Watercolor tutorial: brushes types and care

Naranjalidad tells us what types of brushes to use for watercolor painting, how to use them for each type of stroke and how to store them to last longer.

Types of watercolor brushes

Before starting to paint with watercolor, it is important that you prepare your own basic palette of brushes. This will be your main working tool, so it is important to know what types of brushes we can use in each case. For Naranjalidad, (@naranjalidad) illustrator and teacher at Domestika, there are three essential types of brushes:

- Round tip. They start the list because they are indispensable, no artist should be without them. They are the most versatile and multipurpose brushes since they can be used to fill large surfaces, but also to add details and fine lines. They come in different sizes, but the medium ones will help you cover all your needs.

- Flat and square tips. They are usually softer and are used for more geometric strokes and for defining edges. These brushes are very good for sharp strokes and straight lines, as they avoid curved mistakes.

- Natural hair brush. Thin and wide at the same time, its secret lies in the large amount of water it stores. Its shape, like a drop, allows it to have a fine and stylized stroke and a very wet central thickness. It allows for strokes that change in thickness: you can start thin and end up with a much thicker stroke without lifting the brush from the paper. Because of the material they are made of, these are usually very expensive, but there are calligraphy brushes that usually give similar good quality results.

Tips for the care and storage of brushes

Just as important as knowing how to use watercolor brushes correctly is cleaning and storing them well so that they will accompany you for a long time. In addition, keeping these tips in mind, you will avoid having to make a new investment. With these five simple tricks, it will be difficult for you to damage a brush.

1. Never leave it submerged in water. This is the biggest mistake when it comes to taking care of brushes, since, with the weight, the tip of the brush gets damaged and deformed, and the wooden handle can absorb too much moisture and splinter. It is therefore important to always place them horizontally on a damp cloth to absorb the moisture.

2. Use soap with the dirtiest ones. Some older brushes do not clean well with water alone, so it is necessary to resort to soap. How? Very simple: put soap in the palm of your hand, moisten the brush a little and rub it gently against the soap in your hand. Then rinse it well and dry it.

3. Shape them back into shape with your fingers. When they are completely clean but still a little damp, use your fingers to shape them back into the natural shape of the brush so that when they dry, you can make sure they don't dry anyway.

4. Always dry them horizontally. The ideal is that the weight of the brush resides equally throughout its structure, so putting it horizontally is the most organic way to dry it. If for lack of space you can not do it, you can always put them in vertical but never with the hair down because they would be deformed and we could not use them again.

5. Air dry them. If you have time it is the best, but if you are in a hurry or you can't, a cloth or canvas brush holder where you can keep them is a good idea, since the cloth will absorb the humidity and they will dry without problems keeping their shape.

Learn this and other Naranjalidad tricks in the course Pencil portrait, color techniques and Photoshop..

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