subject: Purchasing The Paint Brushes And Papers For Your Handmade Greetings Cards [print this page] Brushes pretty much break down into 2 different kinds; soft brushes (such as nylon and sable) and firm bristles (such as hog). A general guideline is for water colours, you would use a soft brush and for oil paints, you would use a more harder brush. For acrylics you can use either. There are a lot of exceptions to this rule - if you want to create a detailed design on the surface of your greetings cards, then you may use the more suitable paint brush that you find does that perfectly for you.
A further significant attribute of a brush is it's shape. Rounder brushes carry a lot more paint and can be used to create detail and wide sections of colour. Flat brushes are excellent for laying down flat, even areas or washes. There are also strange shapes for example the longer rigger paint brushes, which you would typically use for finer detailing and branches, the fan brush, which is great for blending colours and generating cloud effects onto your work.
Paint brushes can be purchased in a series of qualities, the same as those bought in paint ranges. A 'top-of-the-range' designer's paint brush will have a longer life and hold a lot more colour than the ones designed for student use. It is continuously important to check whether the paint brush you are using will be affected by the painting medium and consequently affect the quality of your art work. Remember acrylic paint can quickly ruin a brush so you must never let the paint dry out on the bristles. I.e. always freshen up your brushes when finished painting your masterpiece. Oil paint and turpentine can negatively affect the wrong type of paint brush.
It is always essential to have a wide variety of brushes both in size and shape. A standard brush set is definitely a very good way of having a good starting point for a brush collection.
Choosing a Board for your Cards:
Acquiring the best surface to paint on can be the creation of a good quality painting. It is vital to match your surface to the paints you will be using. For water-colour paints, use paper or board, which can be attached to a blank card surface. This can be bought in a range of thcknesses and surface finishes. For more detailed creations you may want to contemplate using a hot-press (HP) or smooth paper, for general use a Not (or cold press) surface is perfect. Another substitute is rough paper or board, which is great for adding additional texture to your cards. These papers are available in a range of weights from 71lbs to 300lbs - the larger the weight, the bigger the thickness of the paper. On lighter papers such as 72 pounds and 90lbs, it is crucial that you stretch your board before you start work - heavier boards can be worked straight away or stretched. Any guide to water colour will provide you with instructions on arranging your papers in this way. Water colour papers are available in pad-form or as individual sheets. It is advisable to go for the single papers if adhering to thicker boards for the perfect handmade card. Water-colour board is available, and it is in reality a form of paper or card, which is bonded to a heavy duty acid-free piece of card. It is more suitable for individuals who do not wish to stretch out their card. A new innovation for coloured watercolour surfaces comes in the form of soft pastel shades.
