A carpenter must understand how to use his or her own tools in order to build a house, so must an artist know how to use his or her tools to paint a successful painting.
At first, knowing how to choose the right art paintbrush is a daunting task.
The material that the paint brush hairs are made of, how they are bunched together, their length and shape all affect the characteristics of the brush.
Here is a list of the duties of some of the most popular brush shapes:
Square: A squared-off brush.
Flat:
- Brush length twice as long as width
- Use for backgrounds and details.
- Use for covering large areas
- blending
Bright:
- Width equal to length Allow for the most control
- Great for coverage
- Blending
Filbert: This brush is similar to a flat but has has a round outer edge.
- The Filbert’s shape can vary from a flatter brush with a rounded outer edge to an oval shape.
- The Cat’s Tongue shape comes to point for more control.
- A multi tasking painting brush.
- This brush can take the place of a round or flat depending on the way the artist holds the brush.
Round Brushes: Primarily used for detail and working in small spaces.
Standard Round:
- Use for shaping, details, and outlining.
Pointed round:
- Use for retouching, finishing touches and details.
- Pointed tip for coloring.
- With a high reserve, this brush is widely used for watercolours
- Worn rounded:
- Avoids “rounding”.
Script, Liner & Detail: All three brushes are similar and used for painting fine lines. They can all be used for lettering, animal whiskers, branches, and artists’ signatures.
- Script:
- The longest hair tufts.
- Holds the most paint.
- Liner:
- The mid length hair tufts.
- Compromises between fine detail and longer flowing strokes.
- Detail:
- The shortest hair tufts
- Offers the most control
Fan: Fan brushes used for shading, blurring and glazing.
- The Fan paintbrush is a thin layer of bristles spread out
in the shape of a fan. - Fan brushes are generally used for blending and feathering colors.
- Fan brushes can be used for painting trees, branches, grasses and detail.
- It is popular for painting hair with its ability to paint multiple flowing strands in a single stroke.
Mop: Like the name says, these brushes allow you to ‘mop’ up a lot of paint.
- Usually larger brushes favored by watercolorists, but also used with oils and acrylics.
- Used for making large washes.
- Used for blending and shading with oils.