Which brush is best for watercolor: recommendations

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

Brushes are an important tool for any artist. Their quality is the key to the success of his work, so you need to choose these components responsibly. The correct selection of a brush for painting depends on the colors that you have to work with and the material possibilities. In our article we will talk about which brushes are best to use for watercolor. We will tell you about the types of these tools, make an overview, give recommendations on how to use them. You will also learn which watercolor brushes are best for beginners.

Qualities of a good brush

If you do not know which watercolor brushes are best to buy, then remember that this is an independent choice for everyone. There are no strict guidelines in this matter. Often brushes for oil, acrylic are also suitable for watercolor painting. We will characterize these artist's tools depending on what task they need to perform. To understand which watercolor brushes are best to use, you need to know their properties.

If you are an aspiring artist, then it will not hurt you to find out what this tool consists of. It includes a penhair bun and base. The quality of the instrument affects the work of the artist. Therefore, many are trying to find out which watercolor brushes are best to buy.

To make it convenient to use the brush in the future, pay attention to the following points:

• tool handle should be smooth texture;
• length should be comfortable to hold in hand;
• the handle should be tightly fixed with the plinth;
• Fixation of the hair bundle needs to be fixed.

And now let's talk about the quality of brushes depending on the hair bundle. It can be synthetic and natural. It should be noted right away that synthetics are worse than natural wool. But many choose it because of the low cost. But a brush with good hair and suitable for watercolor has the following qualities:

• elastic;
• holds up well when wet;
• hairs do not fall out during operation;
• wool bonding glue does not extend beyond the plinth.

These are the signs to pay attention to when choosing one or another type of brush for watercolor.

Squirrel wool tassels

The most important part of the brush is the hair bun. We have already said that it is better to choose natural brushes. The wool of the speakers is considered the best, but such an instrument is very expensive. It is used for work by real professional artists. Squirrel hair has good characteristics for drawing with watercolors. We will tell you more about him.

Squirrel brushes are considered the softest and most plastic. They make juicy and bright strokes. Such a tool keeps its shape perfectly, absorbs moisture well. It is easy to wash under water. In contact with the paper, the hairs stick together and apply a clear line, without streaks.

The most valuable brush for a master is made from the tail of a Siberian squirrel. It is in the tail that the longest and highest quality hairs are found. Squirrel wool retains moisture well, so it allows you to perform painstaking contour work. Most often there are round squirrel instruments, but sometimes there are sharp and square ones. Such brushes must be washed after work, dried and stored in a box.

Goat hair brushes

To save on the price, you can choose a goat hair tool. They are characterized by long, soft and resilient hair that holds paint well and does not leave marks on the surface. This brush is great for watercolors. It is comfortable to draw even for children.

Pony Hair Attachment

Ordinary horses have coarse hair, but ponies have softer hair. The pile is used from the mane and tail of these horses. Of particular value is the pile of the Scottish pony. This hair has medium hardness, almost soft. Great for watercolor. This brush has the shape of a cone. It is recommended for beginner artists and even children in kindergartens. Strong, thick pony hair is reliable and durable.

Nylon (synthetic) tassels

An analog of a natural speaker is a synthetic instrument. It has the same stiffness and elasticity parameters, but the price is affordable. Synthetic brush fills up less with water and paint. But she draws clear and even lines. Most often, such devices are made of nylon fibers, but polyester fibers are also found.

The thickness of the nylon brush hair is 0.08 mm, which makes it closer to the bristle of a pig. But it is softer and closer to the column. Japanese brushes are of high quality. Their peculiarity is that each artificial hair is not cut off, but extended at a certain angle. Synthetic tools are good because the hairs do not fall out so much, they are not afraid of acids, caustic liquids, thinners. It should be noted that nylon brushes are not entirely suitable for watercolor painting. For her, it is better to use tools with polyester fibers, they are softer. Synthetic devices wear out faster than natural ones, but they are cheap. They are often bought for children for drawing lessons.

Types of brushes depending on the shape

All watercolor and other paint tools may vary in wool shape:

• Round stubble. Suitable for drawing with watercolor, gouache paint. Allows you to draw small details.
• Flat tassels. Elastic, paint over areas of canvases with a close-up image. They are good at drawing earth, grass, sky. Their base is flattened at the end and forms a flat bundle of villi. Artists love to paint cityscapes with them.
• Flute shape. This is a fairly wide brush for applying large strokes onpicture. Great for watercolor work.
• Type tool. Round and very long brush for fine lines. Great for graphics.
• Line brush. Very thin, but with a short pile.
• Fan shape. The name itself speaks for itself. It looks like a small fan of villi. Used to stretch color and soften the contrast of contours.

The end result of the artist's work depends on the right tool. An experienced painter will always cope with this task. He knows exactly which brush is best for watercolor painting.

Brushes for filling the background

To paint the background with watercolor, you need to use a lot of water. To do this, you need a brush that absorbs moisture and paint well. It is better to use a natural tool with a pile of squirrels, ponies, goats. A larger brush will transfer more water onto the paper. The shape in this case is unimportant, you can use round, oval, flutes. Such work with the background does not require expensive devices, you can use cheaper ones.

How to draw volumetric spots and initial layers?

Brushes with a smaller volume of pile are suitable for drawing the main part of the picture. This includes trees, leaves, distant landscapes, plant crowns, water, fields, mountains, architecture, distant objects. This work is best done with brushes with a small amount of pile. We recommend using a column tool. It is expensive but durable.

A quality brush can be identified by how it folds into a conewhen wet. The brushes of the new generation are considered to be imitation of a squirrel. This is not a fake, but a good fixture with a more elastic and well-preserving brushstroke shape. Now on sale you can find an imitation column. This is an even more advantageous option. Not only natural materials and imitations are suitable for this stage of work, you can also use medium-sized synthetic brushes.

Brush selection for crisp images, subtle details, finishing touches

The most detailed should be chosen thin brushes. Good production and quality are important here. We do not advise chasing cheapness. Give your preference not to synthetic, but to natural materials. Synthetic hair can fluff up very quickly. There are thin instruments with an average length of a hair bundle and an elongated one. The latter are also called liners or riggers. They are indispensable for writing plant elements: grass, stems, thin trunks, hair, wool, small waves. Chinese manufacturers are well established in the production of such thin instruments.

Unexpected solutions for watercolor painting

Those who often practice watercolor know that other profiles can be used besides bristled brushes. Some people prefer to paint with bamboo nibs, brushpens, silicone tools, imitation bristles, stencil tools. For example, hard bristles make it possible to create landscapes, depict the endless distance of fields. Before starting work with such a brush, the sheet is moistenedwater, and then apply the pigment.

How to use a watercolor brush with a water tank?

Have you heard of water-based paint brushes? This is another modern development. They do not need to be rinsed in a jar. Some people are familiar with the watercolor brush with the Leonardo water tank. By the way, you can even fill the tank with liquid watercolor. This development is simply unique. such a brush consists of a tuft of pile and a container for water. These two parts of the tool are connected by a thread. A special button on the tank controls the water supply to the pile.

During operation, the liquid is constantly supplied to the hairs and does not allow the pile to dry. Water brushes today are produced by various brands, but their principle of operation is the same. Pressing the tank with different force allows you to adjust the flow of water. With such a brush, you can do your favorite thing on a trip, a cafe. The jar of water is no longer needed.

Using this brush is very easy. You can draw and generally forget that there is water in the pen. For a stronger washout of the paint, it is worth pressing the container with more force.

Industrial water brush is made of synthetic bristles. They are not always on sale, their cost is from 6 to 9 dollars (393 - 590 rubles). But some artists manage to make such a water tool on their own. To do this, they use a small plastic tube. A nose is cut off from it in half and put on top of a plinth with a pile. Here's a clever deviceallowing water to gradually flow to the villi.

Recommendations for beginners

If you come to the store and do not know which brush to choose, pay attention to the following nuances:

• Check if the clip on the handle is loose, if the seam is scrolling.
• Lightly swipe the tip of the brush, if even one hair falls out, then the tool is of poor quality.
• If you wet the tip of the brush, the tip should be very even, without splayed hairs.
• A good brush should have a wooden handle. Most often, beech and birch wood is used for manufacturing.

The store does not always have the opportunity to try all kinds of brushes. How to be in this case, novice artists or parents of children? We can recommend the following options for you. Ask the seller for round squirrel brushes 3 and 6. For more professional work, you can take round columns 1 and 4. Even better, buy a set of brushes. Choose it in the middle price category. Please note that high-quality tools are always protected by special caps to protect the villi.