I am just curious to know what type of brush everyone uses for drybrushing?
For no particular reason, I have been using a #2 Filbert (taklon bristles). It does an adequate job;however, the brush has just about had it so I’ll be looking to replace it with something else soon…
I use something similar - don’t recall the brand
I like taklon as well, fairly flat, straight brush in a couple of sizes. Depends what you’re dry brushing though. I tend to use more washes ultimately.
I don’t have a particular brush, or type of brush, for this job. Any brushes which are no longer good enough for “proper” work are kept in a separate jar from my “still good” brushes. As and when jobs requiring e.g. drybrushing, spatter effects, etc. crop up, I simply choose the brush from the “seconds” jar that looks right for the job, maybe trimming off any stray bristles, or trimming to length. When they’re completely past it, I cut off the shanks for use as stirrers, and the heads go into File 13. I’ve never even thought of buying a drybrushing brush. Saves a few pennies[:)].
I do pretty much the same as what Hutch does for drybrushing. In my experience, the brush isn’t as important as the paint you use for drybrushing. Paints that dry faster don’t quite give as even an appearance and tend to look more streaky/blotchy than paints with a slower drying time. Sometimes that’s a good thing though, depending on the effect you’re trying to achieve.
Also agree with Hutch.
For what might be called ‘surface’ dry-brushing…mainly picking out/highlighting detail…I prefer something with fairly short and stiff bristles. For what I term ‘scrubbing’…which is mainly for weathering or altering tone on larger color areas…I love the cheap nylon brushes Testors sells. With a little practice, you can actually work them into useful shapes (mushroom, flare, etc.). And they’re dead-cheap (and guiltless) to replace.
Cheers[Y]
Cheap ones. I find I go through brushes I use for drybrushing faster than other painting.
When a brush gets worn out I often set it aside for drybrushing. Or, if I see a cheap small set of brushes I sometimes set them aside for dry brushing.
I do a lot of dry brushing, and love the technique. There seems to be a lack of discussing on the technique, so I assumed there were few of us still doing it.
Ditto.
It makes me laugh a little when I see folks going through elaborate, convoluted multi-step protocols of pre-shading, washes, filters, re-washes, etc…much of which, frankly, doesn’t seem to show up in photographs…when most of the same effects can be more easily accomplished by a wash and some intelligent dry-brushing. It’s a vastly underrated technique.
Just my [2cnts], as always.
[dto:]
I use to use airbrush to stain exhaust stacks. I found it easier to use dry brushing. I also thin the paint almost to a wash level- goes on very slowly.
I like to dry brush my chips and wear on armor hatches,grab handles,and so forth.