Drawing is a rather interesting and exciting hobby, but if you want to achieve really serious success in it, you cannot neglect any details.
For children's creativity, parents usually select paints first of all, but brushes have a huge influence on the quality of implementation of creative ideas.
Types and their purpose
Brushes are very different, but the child is unlikely to need professional models at the training stage. It is worth paying attention to artistic brushes of a relatively small size - these are sold in any store of 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 surface to be painted, are of fundamental importance.
Size and shape are of the greatest importance, because small brushes are much easier to draw on fine details, and large ones are better for toning large areas.
The stencil brush even differs in details such as the absence of sharp ends in the hairs - they are flat and obtuse, due to which the painting of figures through the stencil is faster and more uniform. For the direct application of paint to a drawing, sometimes, by analogy with brushes, even sponges are used.
An important role is also given to the choice of a specific material for the hair bundle - the convenience of working with a specific 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 affects how good the tool is. It must reliably 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 should 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 for its future owner.
What paints are used for?
You can choose various parameters of the hair bundle at your own discretion, however, professional artists have long worked out 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, brushes made from natural pig bristles are preferred, which can absorb paint. Mongoose wool is also acceptable, except in 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 that allows you to paint with oil 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 wool is great for painting with watercolors, but synthetics will not work (but it is considered an ideal choice for painting with acrylics).
For gouache, badger brushes are often recommended. In general, Russian children most often paint with brushes from squirrels, ponies, pigs, or the ubiquitous synthetics.
Manufacturing material
Materials differ in paint absorption and hardness, which cannot but affect the final result. Today, there are at least a dozen different materials, and almost every variety has its own advantages:
- The most versatile option is a column brush, which is widely used by professionals in their field, but such a product is rarely bought for children - it is too expensive.
- Squirrel wool is the best option for drawing with watercolors, and therefore is one of the leaders in the field of children's creativity.
- Ponies are another animal that produces inexpensive hair that is good for drawing. In general, this material is also quite versatile, but compared to the speaker, it is somewhat inferior in quality.
- For oil paint, nothing better than pig bristles has been invented.
- Badger wool is considered a good option for almost all types of paint, provided that it has a sufficiently liquid consistency.
- Sable wool is quite versatile and suitable for all types of paints, but it is not used for drawing details, and such a tool is very expensive.
- Artificial materials are not very popular among professionals and are used more for acrylic-based paints, however nylon brushes are out of this range, since they allow you to paint in oils.
- Unusual options, such as rubber or silicone brushes, can give a completely new, unlike anything else effect, which is actively used by modern artists, but can only interfere with the child's learning to draw.
Dimensions
If parents are going to buy a small child, who is just taking the first steps in drawing, just one brush, it is better to stop at an average in shape and size option from a universal material, such as pony wool.
However, for serious painting, you need brushes with different sizes. When composing your own set, you need to remember that you will have to draw both small details and large monophonic ones, so the minimum set should include at least one large and one small brush.
Serious art teachers usually tell their students right away which theme tools to acquire to achieve the expected result. They usually call the brushes numbers - for example, "round number 3". In theory, this means that you need any brush with a rounded hair bun with a diameter of 3 millimeters, 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 bun.
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 manufacturers of brushes, and this is where the catch lies. Although it is not difficult to measure the number of millimeters, measurement standards may differ from one manufacturer to another.
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 conveying each individual object. This is another reason why it takes more than one brush to achieve success in painting, but a whole set.
Professional artists use the main types of hair bundle shapes as follows:
- The round brush is the most common option that many parents get for their children as well. Such a tool is optimal for painting small details with bright color - for the so-called "bit" drawing. For the technique of painting with gouache, 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. This arrangement of the bristles makes the entire bunch more elastic, simplifying long tangential movements, so this variety is also used very often - for example, for painting large objects in a painting.
- Brushes called "flutes" 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.
- Font and line brushes are distinguished by an extremely small area of the hair bundle, reduced to the size of a small round point, and the difference between them is that the first variety has much longer bristles. This design helps to draw fine lines and draw exquisite patterns, and is also most suitable for teaching calligraphy.
- Fan brushes could be classified as flat, if not for one "but": their bristles are arranged in a fan shape, that is, the common end of the hair bundle does not look like a straight line, but like a roundness, in which only the center will touch the surface of the canvas, and the flanks - only with stronger pressure. This trick is used by those artists who seek to reduce the contrast between the details of the drawing and provide a smoother color transition.
Other characteristics
Among other small characteristics that affect the final result, first of all, it is worth highlighting hardness.
It is better to give preference to softer materialsbecause the elastic bristles are better able to sense the smallest changes in hand position and allow you to draw the smallest details.
Hard bristles, when pressed hard, can even slightly spoil the paper on which the drawing will appear, 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 be pulled out of the base. A child's tool must be willing to endure this kind of challenge, or at least be cheap enough so that a potential replacement does not look like a problem to the parent's wallet.
Which one 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 children who still do not know how to draw, so you have to make the choice yourself. Considering that adults themselves are often not directly related to painting, the task only becomes more complicated.
The minimum set for painting should consist of at least two brushes, one of which will be small, for drawing outlines 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 wool looks like an ideal "candidate". However, all these considerations are relevant only if the kid takes drawing lessons as part of the general 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 base for the drawings, so special brushes may be better suited for painting on canvas - not the same as for painting on fabric. When choosing brushes for extra activities question about specific models better ask the teacher.
Recently, the art of calligraphy has become a fashionable trend, which even children are taught today in our country. Here with the choice of brushes, of course, it is a little easier: for them the main factor of choice is the minimum size of the bunch with a high density of bristles and their sufficient softness.
Useful little things
Most people think that paint, a brush, a sketchbook, and a glass of water to rinse the bristles is enough for painting. Professionals from the art world will be able to name several dozen different objects that are not strictly necessary for creating a masterpiece, but can somewhat simplify and make the process of creativity itself more enjoyable.
For example, a special case or case could be a very useful addition for children's brushes. It will protect the instrument itself from breakage, excessive disheveled beam and dirt, and the briefcase from the inside and the things in it - from paint if the child forgets to wash it off.
If there are a lot of brushes in the kid's arsenal, it makes sense to donate packaging for a whole set - such pencil cases will allow the kid to quickly find brushes in the bag.
A special brush stand 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 does not stain everything around with it.
When painting with acrylic paints, it is very convenient to use a system, when using it, the brushes will always be in a suspended state - so the pile will not touch the bottom and will not deteriorate.
Tips & Tricks
You can choose the highest quality brush for an infinitely long time, and all the same, if you treat yourself incorrectly, it will quickly deteriorate. Caring for brushes is a simple task, it can significantly extend the life of the product.
Primarily, you need to store brushes very carefully - in a dry and inaccessible place for pests like moths.
You should never put a tool in a container with a beam down, regardless of whether it is stored like this in between drawing sessions, or just waiting in the water while the artist draws with something else. Such an attitude leads to a violation of the shape of the beam; then it will be very problematic to straighten it. Naturally, it is also impossible to press the product strongly against the walls or the bottom of the container when rinsing.
It is imperative to wash the brush from the paint after painting has been completed, otherwise the dye will dry out and cause a loss of elasticity of the bristles, as well as contribute to their loss.
If watercolors and gouache are normally washed out with plain water, then after working with oil and acrylic, you will also have to use a special solvent. However, after it, you also need to rinse the bundle under tap water, since the solvent poses a great danger to the glue that holds the bundle together, and if it dissolves, the tip of the brush will quickly thin out.
Famous manufacturers and reviews
Trying to isolate the best brushes from the words of the artists themselves is quite problematic - they often cannot come to an agreement among themselves about which manufacturer is better, since everyone has their own needs. At the same time, there are several well-known foreign manufacturers that produce very good products - these are brands Da vinci and Raphael, from Russians enjoy success Ear and Rubleff.
Many artists do not hesitate to say that they use almost construction tools for wide disposable strokes. At the same time, the described brands are guided mainly by drawing, and for calligraphy, you can take any brushes, since the original, Japanese, in our country are unlikely to be found.
For children's creativity, unknown brands are often chosen, according to the principle "if only it is inexpensive and at least relatively convenient." In its own way, this approach is correct, but only until the child begins to make progress in his work. Then he, perhaps, should be presented with some transitional option - such as a set from Ikea of 6 tools, which is definitely not professional, but still has a certain quality and is made especially for toddlers.
For information on what brushes are needed for painting and how to use them, see the next video.
