Sometimes a situation arises when the liquid does not come out well, and the brush remains dry. In this case, you need to add water to the tank. When the container is full, the liquid flows much more easily.

The stronger the pressure on the can, the more moisture enters the villi. The hairs of a water brush can hold quite a lot of liquid before dripping onto the paper.

During squeezing the container, you need to constantly move the tool over the paper, otherwise a puddle may form. If it is necessary to blur the ink on a paper sheet, then do not press too hard on the tank. You can remove excess water with a dry brush or a piece of cloth. Over time, you will learn to properly regulate the water supply to the villi.

You can fill the container with ordinary tap water. You can also lower the reservoir into a bowl or pot of liquid. If you are painting outdoors, you should take a bottle of water with you for refilling.

Working with watercolors

The water brush is designed primarily to work with dry watercolor paint in pans. Consider different drawing techniques with this tool:

1. If you don't need to do a lot of blurring, then you don't need to click on the container. Simply dip the brush into the paint. Dry watercolor will take some of the moisture out of the villi. This amount of pigment is enough for 2-3 strokes. It must be remembered that synthetic hairs hold paint worse than natural ones. So dip the brushin a ditch with watercolor will have to be quite often.
2. If you need to achieve a more saturated shade, you should lightly press the tank. A moistened brush will take more pigment from the paint, and the color will come out brighter.
3. If you need to make the color less saturated, then you need to press hard on the container. In this case, the water will dilute the paint, and the shade will turn out to be less bright.

Before you go to the plein air, you should practice managing the container on a separate sheet of paper. The ability to achieve the necessary color saturation comes with experience.

Graduated Wash Technique

How to make a graduated wash with a water brush for painting? Waterbrush is perfect for this kind of painting technique. You just need to pick up the paint and put it on paper. Then move the brush over the stain, painting over it. There is no need to add water or paint. Moisture will penetrate from the brush onto the paper and create a smooth transition of shades.

During washing, in no case should you put pressure on the tank. Otherwise, the drawing will turn into a puddle.

Use with watercolor pencils

How to draw with a water brush and watercolor pencils? This takes a little practice. You can pick up paint directly from the surface of the pencil and apply it to paper with a brush. At first, it is very difficult to accurately calculate the required amount of pigment, this skill comes with experience. However, if you have taken on too much paint,you can always blur it.

Waterbrush can also be used to blur a watercolor pencil drawing. To do this, you need to draw the tip of the brush along the hatching. Due to the moisture of the villi, the pencil drawing will turn into a watercolor painting. The convenience of the brush lies in the fact that it does not need to be constantly dipped in water. The line can be drawn without interruption, and it turns out clear and even.

Rules of care

The reservoir brush is easy to maintain. After finishing work, it is imperative to rinse its villi so that paint residues do not accumulate in them. To do this, remove the rest of the pigment from the hairs with a napkin or piece of cloth. Then you need to press the container, squeeze out the water and blot the villi again. This procedure is done several times until the hairs are clean.

The water in the container must be periodically replaced with fresh water. Do not use stagnant liquid for drawing. You also need to prevent the hairs from fraying during operation. If you follow these simple rules, then the brush will last a long time.