Angular: This brush has shortish hairs, usually made of natural bristle or synthetic (set in a flat ferrule). The hairs are set at an angle (one end longer than the other). This makes the brush useful for precise lines, strokes and curves. The brush is suitable for using thick or heavy color. Media: Water color, Acrylic, Decorative
Bright: Shortish hairs, the length and width of the brush head is about equal set (in a flat ferrule). Hairs can be sable, mongoose, bristle, badger or synthetic. The handle is usually long.
This brush is useful for short, controlled strokes and suitable for thick or heavy color. Media: Oil, Acrylic, Decorative.
Fan: Fan-shaped spread hairs (flat ferrule). The brush is used mainly for smoothing and soft blending and therefore natural hair like bristle or badger, is most often used. Synthetic hairs are good when textural effects are required. Media: Oil, Acrylic, Decorative.
Filbert: Oval-shaped brush with medium to long hairs (thick flat ferrule) and a long handle. The rounded edge made of natural hairs like sable, mongoose, badger and bristle, hold together when wet and make this style brush suitable for blending and figurative work. Brush is also available in synthetic hair. Media: Oil, Acrylic, Decorative.
Flat Bristle (My most used brush): Square-ended brush with medium to long hairs (flat ferrule). The brush holds lots of color capacity and offers easy maneuverability. Perfect for bold, sweeping strokes and also has good fine line capability when used on its edge. Great for underpainting large areas. The brush can hold heavy filling for heavier paints. Hairs are available in all natural and synthetic types. Media: All media
Hake: Long hairs (squirrel, goat, ox, bristle, synthetic) set in a shaped flat handle. This oriental-style wash brush is useful for laying in large areas of watercolor, wetting surfaces and for absorbing excess media. Media: Watercolor
Highliner (aka outliner): Extra long hairs (sable, squirrel, synthetic), set in a rounded ferrule and in a thin arrangement with squared end, usually with a short handle. The brush offers large color carrying capacity and useful for delicate lettering, outlining and long continuous strokes. Media: Ink, Sign paint
Mop: This brush is a round version of the flat was brush. The soft absorbent natural hairs (usually squirrel) make it useful for laying large areas of water color, wetting surfaces and for absorbing excess media. Media: Watercolor.
One stroke: Medium to long hairs (sable, squirrel, ox, synthetic) with squared ends, set in a flat ferrule. Usually with a short handle. Brush has a large color carrying capacity and useful for painting block letters in a single stroke. Media: Oil, Ink, decorative, Sign paint
Oval wash: This brush can come in varied shapes. Usually set in a flat ferrule and rounded hairs with no point (Squirrel, ox, bristle, synthetic). This brush produces a soft edge. A wash brush is useful for laying in large areas of water or color, for wetting the surface, and for absorbing excess media.
Media: Watercolor
Quill: This brush has a permanent or detachable handle with a plastic or natural quill ferrule. Long hairs, form a natural-shaped tip. The writer has a round ferrule and a short handle. Useful for lettering and poster work. Good on smooth surfaces such as glass. Media: Ink, Sign paint
Round: Hairs (natural and synthetic) set in a round ferrule form a round or pointed tip. Brush has many uses - detail, wash, fills and thin to thick lines. The pointed round style is used for fine detail. A pointed round with very short hairs is especially good for details (called a detailer). Media: All media
Sash: The tapered bristles hairs set on a long handle are perfect for detailed work on large paintings. Also good for delicate decorative painting. Media: Oil, Acrylic, Decorative.
Script/liner: The Script brush has very long hairs that form a point. The Liners have shorter hairs and narrower. Both have short handles and round ferrules and made from sable, ox and synthetic hair. Having large color carrying capacity these brushes are useful for delicate lettering, highlighting, outlining, and long continuous strokes. Media: Watercolor, Decorative, ink, Sign paint.
Square wash: As seen above, Wash brushes come in varied shapes and come in hairs such as (squirrel, ox, bristle and synthetic). The square wash can produce varying shapes and widths, and often has a short, "flat-footed" handle for scraping, burnishing, and separating watercolor paper from blocks. A wash brush is useful for laying in large areas of water or color, for wetting the surface, and for absorbing excess media. Media: Water color
Types of Brushes
Don't forget to preserve your finished painting to give them lasting beauty.
I am an Affiliate of Blick Art Materials and Daniel Smith Art Materials
Astarte's Mega-Zine for lovers of art and crafts
I Am Painting - Lessons and Tutorials
The Top Ten Things You Should Know About Acrylic Painting
You should know these top ten things about painting with acrylic paints. Knowing them will save you time & money.
1. Buy good quality brushes. You may find yourself struggling with cheap brushes. Quality brushes also hold up better when stored for periods of time in water.
2. Remember that acrylic paints dry very quickly. In my opinion this is an advantage to the art making process but a disadvantage if your tubes of paint start to dry out. Always replace the tops on the tubes of paint. You should also keep a mister handy to keep your paint in the palette moist.
3. Acrylic paint is water based, which means that the brushes can be cleaned using water and soap. Regular soap can be used but I recommend purchasing soap made specifically for brush cleaning. You should get into the habit of cleaning your brushes between projects. Don't let them soak in water for days at a time.
4. Do not let the paint dry on the brush. I have rescued a brush or two after this has happened, but it was not easy. Get in the habit of rinsing brushes as you paint then store them in a shallow tray of water on the side to avoid damaging bristles.
5. Buy a plastic palette keeper. A palette keeper keeps the paints damp and stops them from drying out. It is kind of like Tupperware for your paint. When you are done painting for a session, simply mist everything and replace the top. When working on small projects I have also used paper plates for the paint, and stored them in large zip lock bags.
6. Get into the habit of placing the color in the same position on the palette every time you paint. After awhile, you will develop instinctive habits of where your colors are.
7. Do not use acrylic paints over oil paints. You have heard the term oil and water don't mix. Well, water based acrylics don't adhere to oil based paints. The acrylic paint will not stick to the oil based surface.
8. One of the things I love about acrylics is that they are versatile. Using thin coats of acrylic paint give a watercolor look to a painting. Simply add water to acrylic paint and you have watercolor paints.
9. Applying acrylic paints thickly will give the painting a surface texture as in an oil painting look. Applying paint thickly in the foreground of a painting for texture gives depth to the finished painting.
10. You can purchase a variety of acrylic mediums to gain different effects. A glaze medium helps to produce a watercolor effect. Gel mediums and texture. Paste mediums add extra body to the paint and make your painting come to life.
The Top Ten Things You Should Know About Acrylic Painting
You should know these top ten things about painting with acrylic paints. Knowing them will save you time & money.
1. Buy good quality brushes. You may find yourself struggling with cheap brushes. Quality brushes also hold up better when stored for periods of time in water.
2. Remember that acrylic paints dry very quickly. In my opinion this is an advantage to the art making process but a disadvantage if your tubes of paint start to dry out. Always replace the tops on the tubes of paint. You should also keep a mister handy to keep your paint in the palette moist.
3. Acrylic paint is water based, which means that the brushes can be cleaned using water and soap. Regular soap can be used but I recommend purchasing soap made specifically for brush cleaning. You should get into the habit of cleaning your brushes between projects. Don't let them soak in water for days at a time.
4. Do not let the paint dry on the brush. I have rescued a brush or two after this has happened, but it was not easy. Get in the habit of rinsing brushes as you paint then store them in a shallow tray of water on the side to avoid damaging bristles.
5. Buy a plastic palette keeper. A palette keeper keeps the paints damp and stops them from drying out. It is kind of like Tupperware for your paint. When you are done painting for a session, simply mist everything and replace the top. When working on small projects I have also used paper plates for the paint, and stored them in large zip lock bags.
6. Get into the habit of placing the color in the same position on the palette every time you paint. After awhile, you will develop instinctive habits of where your colors are.
7. Do not use acrylic paints over oil paints. You have heard the term oil and water don't mix. Well, water based acrylics don't adhere to oil based paints. The acrylic paint will not stick to the oil based surface.
8. One of the things I love about acrylics is that they are versatile. Using thin coats of acrylic paint give a watercolor look to a painting. Simply add water to acrylic paint and you have watercolor paints.
9. Applying acrylic paints thickly will give the painting a surface texture as in an oil painting look. Applying paint thickly in the foreground of a painting for texture gives depth to the finished painting.
10. You can purchase a variety of acrylic mediums to gain different effects. A glaze medium helps to produce a watercolor effect. Gel mediums and texture. Paste mediums add extra body to the paint and make your painting come to life.
Acrylic Terms and Techniques
Warm colors are bold and energetic. Warm colors are the ones that tend to come forward or appear closer to the viewer. If an element in your painting needs to pop out, consider using warm colors to do that. Warm colors are yellow, oranges, browns and yellowish greens and orangish reds.
Cool colors give the impression of calm. They rarely overpower the message or main subject of a painting. Cool colors tend to recede or appear further away. If some element of your painting needs to be in the background, give it cool tones. Cool colors are blue, green, pinks, purple, blueish greens and blueish reds.
Hue. Each individual color in the color wheel is a hue. Hue is the name of a color. For example, red, green, navy blue, orange, purple, violet or rose. Hue refers to any color in the rainbow that you choose to pick. Hue simply means the name of the color.
Value and Brightness The terms value and brightness refer to the light or dark qualities of a color. The dark colors (shades) are low or dull values. The light colors, (highlights) are high or bright values.
Tints - A color is referred to as a tint when you add white to it. They're always lighter in value to it’s hue. By adding white to red, a tint of pink is created.
Shade A color that is darker than it’s normal value is referred to as a shade; deep green or dark blue are shades.
Saturation is a measure of a color's pureness and brilliance. When you mix other colors, like white into blue for example, the less pure the blue becomes; therefore, the color appears dull.
Monochromatic colors are all the hues (tints and shades) of a single color. As a result, the painting is more subtle and peaceful due to a lack of color contrast. Think of a black and white picture. This is monochromatic even though there are several shades of gray. Monochromatic colors offer very little contrast.
Complementary colors are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. In general, complementary colors work well together. Red and green are compliments to each other on the color wheel. On the contrary, uncomplimentary colors in a painting can ruin it. If you are unsure of the correct colors to use in your work, look at the color wheel and choose colors that are opposite.
Techniques
Acrylic painting techniques are different styles of manipulating and working with polymer-based acrylic paints. Acrylics differ from oil paints in that they have shorter drying times (as little as 10 minutes) and are soluble in water. These types of paint eliminate the need for turpentine and gesso, and can be applied directly onto canvas. Aside from painting with concentrated color paints, acrylics can also be watered down to a consistency that can be poured or used for glazing.
Preventing paint from drying out
Acrylics are often preferred because they dry faster on canvas than oil paints due to their polymer base. Unfortunately, this also affects the time acrylics stay moist. A trick to keep paints from drying out is to spray a light mist of water over them occasionally. Moisture-retaining palettes also increase acrylic paint drying time, and can be substituted with a shallow container, a sheet of grease proof paper, and piece of wet watercolor paper.
Creating fluid paints Fluid paints can be used like watercolors, or for glazing and washes. To create a more fluid texture, water is added to the paint. The ratio of paint to water depends on how thick the glaze is expected to be. An opaque glaze or paint consists of more paint than water, and will give a more solid color. A translucent glaze or paint will be the opposite, consisting of slightly more water than the opaque version, and will have a smoother texture. Translucent glazes show more of the colors underneath the paint compared to opaque glazes. Artist Keri Ippolito advises that the paint should be watered no more than 50 percent or the paint will not stick to the canvas. After mixing the paints, allow time for the air bubbles to rise to the surface. This will be crucial in many techniques, especially in pouring paints.
Acrylic paint glazes are often used to create more depth in an image. These types of paints are light enough when brushed onto canvas to show the layers underneath. This technique is commonly used to create more realistic images. Light colored glazes also have softening effects when painted over dark or bright images. It can be difficult to get the right liquid consistency for glazes. Golden Acrylic Glazes simplify the mixing process by arriving ready-to-use in the bottle. Created to give the artist more time to work with the paints without having to worry about the paint to water ratio, this brand of glaze is commonly used in place of mixing acrylic glazes by hand.
It is best to wait for each layer to dry thoroughly before apply another coat. This will prevent the paint from smearing or leaving unwanted smudge marks. After the application of several layers, rubbing alcohol can be brushed or sprayed on to reveal colors from earlier layers.
Pour painting is an innovative way to use acrylic paints to create an art piece. Instead of using tools like brushes or knives to create a piece of art, fluid paints can be poured directly onto the surface and the canvas tilted to move the paint around. Pouring paints allow for the colors to blend naturally as they come in contact with each other. This technique can be done either one color at a time, or with multiple paints to maximize color blending. Pour painting can also be done with oil paints, but because those paints take a longer time to dry, the piece would have to be done over an extended period of time, or with wet paints.
